E 43-/ s Class _ L L i34 Book. r S M REMARKS OP v HON. GfPORTER, OF MISSOURI, ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DELIVER!!!) ON THE 9TH OF J \%' I I WASHINGTON ! . i i.[. \ i' PHE C INGRESSIONAL GLO ■'<'■ 01 PICE. 1856 ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE "Wliil. the Clerk was calling the roll on the ninety-ninth vote for Spi aker, Mr. PORTER said: Before recording my vote I have a few remarks to make. I have been ! heretofore Eo remain a silent member of this body. I havuhad no personal explanations to make, no remarks to offer in n fereRce to any matter personal tc» myself. Bui, sir, allusion having been made to nn- in the course of this fflci- dental discussion . that lias sprung up during our nt sitting, it may have become necessary that I should make a few remarks for the pur- pose of defining my position, or rather for the purpose of presenting some reasons why 1 shall eoniinue to vote as 1 have heretofore voted for d friend from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Pi i i.kr.] My acquaintance with that distin n originated during the Thirty-Second Con J . of which 1 had the honor t" be a member with him. I found him at that time cooperating with me as a membefof the great patriotic Whig party, of which my colleague who last addressed House [Mr. Cardtherb] was a member, and with whicl I tod from my boyhood down to the present time. I id the gentleman from Pennsylvania then a Whig mem- . -in the B -e— a Fillmore Whig, u toe in the meas- ures of Fillmor ' tration— a conservative \\ • tnding by the < ipromisc n . in tlieir length and in their breadth. And, sir, it" he '. ' his opinions u] ho sub- ject — if he has departed from that great ai d r .-faith — from t!io.;. principles wliich wi then supported in common— I have not learned the fact. When I met him again, I recognized him as standing upon the compromise measures of 1850 — those measures adopted undt t the had and sup- ported by the eloquence ojf the immortal sta< man of Kentucky, to whom my worthy Ci [Mr. Caruthers] has so eloquently referred. Elected here, sir, as a Whig, professing the prin- ciples of the .Whig panty, 1 felt called upon, in my choice for Speaker, to vote as nearly as I could in accordance with the principles of that party; and in casting about me to asci Main f< r whom I should vote — to see who would comi neai' st iii his position to th/' principles which 1 profes6ed-rI recognized the distinguished th man from K< ntuck v. j M r. EIuMPHREI MaR- mim.i.,1 and the distinguished gentleman for whom ' bave he,-n voting for the last eighty or ninety votes for Speaker, as the friends and sup- port* r.- of Whigprinciples and measures. I ''" ,; I them in the Thirty-Second Congress, stand upon the true national platfprm so far as the com- promise measures of 1850 were concerned, con- mi nt, in principle and . ' of the slav< ry qui 8- tioii in the States and T< rritorii . • - wi II as for internal improvements and the "tier wise and • rvative measures of \\ hich the Whig party were the ad\ ocati s. tinder thes no s, 1 fell myai If justified in casting my voU a for t gcntlqm cn i "'"I ' did i ;•'• Bui been in tuna ted, that perhaps the distinguisl I ■ man from Pennsylvania may not i i sound position upon the important question on \<, hich tie , le of mj district feel so deep an interest— the slavery ques- I Ffow, Mr. Clerk, I care not what position that : . .t any gentleman lure, may Wave oc- |j cupind during the last Congress in regard to the |j J of the Missouri compromise as a part and I of the Kansas and Nebraska bill. It is well i known to the country that a great many most • distinguished and patriotic statesmen, belonging' to both the great parties of the country — the : Whig and the Democratic party— believed that the repeal of the Missouri compromise was an jj injudicious measure; that it was not demanded by public opinion, as uttered through the public ss, by the Legislative Assemblies in any of 1 the Suites, or by the people in their primary as- B ... lies, or otherwise ; that it was calculated to j violate an important principle of both the two great parties, as declared by their platforms laid . down at their Baltimore conventions of 1852, .. - :h was. that the slavery agitation should be I finally settled by the compromise measures of 13.1 . and that it should not be reopened there- \ <■■ fu •;• in Congress or out of it, under any pretense "■ whatever. Sir, they were opposed to the repeal of the eighth section of the •' Missouri conipru- act," whieh was made part and parcel of the Kansas and Nebraska biii, passed during the last Congress. A bill to organize the Territory of iXebrr.ska, ) modeled after the Utah and New Mexico bills of j 1350, v. as introduced, during the Thirty-Second _: ss, by my then colleague from the St. [ h district, [Mr. Hall,] passed this body, and received here and, in the Senate the sanction i and support of t'iie entire delegation from Missouri. i ..t. that the opinion that the unexpected and uncalled-for. effort to repeal the ' ; Missouri com- promise" would revive the slavery agitation with renewed fierceness, which I honestly entertain d frankly expressed, -was held and expressed guished national Bl both ■, among them the distinguished i r from Michigan, [Mr. Cass.] It will be seen, by referring to the speech made by him e'uri::LC the pendency of the Kansas and Nebr . -.-, that he expressed his il should have been made to r I the time that it was passed, it gave peace and quiet to the country; and that all useful and beneficial ^!:ed without its ! • fer to that speech, for I well re- er it. 1 le uses this langua '• Mr. Presid i:t, 1 have not withheld i in of u., . _ , nor shall I withhold . .: this . question of repeal of the Missouri compromise, whieh op. -us nil the disputed points connected with the subject of congressional action upon slavery in tiie Territories of the United States, has been brought before us. I do not think the practical advantages to result from the measure will outweigh the injury which tin- ill-feeling fated toaceompany tie- discussion o; tins subject through the country, is sure to produce. And I was confirmed in this impression from what was said by the S mater from Tennesse s, [Mr. Jones,] by the Senators from Kentucky, [Mr. Dixon,] and from North Carolina, [Mr. Badger,] and also by the remarks which fill from the Senator from Vriginia, [Mr. Hunter.] and in which I fully concur, that the South will never re- ceive any benefit from this measure, so far as respects the extension of slavery for legislate as we may. no human power can establish it in the regions defined by these bill?. And such were tiie sentiments of two eminent patriots to whose exertions we are greatly indebted rfactory termination or' the difficulties of 1850, ami who have since . from their labors, audi trust to their reward. Thus belicvhig, 1 should have been b 'tier content had the whole subject been left as it was by the lrill when fust introduced by the Senator from Illinois, without any provision re^arj- ing the Missouri compromise. 1 am aware that it was re- port e that I intended to propose the repeal of that measure, but i: was an error. My intentions were wholly misunder- stood. I had no design whatever to tak'. such a step, and thus resuscitate a deed of conciliation which had done its » i i.k. and done it well, and which was hallowed by patriot- ism, by success, and by its association with great nam s now transient d to history. It belonged to a past genera- tion; and in the midst of a political tempest which appall d tie' wisest and tinner t in tiie land, it had said to the waves of agitation. Peace, le still, and they became still. It would hive been better in my opinion not to disturb its slumber, as aii useral and practical objects could have b -en ai: Without it. But the question is here without my agency. " i i February '20, 1S.'A. When I saw it, though I differed from that distinguished gentleman on many questions of public policy, 1 yielded my hearty assent to the views which he. expressed, and, in the canvass which resulted in my election, declared them to be sentiments worthy of a patriot and a states- man. 1 was for standing by the compromise of l^oU as a "final settlement" of the slavery ques- tion, and opposed to taking any step that would, in its nature and consequences, have tiie effect of reviving the slavery agitation. It was predict- d that the repeal of the Missouri compromise would have the effect of reopening the slavery agitation, as such procedure was in violation of the plat- form of the Whig party, to which I belong, and of the Democratic party, and was entirely .un- ssary for any practical or useful end what- ever. The CLERK. The gentleman's time has ex- pired, [('lies of "Go on!"] If there is no lion, the gentleman will proceed with his remarks; There was no objection. Mr. PORTER. Mr. derfc, I was decided in the expression of my opinion on the subject at the time the first movement was made in the Senate of the United States, during the pendency of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. I believe that Judge Don.i.AS took thi tru • ground in his first report. It was that of opposition to introducing any new prim :i -.1 to territorial < i tibn, and a firm adherence to the principles 1 by the compromise measures of 1850. I believe the principle s of that report are i 1 1 conform to those of the Utah and X. w Mexico l>i!!, I Id have voted for the Kansas-Nebraska bill, ' notwithstanding what I regarded to be an inex- pedient and objectionable feature in it; because n man, interested in the prosperity of try, I fi it that the speedy organization of those Terri- tori: s, lyingon o i, wasa matter of strict fustice to Mi tterwhich nd ad- i not only on Mi 9 iuri, Arl I -. . i the entire tier of v,-< on the entire Union — especially in \ had a direct and m tessary conm the succi tlv "Ci oad," then project) d, an:! ■ i th n ex- citing the attention of our ablest statesmen, of the American people, and of the Government of the United Stat On the same principle that I opposed tb opening of the slavery agitation, which unhappily took place on th bras- ka bill from the cause above adv i me of the bitter fruits of which we are at thi ing, 1 would now oppose a I tn amfend, or modify, or change the Kansas and N ■' art. 1 am i Ito slavery agitation. I bi lievd it to be the greatest and most portentous evil of out '■lie. I believe it to be one of the most fruit- ful sources of mischief to our common cce and of danger to our glorious Union. 1 am there- fore opposed, as is my honorable friend from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Fn.i.r.R.] to any attempt to / or eh mge that bill, and thus revive, as might be the case, and increase, to an indefinite tion of the slavery question. In the sentiments i xpressed by the dieting! gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. JKcuxk] I fully and cordially concur, to the extent of i sition to slavery agitation; and, like him, 1 would vote against the restoration of the Missouri promise restriction. That is the position of the gentleman from Penn- sylvania, as he publicly and solemnly avows it. While originally opposed in good fail the repeal of the Missouri compromise restric- tion, like the distinguish) d S mator I have quoted, and many other bold and true and conservative statesmen 4 whose speeches I could quote if lima allowed, — like them, he is opposed to an} to reinstate that compromise. Let the legislation of 1854 stand, as the legislation of 1820 and 185 I ought to have stood, for weal or for woe. Let the bitter sectional strife which now rages in our country, and manif. sis itself in the hails of legislation, to the impediment of the public busi- ness and the reproach of our free institutions, bo allayed. Let peace' once more be restored t<> our borders, as it was prior to the legislation of 1 354, And when it is restored, sir, let a monument, like that of the fabled god "Terminus," be erected ice, between the two f the Union, •• never to be thrown down !" Let there revii al or increase of Let t an eternal ween the 1 members of our great American familj This is what th n from Pem [my friend Mr. Poller,] in >•}»• quently and feelingly says» 1 care not what bis may have been. He may bav< d to the repeal of the Missouri that is a thing now number the things that were. What Stat \ • to 6 do with, and what it behooves them to attend to, is the present and the future. I believe him to be an honorable and a reliable man — a man who will stand firmly to his avowed principles. When he tells me that if a bill were introduced lor the restoration of the Missouri compromise, he would vote against it because he is opposed to reviving or continuing the slavery agitation, then I can say to him, that for all practical purposes, he and I, as well as he and my worthy colleagues, are together on that subject. lam opposed to any agitation for a restoration of the Missouri com- promise; and we are practically, therefore, upon the same ground, so far as that is concerned. The gentleman may have regretted, as I regretted, the movement that resulted in the repeal of that measure, which had the sanction of the illus- trious Clay and of the great men of the South in 1820, and that restored peace to a distracted country, and saved the Union, (as was then be- lieved by the great men of the South,) which was imperiled by the slavery agitation of that period. But, Mr. Clerk, the great practical question at last in regard to the Kansas-Nebraska bill is this: in a very short time, probably before another Congress shall be elected and convened, Kansas will have the requisite population to entitle her to admission into this Union. The gentleman from Pennsylvania declares that he would admit her into the Union without regard to the ques- tion whether she has slavery in her constitution or not. Upon that great practical issue — the only practical one, I submit to this House, involved in this Kansas-Nebraska question — my colleague [Mr. Caruthers] himself admits that the gen- tleman from Pennsylvania occupies sound and proper ground, and he " thanks aim" for declar- ing himself in favor of that great republican prin- ciple which is dear to me, as it ought to be dear to every friend of the Union. Then, for all prac- tical purposes, although a northern man, like the distinguished gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. Rich- ardson-,] he stands upon the broad basis of the Constitution, guarantying to all the Territories of this Union the riyht to come into the Union when they have the requisite population, Upon the simple condition that they have republican constitutions, and apply for admission with such constitutions, without regard to whether they have one kind of domestic institutions or an- other, that being a question to lie settled by the people of i he Territory and by them alone. As the gentleman from Pennsylvania stands upon that ureal principle., and is as sound upon that qui stion as any other member upon this floor, I should consider that I was acting ungratefully to him, and unjustly to my own section, if I were to withhold my support from him because, in some of his opinions and views in regard to the ab- stract question of slavery, he differed from my- self or from a majority of the people of my sec- tion. I should consider that I was dealing most unjustly by him and by that section. He is entitled to credit and gratitude instead of being censured for daring, in the face of any fanatical prejudice that may exist, if any, in his own dis- trict, in relation to slavery, to come up boldly and manfully and take his stand in favor of the con- stitutional rights of the South involved in this question. And, sir, after the gentleman from Pennsylvania made this frank and manly declara- tion of his principles — that declaration which, for all practical purposes, placed him on ground as high, as reliable and tenable as is occupied by any southern Representative upon this floor — the organ of the Administration, to which I stand opposed upon this floor, the Washington Union, indorsed the gentleman's doctrines, and pro- nounced him, in substance, sound upon the ques- tion of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Sir, as was very properly said by one of my colleagues, who first addressed the House, [Mr. Kennett,] I have no unfriendly feeling towards the distinguished gentleman who is the nominee of the Democrats. He is my neighbor, and a nearer neighbor to me than he is to my colleague. I know hina well. I had the honor of serving with him in the Thirty-Second Congress. I esteem him as a gentleman and a statesman of large and liberal views. He is a western man in his sentiments and principles; and, if I am correctly informed in regard to his former course, is in favor of that great Whig measure — the improvement of rivers and harbors by the General Government. He stands upon the same ground as Mr. Fuller upon that question. If I felt at liberty to choose a Speaker out of the Democratic party, I should prefer him to any other Democrat upon this floor; but in many vie ws of public policy I differ with that gentle- man, lie is a supporter of this Administration, and was put forward as such, as I understand. I was elected to this House as a national Whig, and as an opponent of t lie present Administration of the Federal Government. Then, sir, how can I, consistently with my duty to my constituents who sent me here as the Representative of a dis- trict which is strongly Whig— having a Whig majority of from s sven hundred to one thousand, and myself elected by some twelve hundred and eighty majority against a distinguished Adminis- tration Democrat — how could I, in justice to my- self and to my constituents, and aa a true and just man, come here and cast my vote, from first to last, for the candidate of the Administration party upon this floor? Under certain circumstances, I might be in- duced to vote for the gentleman from Illinois. I i rote for him in opposition to a man who is opposed to tlic admission of Kansas into the Union with a constitution recognizing slavery if she chooses to form such a constitution; I might do it in opposition to a man in favor of contin- uing the agitation of the slavery question for the purpose of restoring the Missouri compromise. I might vote for him in opposition to a man hold- ing those views and sentiments. I might have vote,!, and would cheerfully have voted for the gentleman from Illinois iii such an alternative, if I had been reduced to that alternative, but I have not yet been reduced to it. When my colleague, or any oiler gentleman, can demonstrate to me that I can defeat Mr. Banks, or any nominee of the Republican caucus entertaining similar views, I will as chei rfully as any man upon this floor vote for Mr. Richardson for the purpose of de- feating a man entertaining those views and senti- ments, because I belii ve thi m to be in violation of the Constitution of my country, of the peace of the States, and of all the interests we ought to hold mostdear. But thai alternative is not before us. All the votes which the friends of Mr. Fil- ler nowvoting for him, as all of us know, could cast for Mr. Richardson would ngt elect him, and, thi refore, in voting for him now, or at any time Bince we met, I should simply be placing ntys. If in the attitude of coming here as a Whig, and an opponent of the Administration — elected as such in August, 1854 — and casting my vote without attaining any practical end for a Demo- crat and a supporter of the Administration. 1 do not choose to involve myself in such an inconsist- ency as that. And I know my generous and htencd constituents do not expect, and would not BBk ni" to do it. That is my justification, and I consider it a full and complete justification in regard to my course upon this matter. Gentlemen have said that the Whig party, as a party, is dead. It may be 80 in some localities, but I assure gentlemen that the Whig party of the Smte which I have the honor, in part, to repre- sent, has not hauled down its time-honored and glorious fla^ r — that flag which, in times past, has been borne aloft by a host of illustrious statesmen who from time to time have' abed luster on our annals. I say that flag is not pulled down, but is yet floating in the breeze, and so long as 1 find it floating, with the great national, patriotic, con- servative principles of the Whigs of 1840, '44, '48, and '.~r2 inscribed upon it, though sonic of its stars may be "erased, "and some of its "stripes" be •' polluted, "I shall still be found rallying under its " ample folds." But, Mr. Clerk, whatever change may take place in its organization, however many may prove recreant to the organization or principles of that party, the great principles and measures of that party still remain and "still live," and I trust will live forever; for, sir, they are sacred to the cause of constitutional freedom, and the purity and success of our representative system of Government. In casting my suffrage for aspir- ants for political station, who have control of political power here or elsewhere, I shall cast it for those who most strongly and most sincerely believe in, and faithfully practice, the doctrines and principles of the Whig party. In pursuance of that determination, I have cast my votes for the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania as an advocate of those principles and doc- trines — as one who is still true to them in their whole length and breadth. I shall cast my vote for him, because I know him to be an able, an honorable man, and one competent for the posi- tion to which I desire to see him elected. • I have said, Mr. Clerk, all I intend, d to say in explanation of the course which I have talon. I vote for Mr. Fuller, because his position on the slavery question is sound, national, and conserva- tive; becaui e he is a Whig in his principles, and views of public policy; and I vote against Mr. Richardson because he is a Democrat a warm supporter of the present Administration, and be- cause some of his views and principles of publie policy, as well as bis party affinities, differ from my own. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS U » » 011 897 867 5