\*^\.-'."^^. <> '••»• ^0^ -o. ^'TTT-'^.'V *« . . * il\ ^.a" ymnk'. v./ -•^•*^' ^'^•^^>- /^;^^%\ .^'^•^^>- Z^^-m 9^. . „0 »°-V 0^ r*. ♦ V "^ *^ AT ♦, >'^ •!.::.'. V ^"'^^ ^: % ^ •'^ > V c*r • V^^V* *v^^V* v^^V"* "V'^ 0* V. ♦>???•* A »°>. JP-^K bv^^ p-c ^> ^-^.6« /..^^^'"-o ,/^:^^^\ co^.^l.>o u*^\;, •*.o'^ ^^•n^. ..^q. jP-^-i. ° K^ o *^^mrc ^^ t^ \ •' *^^*' :*' •Too ^ .*^°* %*'"^-*> '.• y^^^ ^^ If* "> •- * Cl«2. j-°-n»-. .• ,^°*^ ■•' ^''•n^ i\ '"-.Z 5> ^Ci SPEECH OF C. M. CLAY, OF FAYETTE, In Ih e House of Represmtalivesof Kentucky, January, 1841, upon the bill to repeal the law o/ IS^JI " to prohibit the importation ofslaves into this state.'' The House being in committee of the whole- Mr. Clay having the floor, said : Mr. Chainnan .- — The result of your delibe- rations upon this bill must affect the, destiny of this State, and perhaps that of the Union Itself. Pamplilets and sprechcs have gone forth amonnr the whole people, and all the lead- intr journals of the State have taken {rround upon one side or liie oilier. If I were pleadinjr my own cause only, however much I mighv hazard in the result, I should ask your atten- tion with diffidence; bi;t I stand up here in behalf of a whole people— your State, your- self, and your posterity, are so nearly concern- ed as to demand a pai/ent hearin<> and a deli- berate determination. The trentleman from Breckenridge* and the gentleman from Louisville have done me th(? honor to allude to me personally, and the late canvass in my county, and although they have done so in a manner most com- plimentary to myself, yet, to me, it is a soured of regret, because my opponents are not here to answer what 1 may h.ive to say. I Khali, therefore, speak of ihem in no other terms than those of scrupulous respect. The influences which were arrayed against me were indeed great: a young man (in intellect at least my equal) with all the advantages of wealtli and thorough education, in the county of his nativity, and among the associates of his childhood and youth, the son of an old po- litician, who had done some service to the Commonwealth, and whose legal attainments at all events had no small consideration in the public estimation, was my opponent. T. on the contrary, was a new-comer. If I bore with me any reputation for ability, it nnisl have been of necessity but little, whilst, if I had any social qualities worthy of considera- tion, my limited associations barred their in- fluence. It was then the policy and justice of the cause I advocated, which, in a county (-1 ten thousand slaves, sustained me triumph- , antly. The discussion of this subject is dc- ! precated here— so it was deprecated there— and by whom in both cases ? By those who will not rest whilst this law stands ; who ' • Mr. Calhoun— Mr. Towles, of Henderson, ' the mover of the bill, was not heard by the au- ' thor. 1 would claim a judgment against us by de- nuilt; who, by bitter denunciation would drive us from our integrity; they be.T the question, and ask us to be silent ; they''have demanded the repeal of this law for three years; at every stage the law has rapidly gained friends, and yet they dare tell us that the people require its repeal. Epithets strike no terrors into my spirit; denunciation shall not silence me. It has been said, that mo- ney IS power, that knowledge is power, but » more powerful than both thtse combined is { truth. Let me ever worship at her shrine- she is the high priestess of republican liberty. Let my voice be lifted up for ever in her cause.* Shall the slaves of our state be in- creased ? If slavery is a blessing, by all means repeal this law; but if it be° an evil, as I hold, as held JelTersoii and Henry and s Madison, and all the illustrious statesmen of ' the world from I77(i to the present day, then you dare not touch that law which stands like a wall of adamant, shielding our homes, and all ihat makes that name most sacred, from more than all the calamities that ever Uarbarian invaders inflicted upon a conquered people. The gentleman from Breckenridae avows slavery to bo a "blesr.ing," and under- takes, by scripture, to hallow it with the sanc- tion of Deity. This is a strange doctrine to be heard ui any country, but to urge it here, among Kentuckians, and in this assembly, IS not only strange, but monstrous. 1 can- not assent to the argument, 1 oppose it up- • " He, therefore, who retards the progress of intellect, countenances crime; my, lo a Slate is the greatest of crimfnals. Nor" lot us belie'«re, with the dupes of a shallow policy, that there ex- ists upon the whole earth one prejudice that can be called salutary, or one error l)eneficial to per- pe_tuale." "It is the petty, not the enlarged mind which (irefers casuistry to conviction; it is iho confined and short sight of ignorance, which, un- able to comprehend tiie great bearings of tiulh, pries only into its narrow and obscure corners occupying iisolf in scrutinizing the atoms of a part, which the eagle eye of wisdom contem- plates in its widest scale, the luminous majesty of the whole.''— 5«/tff,r. / ^.'• - J- , t44 on every principle of truth and expediency, now and forever; it sups the foumlaliau ol human liberty— If you sanction it now, where and to what shall I appeal, when the sword and the purple are arrayed against me? No, let not gentlemen in their blind zeal to make slavery here ''perpetual,'' cleave down the banner under which our forefathers fought and triumphed, the barrier against the op- pressors of all lands, " that all men are born free and equal." The divine right of kings has fallen before the advance of civilization; the most loyal and despotic sticklers for royalty now speak only of the hisiorkal right of princes to rule. Can it be that this doc- trine shall have fallen only to give place to its more monstrous counterpart— the divine ricrht of slavery 1 I understand our religion to" leave the form of government, and the municipal institutions of nations untouched; nay, sir, the Saviour of men disclaimed the ricrht of interference—" give unto Ca3sar th*e things that are Cajsar's"— was his doc- trine ; it is also my doctrine. lam no re- former of governments. 1 leave slavery where 1 found it; 'tis not a matter of con- science with me; I press it not upon the consciences of others—" let him who form- ed the heart, judge of it alone." I admit, with the gentleman, the antiquity ofslaveiy; that it has existed from time immemorial to the present day ; yet, sir, in all that time, I find nothing to recommend it as a source of power, of glory, or of humanity. Its first mention is in Genesis, where Isaac subjects Esau to .Jacob. Esau rose up to slay his brother, and Jacob was forced to fly from his country. Evil, in the begining,as itis now. The .lews were enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt; what again were the consequences ? In^the metaphoncal language of the historian, unheard of plagues come upon the Egyptiaiis, which were terminated only by the entire destruction of Pharaoh's host in the Red Sea. .Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews led captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and held in bondage in the Assyrian empire. What was the result— glory and dominion and safety ? No, sir; these slaves were the cause of the destruction of Babylon, and the utter ruin of the empire. The inspired wri- ters imputed the destruction to the oppres- sion of the Jews ; the profane agree in the result; whilst it requires no great sagacity to discover that slavery, through natural means alone, was commensurate as a cause to the result. 'Tis true that Darius or Cyaxerxes and Cyrus the Persian, turned aside the Euphrates and entered through the dry channel, beneath the walls, with their army; but it was by treachery only that he could pass the massive gates which barred the entrance from the river through the streets to the place. The hand writing upon the wall was Hebrew ; Daniel, the Hebrew, alone coud read and interpret it to the doomed Belshazzar. Effeminacy and luxury had caused the Hebrew slave to rule over that once powerful and gloriou? nation ; they were betrayed in the midst of reveUy and self confidence ; they were destroyed in a night; and Daniel, the slave and the Jew, was°made vice regen', under Cyrus, over all the shattered provinces. Thus passed away for ever the most splendid city that the w(0d has seen, most impolently, without a struggle, leaving no vestige behind. I am graveTy told, that in those countries of an- tiquity, where slavery existed, the human intellect reached its highest development; yet did slavery exist among all nations at that time. How happened it that a cause so general produced effects so limited'? No, sir ; the Grecian and Roman Slates were glorious in spile of slavery. The ancient historians say but little upon the subject of slavery ; perhaps they thought (as some do now) that nothing should be said on the subject of so great a "blessing;" yet, when- ever we do hear of itj desolation marked its progress, mentioned only in connection with the evils of its sufferance. Plutarch and Thucyoides tell us thht, during the reign of Archidamus, an earthquake threw Mount Taygetus upon the city oV Sparta, and de- stroyed it. Their slaves, the Helots, those natural enemies of the master, immediately rose up and set upon the Lacedemonians ; and this proud people were forced lo call in their rivals, the Athenians, to protect ihem from domestic violence. We may judge of the prolonged desolation of the war, when we are told, that Ithome was besieged for ten years before it was taken. We may esti- mate the effects of slavery upon the moral sensibilities of that people, when vve are in- formed that 2,000 slaves were massacred in a single night; and yet the perpetrators of the deed escaped prosecution, the whole community winking at the offence. The servile wars in the Roman Empire are too well known to be dwelt upon. Slavery- there certainly formed no element of strength or greatness. If the slaves who cultivated the soil had been free Roman citizens (a check upon the enervated and luxurious city- population) Ca3sar might not have been the master of the world, and Rome might have yet been free. Has slavery in modern times been the foundation of greatness and civiliza- tion 1 Why, then, have Asia and Africa been subject to non-slaveholding Europe; and why has South America, with all her slaves, rested stationary in barbarism, whilst North America, under a different policy, has risen up the nrst among the civilized na- tions ] Modern slavery, more marked and distinctive in its character than ancient, is so much the more terrible in its consequen- ces. Formerly, the color being the same, ■ 'twas easy to merge tlie slave inio the frced- " man, ami the freedman into the citizen ; bui now the dillerence of color is an eternal badcre of servitude and infamy — an impassi- ' ble barrier between the two races. The ' massncre of St. Domingo, and the insurrec- r-y lion of Southampton, speak they of "bles- . - sings" of peace, of glory, and power] The ""^ most overweening self-delusion cannot be v^ deaf to the despairing energy with which all history cries aloud and swears^that Dtiiy lias not designed tliat slavery shall be the necessary foundation of" liberty"* and civi- lization ! If the Old Testament seemed to sanction the insiiiuiion of slavery, (and I rnight ask, what phasis of human action un- der the sun did it not sanction?) there is nothin2-3- against foreign importation. The act of 181.5 imposes the penalty nf$G00upon importation and the oath. The law of 1B32-.'} but does the same. Thus, from 1778 to the present time, has a law similar to this, with the same oath in all. been upon the statute hook of our country. Such has been the policy of the slave States from the Revolution to the pre- sent time. All the original Slates, save Massachusetts, weie slave states. Through the silent and safe operation of laws like this, slavery has gone south of Mason's and Dixon's line. All of the slave Stales have had laws similar to this. The importation of slaves is forbidden, to a certain extent, by the constitution of Mississippi. (Georgia makes the domestic slave-trade felony — a penitentiary offence. The United States, since 1808, have made the foreign slave-trade piracy ; so also have Great Britain, Holland, and France. Although the African be a slave at home, yet is the slave trade punished with death. Well may gentlemen become the apologists of the slave-trade who advocate the repeaT of this law. Having thus attempted to repel the divine right of slavery, and prove that this law, so far from being an innovation, and contrary to precedent, is in accordance with the settled policy of all our eminent men, from VVashing- ton, JefTerson, and Henry, down to the ])re- sent lime — that it is in unison with the Christian religion, and the advance of civili- zation and the irresistible moral sentiment of mankind — I shall now attempt to vindicate its constitutionality. Shall the law of 1832-3 be repealed-' Shall I not, says the opponent of this law, be al- lowed to bring in a slave for my ow.». use, if I want? He might also ask, shall i not be allowed to bring in a slave from Africa also? Yet the laws of the United States impose the penalty of death upon the foreign slave- trader, and the domestic slave-traders be- come, in the eyes of some, very highly re- spectable gentlemen, who dare denounce the native sons of Ivonlticky as abolitionists, and enemies of the country, who oppose the same traflic which united America has for- bidden with doaih. And, while the Presi- dent of the United States of America is call- ing upon Congress to break up, more effectu- ally, the trade in African slaves, they arc i demanding no less earnestly that this State shall be desecrated, and impoverished, and brutalized, by an overflow of the slough of slavery from all the jails of the South, to gra- tify the rapacity and avarice of those lovely specimens of hiiinan philanthropy — the pro- fessional slave traders. This indigtiation at restraint comes with a bad grace from those whose freedom consists in trampling with an iron heel upon the human will. Laws are made for short-sighted selfishness; to bend the wayward impulses of the individual mind to subservience to the public good. The gen- tleman from Breckenridge tells us, that all men are governed by self-interest ; and, dis- guise it as we may, selfishness lies at the bottom of all our actions; that I, the represen- tative of a county with 10,000 slaves, favor this law because it makes them valuable to the slaveholder; but that the gentleman from Louisville is for the law, because they there have " white slaves''' who are cheaper than blacks. I confess that I am moved by self- interest ; but there are two kinds of interest — the one, a narrow, short-sighted, unstates- man-like self-interest, which looks only to immediate consequences — it subserves the passion and the appetite — it is the foundation of all mental, and moral, and physical de- basement — it is the instigator of crime, and its end is death. But there is another, en- larged and far seeing and statesman-like self- interest — which looks not only to immediate but secondary and remote consequences — it yields not to impulse, nor to passion, but is subservient to reason — it becomes the ground- , work of virtue, wisdom, and immortality. In private life, 'tis the essence of morality, in the public man it is true patriotism. Fortu- nately, however, for Fayette, it is not neces- sary to draw these nice distinctions ; both in- terests impel her with concentrated force to sustain the law of 1833 ; for as the owner of 10,026 slaves, valued at ^,3,743,133, is there any slaveholder so blind as not to see that the free importation of slaves reduces, by all the laws of trade, the value of her slave po- pulation in proportion to the increase and supply from abroad ? While on the other iiand, the far reaching eye of enlightened pa- triotism will discover in the increase of the whites, over the slaves, security and wealth, and progressive greatness to the whole State. Again : if you draw the line between the slave and the non-slaveholder, as some recklessly do, you again find that all the interests of both parties unite once more in sustaining the law. For if, by the law, the value o1' slave labor is increased ; so also by the same law, is the value of white labor increased : for all experience shows that the price of black, regulates the price of while labor: And it is added that nine-tenths of the free white population of Kentucky are non-slave- holders, or working men, will they ever be so infatuated and blind as to lower the price of labor and starve their own families, to "diffuse the slave population over all the slave States," that southern nabobs may sleep in security, while their own little inno- cents may cry for bread ; or sink into that other sleep, never again to wake ?— It is the interest of all Kentucky, then, lo diminish the number of slaves. Let us see if the law of '33 has the desired effect. Census. Whites. Table No. I, showing the number of Whites and Blacks in Kentucky. Slaves and Blacks to free, blacks. Whites. 1790 61,133 11,944 1 to 5,11 1800 179,871 41,084 1 " 4,37 1810 324,237 82,974 1 " 3,94 1820 434.644 129,637 1 " 3,35 1S30 517,787 170,130 1 " 3,04 IS'IO 587,016 190,342* 1 " 3,06 Absolute in- crease of whites and blacks in the last ten years from '30 to 1840, 69,230 20,212 1 to 3,40 Thus, from the admission of Kentucky into the Union, down to 1830, the slave po- pulation rapidly increased, as shown by the census, upon the whites — but since 1830, by the passage of the law, the whites have rapid- ly increased upon the blacks— making the ab- solute increase in ten years of 3.40 whites to 1 black. Table No. 2, shoviincr the increase tf the U'hites and the combined free colored and slave population in the slave States, in 40 ijears,frum 1790 to 1830, Florida omitted. From Blacks in- Whites in- States. 1790 to crease per crease per 1830. cent. ccnf. Maryland,! 1~90 40.3794 39.5204 Virginia, " 98.8820 57.0406 N. Carolina, " 15L2094 61.0654 S.Carolina, " 196.9117 338.8113 Georgia, " 641.7470 461.2185 CQKentucky," 1324.3972 746.9844 Tennessee, " 3768.6607 1573.5264 Mississippi, 1800 1702.7241 1260.1661 Louisiana, 1810 198.9656 160.6773 xMissouri, " 609.2316 566.3667 Alabama, 1820 147.7971 97.8347 Arkansas, " 178.4533 104.0432 D. of C, 1800 204.7183 173.8228 Total increase per cent, in forty years, 207.4671 200.0080 Total increase in the U. S. percent. 207.4671 232.1512 By reference to the statistics in the pam- phlet;^ on your desk, and the table (marked No. 2) here in my possession, you will find *The Auditor's Report makes about 18,000 less. t Owing to emancipation, the decrease of Mary- land's slave population in 40 ypar.s, was 0.0480 per centum. ^Review of R. Wicklifle's speech, &c., by C, .VI. Clay, 1840. 5 that in tlie slave Stales the increase of the black, upon tlie white population, has been slow but profrressive — whilst in tho United Slates, the whites have incnased upon the blacks, Iroin 1790 to 1830, the whites increas- ing at the rate of 2J2.15 per centum, and the blacks increasing at the rate of 187.87 per centum. Which shows, conclusively, that in the tree Stales, the whites increase in a greater ratio upon the same basis, than they do in the slave States, or that slavery is a draw-hack upon population ; or else it shows, that if ihe whites propajjate as fast in a slave as a free Slate, that emiijration is jrreater, or immigration less; in either case the slave Stale is the loser. If a free white population, then, be an element of wealth and greatness, surely the law of '33 should stand. As a while population is not only the foundation of wealth and military strength, hut of re- presentative power in the United States, the contrast between a slave and free State can- not fail to strike forcibly the most unthink- ing.* Kentucky has the advantage over Ohio in age, and perhaps in natural resources — such as richness of soil, mineral wealth, climate, &c.. yet, by the census of 1840, Keiiiucky has a total of 777,359 inhabitants, (increasing in ten years at the rate of 33 per centum,) whilst Ohio has, in 1810, 1.514.695, (having increased at the rale of 62.50 per centum in the same ten years,) having now a population greater than Virginia, even (1.210,272.) And. whilst So'Iilh Carolina has increased her whole population in ten years 2 per cent., Massachusetts, of about the same age and natural advantages, has in- creased 21 per cent, in the same time. What statesman can look at these facts, and yet vote to repeal this law ? Who that has the pride of a Kenluckian, would not rather wish that this law had been a part of the constitu- tion itself? The gentleman from Breckenridge has spoken of the lower classes of New England as being »• slaves — worse than slaves," and because we have alluded to the genius of that people as developed in literature, arid especially in the useful sciences and me- chanic arts, we are taunted as being allied in feeling to " Yankees." Since ihe°ever me- rnorable^ reply of Daniel Webster to the South Carolinian, on Foote's resolutions, 1 had supposed that no one would venture to deride the name of " Yankee," They need no defence at my hands — I shall make none. I am a Kenluckian, of the Virginian descent. 1 have not been taught to consider praise given to another, as so much detraction from myself; nor have I thought it necessary to establish my claims to the honor of being of the true blood, that I should despise and *See letters, &c„ by T. F. Marshall, pages 28-9, 184U. abuse all tho world besides. It is the part of friendship to supply .lofecls, and to cor- rect errors: because 1 am proud of my Slate and love her renown, I call upon her, by all the triumphs of the pisi, to seek the true road to permanent happiness and ultimate i glory. [Mr. Clay here read from a newspaper an extract, showing ihat there had been orders from all parts of the world for various kinds ; of American machinery— grist mills for Hol- land ; steam cars for England ; steam vessels j for Russia; cotton gins for India, &c. &c.] I I would now ask the advocates of slave la- hour, how long shall we wait till we shall be ' able to supply Europe with such specimens I of manufacture and arlistical ingenuity ? How ilong before Holland will serid to Kentucky ! for grist mills? How long before the eyes of the gentleman from Breckenridge shall glow at the sight of such rail-road steam ca^s, of , Kentucky make, as Philadelphia has lately had the honor of shipping for the admiration j of other lands ? How long before we shall here see such a steam ship as lately floated in the harbors of New York, for ihe emperor of : Russia? We have waited for two hundred ' years to see these things; but alas! we have not seen them. How many hundred years long- jer shall our hearts fail with the sickness of ; hope deferred, before we shall partake of the ^ triumph of these creations of " Yankee" ge- j nius? Like the doomed Jew, we wander on in darkness and sullen expectancy, clinging I with desperate fondness to the cast ofl' idols of days that are gone, unconscious of the heavenly light which surrounds us, and the Ueity that moves in our midst ! Have we succeeded better in literary eminence ? I ' might ask of the South, as the British review- er of America, Mho reads a southern book? Where are our Irvings and Coopers? Where our Percivals and Hallecks? Where our Sillirnans and Hares, and Fultonsand Frank- lins? Our very presses and paper and pri- mers even, are of Yankee manufacture. 'Tis irue in the deparments of law and politics— those ever tense and exciting professions— those hot beds of intellect, we have produced some splendid specimens of mental develop- ment, but they only make us the more deeply regret that so much mind should lie forever dormant, perishing in the embryo, or sunk in the stagnant pools of luxury and indolence which slavery spreads far around like the tabled Stygian lake— an eternal barrier be- tween ils doomed spirits and a higher Hea- ven? And shall I, then, be tau'nted with Yankee feeling, because I would dispel the deep lethargy which rests upon our loved Kentucky ? Shall 1 speak of her triumphs upon every batllo field, from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico? Shall 1 tell of her characteristic eloijuence which, whether heard in rude accents on the stump, or more polish- 6 ed phrase in halls of national legislation, fears j no rivalry? .Shall T name her Boones, her | Kentons, her Estills, and her Bryants— the j hardy stock upon which were grafted the raore polished actions of fairer bloom, and ! fruit more mature ? Shall 1 aggregate her j glory, and give names to its impersonations] Shall 1 sp°eak of her Breckrenridgcs, her Nicholases, her Marshalls, and her Clays— | they whose names live with Kentucky, and I die when, she dies — they who formed the I constitution of the State, and breathed into j that sacred charter the same free spirit which : animated their own bosoms ? What said | they? That " slavery was a blessing, the foundation of human liberty?" that it should j be perpetual? No ! sir, no! The law of '33 but carries out and fulfils their just expecta- tions and cherished hopes. 'I'he same impress of wisdom and patriotism which characterises that instrument, signed by my father (if 1 may be pardoned the egotism) and by your father, (Mr. Calhoun's) marks this law. And it is with feelings of pride and increased con- fidence, that 1 and the decendants of thope Breckenridges and Nicholases, and Marshalls are now standing up the inost fearless de- fenders of this same much-abused statute. It is the cause of our fathers which I vindicate we are degenerate sons if it fail. The gentleman from Breckenridge would import slaves "to clear up the forests of the State— the Green river country demands the repeal." Take one day's ride from this ca- pitol, and then go home and tell them that you have looked upon the most fertile and lovely land that nature boasts, and have seen it in the space of fifty years worn to the rock —tell thein of the drains and clay banks and briar fields — tell them of the houses untenant- ed and decaying — tell them of the depopula- tion of the interior counties, and the ruin of our villages— tell them all this, and more- tell them that the white Kentuckian has fled before the Ethiopian— tell them ihatyou have heard the children of the whites cry for bread, while the black were clothed and fed and laughed; and then ask them, if they will have blacks to fell their forests] Tell them that the (xreen River is acquiring new strength in this house, while the interior representation is fading away— tell them that Clarke has but one member here, and that Bourbon, which once voted three thousand strong, is reduced to 1, COO voters; tell them that Fayette has 10,000 slaves, as many slaves as she has horses, then ask them if they will repeal this law] Tell them this, and, my life for it, they wall stand for this law for ever. It may be asked, if the worn and waste land, seen even in the richest portions of the State, is owing to slave labour. I answer, yes. Ignorance and carelessness, which are necessarily combined in the slave, makes his the most slovenly and wasteful of all labour. The field is ploughed— a cross furrow is run — the rain falls — the water collects in the common trench — the land is washed to the rock — the slave may be corrected — but the evil is not remedied, and the soil is lost, and the field turned waste. These things will not be seen in the free States; land which here is turned waste, or white oak, and un- occupied, are better bases than those in New England, which have been improved and have contributed to the sustenance and edu- cation of respectable families. The easy life of the slaveholder, destroys his vigilance and activity; supersedes the necessity of econo- my, and the habit of accumulation — let not, therefore, gentlemen be astonished that the North is radiant with railroads, whilst the South with more natural resources of wealth. follows an immeasurable distance behind. I shall not dwell upon the fact that all the educated mind is idle and unproductive, nor press the fact that idleness leads to crimes inr:umerable, and saps the founflations of mo- rality, whilst it necessarily induces physical destitution. The effects of slavery upon the temper, the afifections, and the moral sensi- bilities, are too painful to consider — 1 gladly pass them. With all these facts pressing upon my every movement, I am denounced, because I will not admit slavery to be a blessing, and re- i ceive more of it; and the gentleman, under- I takes to threaten me, and hold me responsible j to public opinion, for every word I may utter on this floor. Sir, 1 strike hands with the crentleman ; and when he admits that " while ! labor is cheaper than slave labor,'" and that \ " slave labor, drives out white labor,'''' and de- clares, that " white labnrejs are slaves,^' in the name o^ Jive hundred thousand freemen of Ken- tucky,* I denounce the gentleman as warring upon their dearest interests, and as pursuing I a reckless policy that dries up their subsistence, ! and outlaws and banishes them from, their native land.' a No sir, the gentleman — not I — is the defender of aristocrats. Let him tell us ao-ain, as we have been told before, that slave- ry stands in the way of education — let him be consistent — let him bring in a bill, as I am told he threatens to do, to abolish the com- mon school system — let hiin monopolize learning as well as wealth — let the people rest in deep ignorance for ever ; then they will never know their rights; and then only, may this law be repealed. Mr. Chairman, this is not the first time that I have heard the cry of abolitionism. It has no terrors to my ear. Bowie knives and belted pistols, and the imprecations of a mad- dened mob's vengeance, have not driven me from my country's cause. My blood, and * There are in round numbers 600,000 whites in Kentucky: — there cannot be one slaveholder in six — about one in ten is perhaps a true estimate. the blood of all whom I hold most dear, is ready when she calls for the sacrifice, hut I shall be a tame victim neither to force nor to denunciation; and whilst abolitionism mores in the North, backed by Holland, and Trance and Enjiland, and, if you please, urged on by a world in arms, there is in these United States a party still more dangerous to all that makes life desirable or liberty glorious. — Never, sir, till after the ever-memorable and impotent attempt of South Carolina to dis- solve this Union, did I hear or read of slave- ry as the only foundntion of human liberty. The messa^ic of CJovernor INIcDuflle has the bad eminence of having broached and set forth this monstrous and unheard of doctrine, that filled the whole civilized world with astonishment and dismay. A distinguished gentleman from Fayette, and the honorable member from Breckenridge, are the only avowed converts to this new religion that I have ever seen. I am bound to believe that the honorable member is not initiated into the greater mysteries of this modern sect — nay, sir, I will undertake to say that he is not: but standing here in my place, with a just sense of all the weighty responsibilities which rest upon me as a man, and as the representative of a gallant State, I declare that there is a party in this country, who, disregarding all the sacred memories of the past, and the yet glorious anticipations of the future, would for ever destroy the union of these Slates. They are the advocates of perpetual slavery — they are "the last state" iiullifiers, iuutkern unionists— \\\ey are the disunionisls. Conventions must be held, says South Carolina — conventions must be held, say some in Kentucky — conventions must be held, says the Governor of Alabama* — "the slave population must be diffused over all the slave States" — rules must bo adopted for mutual safety, and permanent security of slave property. Can any man in his senses, * Late message of the Governor of Alabama, and R. Wickliffe's speech. affect to misunderstand to what all this leads? I declare, sir, Kentucky is this day called upon to act — to take her stand now and for ever. I know not what course others may pursue, but, for my single self, 1 have made up my mind — " sink or swim, live or perish, I stand by the" Union. Shall we rest in fatal security till this law is repealed — iho slave population ditTused — conventions held — till we are shorn of our strength by calumny, and bound hand and foot, and given over by our leaders to this Southern Union? No. I lift up my voice now — here, in the face of all Kentucky, I do most solemnly protest as^uinst these Ircnsona- hlc schemes. 'I'he broad banner of the United States' constitution is my shield and only safely — tear not my State — let not, I imploro you, old Kentucky pass from under its hal- lowed panoply. Let it not be in vain that Adams, and Franklin, and Henry, and .Jeffer- son, and Madison, and Hamilton, have lived; not in vain that Washington, and Creene, and Lincoln, and Fayette, and heroes innu- merable, hoped, and bled, and died — not in vain that liberty has been proclaimed through- out the world, and the sunken spirits of mil- lions elevated by the cry of freedom ! Let not the treasure and blood which in the last; war — the second revolution — added fresh laurels to a " nation of brothers," have been spent in vain ! Let not Thames, and Erie, and Champlain, and New Orleans, rest in vain in the memories of men. By all the deep and inextinguishable yearnings of the immortal spirit for all that»is good and glori- ous, let not our hopes perish ! let not the Union be dissolved ! In the day of trial, there shall be one Kentuckian shrouded un- der the stars and stripes — one heart undcse- crated with the faith that slavery is the foun- dation of civil liberty — one being who could, not live in a government denying the right of petition, abolishing the liberty of the press, and the liberty of speech — one man who would not be the outlaw of nations — the slave of a slave! SPEECH OF MR. BIDDINGS, OF OHIO, Upon the proposition of Mr. Thompson, of South (hiroUna, to appro- priate one hundred thousand dollars for the removal, subsistence, and benefit of such of the Se7ninole chiefs and warriors as may sur- render for emis;ration. Delivered in the U. States House of Repre- sentatives, Feb. 9, 1S41. Mr. Giddings said he rose to congratulate i the country upon the prospect of bringing this unhappy war to a close. I am, (said he,) ! however, in some degree incredulous as toils speedy termination b)' the means proposed by tiie gentleman from South Carolina, (Mr. Thompson.) While 1 would go as far as any member to bring this war to an immediate close, I think it important that we should carefully examine the causes that brought it on; the reasons of its repeated renewal and continuation, in order that we may be able to adopt such measures as will ensure peace at the earliest possible moment. I think the plan proposed is de- fective in one particular; and before I lake my seat I intend to offer an amendment, which, in my opinion, will correct the omis- sion. This war has become a subject of deep in- terest to the people of the nation. It has con- tinued to occupy the attention of the govern- Jiuenl and the efforts of the army for more than five years. Our officers and soldiers have fallen victims to the climate, and to the hos- tile tribe with whom we have been contend- ing. Near forty millions of the national trea- sure have been swallowed up in this most uafortunate contest. The attention of our people has often been called to these facts ; while few, very kw of them have been fully informed as to the original exciting cause of this war, or the manner in which it has been renewed and conducted. Our army has been defeated, and I fear that our national honor has not remained altogether untarnished. — "Rumor, with her thousand tongues," has whisperedof transactions which, if real, ought to be known; if not, these rumors should be for ever silenced. The able speech of the gentleman from Vermont, over the way, (Mr. I'^verett,) in 183G, gave us some ideas of the manner in which the Indians with whom we are now contending were treated. Our own violations of the treaty with them, while we required a rigid observance on their part of all its terms, were clearly and ably expressed by him. It is not my intention to review our treaties with those Indians, or to speak of the manner in which those treaties were effected, or of the great injustice done to the Indians, except where these subjects have manifestly conduced to the disastrous war now under dis- cussion. It is, however, my purpose to call the attention of the committee to the causes which led to these hostilities; to that/?.'j/«ci,' v^hich has involved us in the vast sacrifice of life and treasure expended in Florida during the last five years; and to the effect which that policy has had upon the rigfits and the interests of the free. Slates. I also propose to examine, for a {ew minutes, the manner in which this war has been conducted, as well as the effect which the conduct of our high officers of government must have upon the feelings of the people of the free states, and upon the honor of our nation. In doing this, I intend to test the constitutionality of that policy, by those plain and fundamental prin- ciples of our government to which I think we must all yield assent. In claiming for my constituents and the state which I in part have the honor to represent, as well as for the free states generally, the rights and privileges which I think belong to them, and which I think should be held sacred by every officer of government, I shall rely upon n.o principle that has not been frequently asserted by the slave states, and by both of the great political parties. Indeed, I intend to assert no princi- ple but such as will command the assent of every member on this floor. I have made these preliminary remarks in order that the committee may the better un- derstand what I intend to say hereafter ; and having stated my premises, I will enter upon an investigation of the causes which led to the Florida war. Before I do this, however, I will take occasion to say that the lands oc- cupied by these Indians formed no induce- ment for us to enter upon this war. General Jessup says, "those lands would not pay tor the medicines used by our troops while em- ployed against the Indians." The Seminole Indians, by the treaty entered into at Payne's Landing, on the 9th May, A.D. 1832, agreed, to emigrate west of the Mississippi upon certain conditions. I shall not inquire whe- ther those conditions were performed on oui part, or whether the Indians were or were not morally bound to tlie observance of this stipulation. It is well known that thry re- fused to emirrrate. and lliat such refusal in- duced General Jackson to order the military force of the United Slates to Florida to com- pel them to emirrratc. Tliis attempted com- pulsion brought on the hoslililios, which still continue. The important question now pro- posed, and which I intend to answer, is, why did they refuse to emigrate? The answer, however, may be found in executive docu- ments of the -ilth Conffress, at its first ses- sion. (House doc. No. -271. p. 8,) in an offi- cial letter of Wiley Thompson, Indian agent, to William P. Duval, Governor of Florida, dated .lanuary 1, 1834, nearly a year previ- ous to the commencement of hostilities. Speaking of the unwillingness of the Indians to emigrate, Gru. Thompson says : " The principal causes which operate to cherish this feeling hostile to emigration are, first, the fear that their re-union with the Creeks, which will subject them to the governmeiit and control of the Creek national council will be a surrender of a large negro property, now lield by those people, to the Creeks, as an antagonist claimant." Thus, sir, we have official intelligence that X\\e principal cause of the war, was the fear of losing this " negro property." And we are led to inquire into the history of these conflicting claims to the " negro property" between the Creeks and Seminoles.' In the letter above quoted, Gen Thomp- son, speaking- further on the subject, says : "The Creek claim to negroes now in the I possession of the Seminole Indians, which is I supposed to be the first cause of hostility to the emigration of the latter tribe, grows out of the "treaty of 1821 between the United States and the former." We have now traced the original and principal cause of this war, as given by the Indian agent, to the treaty of Indian Spring, made on the 8th .January, 1821. This is the official report of an ac- credited officer of Government, who had long mingled in the councils of the Indians, and who was most fainiliar with their view.*, and whose word, I presume was never doubted. I will now ask the attention of the committee for a moment, while I relate some of the his- torical facts that brought about this treaty of 1821. We are all aware that Indians frequently commit trespasses upon the property of their while neighbors. In 1802, ('ongress passed a law by which the people of (leorgia receiv- ed pay for all such trespasses committed sub- sequently by the Creek Indians, from the public treasure, and the amount thus paid was retained from the annuities or other moneys due the Indians. By the treaty of 1821, an attempt was made to obtain for the i)eoplc of Georgia, pay for slaves who had left their masters and taken up their residence with the Indians, prior to 1802 ; and an agreement was obtained from them, consenting that the Uni- ted States should pay to the people of Georgia the amount found due them for such losses prior to 1802, and retain the amount thus paid out of tiie money duo the Indians for the lands sold to the U. States; provided the sum thus found due should not exceed §250,000. The indemnity sought for the slaveholders of Georgia by this treaty, was for losses sus- tained twenty years prior to the treaty, and extending back an indefinite period. Under' this treaty the Creek Indians wore compelled to pay for slaves that had left their masters forty or fifty years prior to the date of the treaty. Nor were they compelled merely to pay for slaves that lived or had taken up their residence with the Indians; but they were charged for the value of the slave when shown to have left his master, without proof that he was with the Indians, or had any ex- istence in their country. I speak upon the authority of Mr. Wirt, late Attorney General, as expressed in Executive Doc. No. 12S, 1st session, 20th Congress. Nor were these abuses unaccompanied with others of equally flagrant character. Mr. Wirt, in the same commuiiicaiion, assures the President that the price allowed for a slave was Iwo nr three times his real value Yet, after paying for all the slaves that could be shown to have left their masters, at tin'> or three limes their real value, together with other property taken or destroyed by the Seminoles prior to 1805, it was found that the whole amounted to but $101,000, leaving in the hands of Government !j;I19,000 belonging to the Indians. This money, however, was not returned to the In- dians, but was retained by Government until 1831. when the owners of fugitive slaves peti- tionedCongrcss thalit might be divided among them. Thi's petition was referred to the Com- mittee on Indian AfiTairs, and the chairman, an honorable mendier from Georgia, (Mr. Gilmer.) reported in favor of dividing the money among the owners of fugitive slaves, as a compensation for the offspring: which the slaies would have borne had they remain- ed in hondai^c. This plan, which I think sets at perfect defiance all Yankee calcu- lations, was rejected by Congress. But a bill was subseipiently introduced, providing for a division of this money among the own- ers of those slaves by way of interest, in di- rect violation of the treaty, and notwithstand- ing they had previously received two or three times the real value of their slaves; and this bill soon passed into a law. This was done in 1834. These slaves had most of them united with the Seminoles or runaways in the peninsula of Forida, and the Creeks, (Irom whom the Seminoles had formerly separated) having paid to llic people of Georgia two or 2 10 thlree times the value of those slaves, now claimed them as their property. The Creeks had mostly gone west of the Mississippi, and their agents were in Florida demanding these negroes of the Seminoles. The Seminoles, in the mean time, it is said, had intermarried with the negroes, and stood connected with them in ail the relations of domestic life. If they emigrated west, their wives and children would be taken from them by the Creeks as slaves; if they remained in Florida, they must defend themselves against the army of the United States. With them, sir, it was war on one side, and slavery on the other. — This state of things was entirely brought about by the efforts of our Government to obtain pay for the fugitive slaves of Georgia. This interference of the Federal Govern- ment in behalf of slavery in Georgia, appears to have been the origin of all our Florida dif- ficulties. [Mr. Warren, of Georgia, called Mr. Gid- dings to order on the ground of irrelevancy. The Chairman, Mr. Clifford, of Maine, decided that the remarks of Mr. Giddings respecting the origin of the Florida war were in order; and Mr. G. proceeded.] I think this interposition of our Federal Government unconstitutional and improper, and will assij;n the reasons of that opinion. [Mr. Habersham, of Georgia, called Mr. Giddings to order, and stated that the gentle- man from Ohio had intimated his intention to offer an amendment to the proposition before the House, and was proceeding to make a speech pretty freely interlarded \\\i\\ abolition while the committee were yet uninformed as to the terms of the amendment he intended to offer. Mr. Habersham desired to hear the amend- ment, ] Mr. Giddings resumed. I arose, Mr. Chairman, to discuss the Florida war, and I intend doing so, and cannot be drawn off upon any collateral points, nor frightened from it by the cry of abo/ition. I will, however, say to the gentleman from Georgia that I have not said, nor do 1 intend saying, one word upon the subject of uboli- iinn, although I may perhaps touch upon the doctrine of Slate rights and strict construction. I hold that if the slaves of Georgia or any other State leave their masters, the Federal Governnipnt has no constitutional authority to employ our army or navy for their recap- ture, or to apply the national treasure to re- purchase Iht^ni. We possess no constitution- al power to do either. If, however, gentle- men of the South, who hold to a strict and rigid construction of that instrument, will point me to the clause of our constitution containing such authority, 1 will confess my obligations to them. Such power would ne- cessarily include the power to tax the free States to an indefinite extent for the support of slavery, and for arresting every fu- gitive slave who 'has fled from his master, within the ^several Slates of this Union. Such power I deny most distinctly and em- phatically. But, sir, we have as much right to do thi • directly as we have to do it indirect. If/. We have as much power to employ our army and navy in recapturing fugitive slaves as we have to make a treaty with the Indians to retake such fugitives, and then employ our army and navy to compel the Indians to do it. We have as much power to tax the free States, and apply the money directly for the purchase of fugitive slaves, as we have to tax them to carry on a war for the purpose ol compelling the surrender of such slaves ; or even to apply the national treasure to the holding of such treaties. In truth, sir, we have no power z«/iaiei'e/- over the subject or in- stitution of slavery luithin the several States of this Union. We have neither the power to sustain nor abolish it, to create or destroy it. I mean sir, that we have no such powers de- legated to us for any purpose whatever. We have not the power to sustain it in the South or establish it in the North. I know it is said, and repeated, and asserted, that a por- tion of the people of the States hold that we have power to abolish slavery tn the States. I can only say that 1 have never met with any intelligent man who has advanced such doc- trine in my hearing. For my own part, I believe we have as much power to establish slavery in the free States as we have to abolish it in the slave States. I say nothing of the constitutional power of Congress over the slave trade between the States. But, Mr. Chairman, I am not willing to believe that any gentleman on this floor will urge the right of taxing the freemen of the North for the holding in slavery the colored men at the South. 1 would not use those distinctions of North and South, could I avoid them. Yet I think no apology is due from me on this point, as I have constantly heard Uiem used, and repeat- ed, and reiterated by gentlemen from a cer- tain portion of the Union, during the three years I have had a seat in this hall. But, sir, I wish further to look into this power, or rather the want of power, in Con- gress over slavery within the States of this Union. In December, A. D. 1838, the gen- tleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Atlier- ton) introduced to this House, a resolution expressing the sense of the House in regard to this power. [The Chairman informed Mr. Giddings that the discussion of those resolutions would not be in order.] I had, Mr. Chairman, no idea of discussing those resolutions. I merely refer -to one of them as expressing the views of the North and of the South on this subject. It speaks ihe voice of all the hundred and ninety-eight u members who voted for it. It reads as follows: " Resolved, That lliis Government is a Go- vernment of limited powers: that by tiie con- stitution of the United Slates, it has no pow- er whatever over the institution of slavery in the several states of this Union." This resolution received llio almost unanimous support of this Mouse. There was one hun- dred and ninety-eight votes in favor of it, and but six against it. I voted for it myself, be- cause I deemed it correct. Kvery member from the slave states voted for it. 1 shall be slow to suspect that any of those gentlemen will now changre iheir position, and say that we have power to sustain slavery; and that in voting for the resolution, they only intend- ed to say that we have no power whatever over the subject to abolish it. I am aware Mr. Chairman, that the Federal Government has ai times interposed its influence to obtain for the citizens of slave states, compensation for slaves taken by Indian tribes and Great Britiaii. But this fact furnishes no argument against the position I have assumed. The cases alluded to were merely the act of the Executive, interposed by common consent, without discussion or objection, for the pur- pose of obtaining from such tribe or govern- ment a compensation which we have uniform- ly refused when demanded of ourselves; for I believe it to be well understood, that we have never, in any instance, paid the owner for the loss of a slave, even when such slave was pressed into the public service, and killed while thus in the employ of the go- vernment. The Florida war havinjr its ori- gin in attempts on the part of the Federal go- vernment to sustain slavery in one of the States of this Union, is so far unconstitution- al, and is directly opposed to the doctrine contained in the resolution above quoted, which received the unanimous support of the slave states. And now, having called the attention of the committee to the remote and principal cause of this war, I will ask Iheir attention to some of the more proximate and immediate causes. On the 21st of May, 1836, this house adopted a resolution calling upon the then President, for " information respecting the cause of the Florida war." On the .3d of .lune, the Presi- dent transmitted to the house sumlry papers relating to that snbjpct; among which may be found an address or petition of nearly one hundred gentlemen, said to be among the principal inhabitants of Florida, calling on the President to interpose the power of the General (Jovernment for the purpose of se- curing tihem in the possession of their slaves. These gmtlemen, speaking of the Seminole Indians, say : " While this indomitabhi peo- ple continue where they now are, the owners of slavcsiuourTerritory, and even in the slates contiguous, cannot for a moment, in any thing like security, enjoy this kind of property." This was a plain, direct, and palpable re- quest for the President to interpose the strong arm of the nation in behalf of slavery. Nor did the President remain ibraf to such request; but he immediately endorsed an order on the back of the petition, directing the Secretary at War to make inquiry, and if the charges were found true, " to direct the Indians to prepare forthwith to remove west of the Mis- sissippi." Soon after this, the treaty of Payne's Landing, having remained nearly two years unnoticed by the President, was sent to the Senate for iheir sanction; and every preparation was made to compel the Indians, by |)liysical force, to remove west of the Mississppi. A correspondence was car- ried oil with the officers of our army; and all the military force that could be brought to Florida was concentrated there, for the i)ur- pose of compelling the Indians at the point of the bayonet, to emigrate. This was done without even laying the subject before Con- gress, or asking for any legislative sanction. It is not my intention to enlarge on this point, or to comment upon this very extraor- dinary interposition of executive influence in favor of slavery, without constitutional or le- gitimate sanction. Neither have I time to comment upon the manner in which the treaty of Payne's Landing was obtained from the Indians; nor upon the terms of that extraor- dinary treaty; nor upon the still more extra- ordinary method of enforcing the Indians to an observance of the compa(;t, by the use of the bayonet, without consulting the legisla- tive authority, in defiance of justice and with- out precedent. But I desire to examine into the causes of this war, and discover how far it has had its origin in attempts by the Ex- ecutive to support and maintain slavery at the natio-ial expense, and in violation of the rights of the free states. In doing this, I shall speak from no vague conjecture, or uncertain suspicion; but what 1 say shall be "from the book;" from docuinentary evidence and ofTi- cial reports. The address to which I have called the at- tention of the committee, estimates the num- ber of negroes among the Seminole Indians at that lime, at more than five hundred ; and they declare it as their belief that four-fiflhs of them are fu^iiive slaves. On the 20ih of January, 18:M. Govflrnor Duval, in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Air^irs, says: "The slaves belonging to the Indians, have a controling influence over the minds of their masters, and are entirely opposed to any change of residence. It will be best at once to adopt firm and decided measures; such as will demonstrate to the Indians the determi- nation of Government to see the treaty justly and fairly executed. Tfiis ruimol tie dune until tlic liaiids of tmtlawti i^fuirilive slaves, J mentioned in the agent^s rrporl, (ire arrested and broken up ,- for so long as tliey are permit- 12 ied to remain, every Indian that is unwilling to emigrate will seek their protection" No man, perhaps, possessed belter knowledge of these facts than Governor Duval, who assures us that the negroes controlled the Indians, and that the Indians sought the protection and support of the fugitive slaves. He further assures us that nothing could be done while tliose fugitive slaves were permitted to re- main in Florida. If gentlemen will bear this advice in mind, they will better understand the policy that subsequently guided our army against the Indians. In a letter dated January 26, 1834, Gover- nor Duval says : " The slaves belonging to the Indians must be made to fear for themselves be- fore they will cease to injiuence the minds of their musters.'''' "Fou may be assured (says he) that the first step towards the emigration of these Indians must be the breaking up of the runaioay slaves and Indians.'^ Thus we are informed that the war must be first waged against the/a^(7«'e slaves. Perhaps 1 ought to explain that slavery among the Indians is very different from what it is among the whites. It^is comparative independence. Hence the slaves of the Indians have a per- fect horror of slavery among the white peo- ple. Of course the fugitive slaves and the Indian slaves become intimate friends, and act in concert for the liberty of all. [E. Campbell, of South Carlonia, called Mr. Giddings to order, and stated that the member from Ohio was evidently assailing indirectly an insiiuuion which, by the rules of the House was not liable to be assailed. The Chairman said tV\at the gentleman from Ohio had expressed his intention to discuss ihe Florida war, and he had under- stood the remarks as having reference to that subject. The chair could not attribute a dif- ferent motive from that expressed hy a gen- tleman himself. I am (said he) ihereTore constrained to say the gentleman from Ohio is in order.] Mr. Giddings resumed. I was not aware Mr. Chairman, that our rules protected from discussion any institution whatever. I will, however, assure the gentleman from South Carolina that I shall only allude to the sub- ject of slavery so far as it stands connected with the Florida war. — 'I'hat so far as it has been the means of drawing forty millions of dollars from the public Treasury, and^ most of it from the free States, I intended to assail it, and no further. Governor Duval says, "these slaves must first be made to fear "for themselves. " The war was first to be waged against slaves, for the reason that they influ- enced the minds of their masters in favor of liberty. In other words, the war must be directed against tiip right of a slave to ex- press his mind to his Indian master on the sub- ject of human rights. Sir, these slaves were made to fear for themselves in pursuance of | these intimations of Governor Duval, as I will now endeavor to show this committee. On the 28th October, 1834, General Thomp- son, in 3 letter addressed to the Commission- er of Indian Affairs says: " There are many very likely negroes in this nation, (Seminole.) Some of the whites in the adjacent settle- ments manifest a restless desire to obtaia them, and I have no doubt that Indian raised negroes are now in possession of the whites." Thus, sir, it seems that kidnapping was not unknown in that country. This same Gene- ral Thompson, the accredited officer of this Government, on the 9th January, 1835, ad- vises Government, that an expedition should be set on foot for the double purpose of driv- ing the Indians within the boundary and to capture negroes, many of who it is believed are runaway slaves." And, sir, our army was put in motion to capture negroes and slaves as we shall find in the sequel. But I wish to call the attention of the committee for a few moments to the manner in which these slaves in the words of Governor Duval, were "made to fear for themselves." On the 28lh July, 1835, John Walker, one of the Appalachicola chiefs belonging to the Semi- nole band, wrote to General Thompson, Indian agent as follows: "I am (says he) induced to write you in consequence of the depreda- tions making, and attempted to be made, npon my property, by a company of negro stealers, some of whom are from Columbus, Georgia, and have connected themselves with Brown and Douglass. I should like your advice how 1 am to act. I dislike to make any trouble or to have any difficult with any of the white people. But if they trespass upon my premises and my rights, I must de- fend myself in the best way I can. If they do make this attempt, and I have no doubt they will, they must bear the consequences. But is there no civil law to protect me? Are the free negroes and the negroes belonging in this town to be stolen away publicly, and, in the face of all law and justice, earned off" and sold to fill the pockets of those worse than LAND PIRATES. Douglass aud his company hired a man who has two large trained DOGS for the purpose, to come down and take Billey. He is from Mobile, and follows for a livelihood catching runaway negroes." ' This, sir, is the language of a savage, ad- dressed to his civilized neighbors. He call- ed in vain for protection. A few days after the date of this letter, he was robbed of all his negroes : so says the report of the United States attorney, addressed to the Secretary of War, and dated April 21, 183G. But of the number of freemen kidnapped at the same lime, we are not informed. At all events, " the slaves were made to fear for them- selves," as Governor Duval advised. Can we wonder that those Indians were driven to acts of desperation? 13 Here, sir, is the first menlion I have met of the use of " bloodhounds" in the Florida war. Tiiey were used by " negro stealers." for ihrt purpose of catchinfj the colored peo- ple of Florida, and our ollicers have copied the example. But I intend givinor further examples of the use of bloodhounds before 1 close. 1 have, however, no time for commeni. My object is to place facts before the people of this nation, and let every man make his own comments, and draw his own conclu- sions. I will give one more example of the mode of " teaching slaves to tear for them- selves." E-con-phattimico was also an In- dian chief of the Semi.ioic band, liviiijj upon the Appalachicola liver, and was perhaps one who siijned the treaty at Camp Moultrie in 1833, by which we solemnly pledged the faith of this nation to protect the Indians in the enjoyment of their lives and property. This chief is said to have owned twenty slaves, valued at $15,000. These negro stpalers were seen hoverinj around his plan- tation, and their object could not be misun- derstood. By the advice of the suij-agrent, he armed himself and people for the purpose of defending themselves. When the negro stealers learned that E-con-chattimico's peo- ple had armed themselves in defence of their liberty, (for they considered Indian slavery liberty, compared with white slavery,) they raised a report that the Indians had armed themselves for the purpose of uniting with the hostile Seminoles, and murdering- the while people. On learning this, Econ-chat- timico at once delivered up his arms to the white people, and threw himself upon their protection. Disarmed and unable to defend his people, they were immediately kidnapped, taken off and sold into interminable bondage. E-con-chatlimico now calls on us to pay him for the loss he has sustained in the violation of our treaty, in which we solemnly cove- nanted to protect him and his properly. Rob- bed, abused, insulted, and deceived, he emi- grated to the West, and now looks to us for a redress of the wrongs he has sustained. I give the substance of his statement, as re- lated by him in his petition, and communica- ted by General Thom|)son, Governor Duval, and the District Attorney of East Florida, and sworn to by several witnesses. But, sir, this transaction, and others equal- ly abusive, were soon known throughout Florida. The Indians and negroes were thus admonished of the necessity of uniting their efforts and energies in defence of their libeny and lives. Governor Duval, speaking of this transaclion, in a letter to the Secretary of War, dated the 23d of May, says, "il was an outrage well calculated to rouse tiie In- dians to hostility." These are the acts that have led us on, step by step, until we have found ourselves in the midst of a most disas- trous war. The men who comtnitted these robberies, and kidnapped these negroes, were well known, for the acts were committed in open day ; their names and places of residence are distinctly mentioned : but 1 have yet to learn that any one of them has been punished in any manner for this warfare against the lib- erty of the blacks and the rights of the In- dians. Indeed it seems to have been an ob- ject with some of the officers employed in Florida, to induce Government itself to enter into the business of capturing and selling slaves. J. -W. Harris, disbursing agent o( (Jovernment. in a letter to iho Commissioner General of Subsistence, dated December 30, 183(5, says: "I would respectfully suggest that yon recommend to the honourable Secre- tary of War that the annuity due to the hos- tile Indians bo retained to defray the expenses of this war; and that the slaves who shall be captured, whom I believe to have been generally active instigators (o our present troubles, be sold at public sale, and the pro- ceeds appropriated to the same object." This is the first official proposition that has come to my knowledge, for the Government to enter into competition with the " negro stealers," by capturing and selling slaves. At the time this suggestion was made, we were engaged in open war with these people, who had sought liberty in the wilds of Florida, If they were captured, ihey would be prisoners of war; and for us to sell them as slaves, would be as much a violation of our national honor, as it would have been for them to have sold, as slaves, such of our people as they were able to capture. 1 may perhaps be permitted to remark, that among the people of the tree States nothino- is regarded with so much disgust and ab° horrence as the buying and selling of men, women, and children, and that this feeling is common among all classes and all political parties. Mr. Chairman, I have called the attention of the committee to what is officially an- nounced as the first and principal cause of this war, and also to some of the proximate and immediate causes. I think no man can doubt that it originated in the attempts of the Executive to support slavery by the influence and efforts of our National Government, in violation, as I think, of the constitution and of the rights of the Free Stales. I propose to investigate the subject a little further, and to examine into the cause that led to its re- newal and continuance. On the Gth day of March, 1837, General Jessup entered into a conventional arrange- ment with the Seminole Indians, by which it was agreed that hostilities should imme- diately cease; that the Indians should emi- grate west of the Mississippi; and that they should be secure in their lives and property — and "that negroes their bona fide property," 14 should accompany ihem. By the terms of this compact, no negroes were included ex- cept those who were called the " bona fide property" of the Indians, although Governor Duval, General Jessup, and the Indian agent all unite in saying that the Indians were con- trolled by the blacks. These blacks com- prised both fugitive slaves and free people of color, who were connected with the Indians by marriage and consanguinity. The attempts to separate them appear to me to have been hopeless. The Indian who had married a fugitive, and reared a family of children, would not, in my opinion, quietly fold his arms and view his offspring and their mother marched off into interminable slavery, while himself should go west. Nor do I believe that will ever be done. They are all the enemies of our country, fighting in arms against us. They have already cost us much treasure and the blood of many freemen. If they surren- der, they surrender themselves prisoners of war. I would send them all west together. No person can doubt our perfect right to do so ; and 1 think justice to the nation and to the Indians requires it — and my amendment will be to that effect. General Jessup's at- tempt to separate them failed, and I believe all further attempts of that kind will fail. This compact between General .lessup and the Int^ians bears date on the 6ih March. On the 18th of the same month, a solemn remon- strance against this arrangment was signed by a number of gentlemen of high standing in Florida, and transmitted to the Secretary of War. — These gentlemen totally objected to any pacification that did not provide for the re-capture of their fugitive slaves. They objected to the Indians going west until they should take and return to their owners the slaves who had escaped from their rijaslers in Florida. The remonstrance may be found at 55th page of executive document of the Hoi\se of Representatives, No. 225, of the 3d session of the 25tb Congress. It is an inter- esting paper but of too great length for me to read at this time, it shows, in a most palpable light, the views entertained by those gentlemen in regard to the cause and object of this war. Whatever others may have thought upon that subject, it is clear that they supposed the war to have been com- menced and carried on for the purpose of aid- ing them in holding their slaves — and they declare it incompatible with the honor and dignity of the nation to permit the Indians to emigrate until they shall bring ihe slaves back to their owners. I have no doubt they felt that they were correct in their views— nor do I believe they entertained a doubt of the justice and propriety of taxing the free States to any extent in support of slavery. — There was, however, a cessation of hostili- ties, notwithstanding these remonstrances. The Indians ceased for a time to plunder the defenceless families of Florida, to burn their cabins, and murder the defenceless women and children — but, sir, the fugitive slaves re- mained yet hidden in the swamps and ever- glades of that untraversed country. Peace on such terms appears to have been unaccepta- ble to the people of Florida. I will not speak the conclusions of my own mind, however, on this subject, but will give you the words of a high officer of government, who was on the spot, and who spoke from positive know- ledge. I refer to General .lessup, who, in a letter dated 29th March, 1837, and directed to Colonel John Warren, speaking of the anxiety of the Indians to maintain tiie peace agreed upon says : "There is no disposi- tion on the part of the great body of the In- dians to renew hostilities; and they will, I am sure, faithfully fulfil their engagements, if the inhabitants be prudent. But any at- tempt to seize their negroes or other property would be followed by an immediate resort to arms," Thus we have the authority of (General Jessup for saying that the Indians were anx- ious to maintain peace. That he was at the same time apprehensive that the people would attempt to seize the Indian negroes, I know not. He certainly exhibited fears on the subject. For, on the 5th April, being seven days subsequent to this letter to Colo- nel Warren, we find that he issued a genera! order in the following words : " The Com- manding General has reason to believe that the interference of unprincipled white men with the negro property of the Seminole In- dians, if not immediately checked, will pre- vent their emigration, and lead to a renewal of hostilities." The order goes on to prohibit any person not connected with the public service from entering upon the territory assigned to the Indians. In this order we have official in- telligence that the whites did in fact inter- fere with the Indian slaves, or, in other words, they began to rob the Indians of their slaves almost as soon as the hostilities ceas- ed. As to the outrages committed upon the the free blacks during tlie suspension of hos- tilities we have no information in this order, and are left to infer the course pursued to wards them from the evidence I have previ- ously given. If these people were sufficient- ly rapacious to rob the Indians of their ne- groes under such circumstances, it is easy to, form an opinion as to the safely of the free colored people found with the Indians. How many of them, if any, were made slaves, we know not. On the 18lh April, twelve days after the date of his letters to Colonel War- ren, General Jessup wrote to Governor Call, saying : " If the citizens of the Territory be prudtnt. the war may be considered at an end. But any attempt to interfere with the 15 Luliiin negroes would cause an immediate re- sort to hostilities. The negroes control their masters, and they have heard of the act ol' your leoislaiive council. Thirty or more ul the Indian neorro men were at and near my camp on the VViihlacoochie late in March. Hut the arrival of two or three citizens of Florida, said to be in search ol netrroes, caused them to disperse at once, and 1 doubt whetiier they will come in again. At all events, the emigration will be delayed a month, 1 apprehend, in consequence of the alarm of these negroes." The embarrassment into which General Jessiip was thrown is quite apparent, not- j withstanding his order of the 5th April. The [ people were anxious to hunt for slaves. 'I'he negroes, it would seem, were under constant! apprehension, and fled when a slave catcher came into their vicinity. Whether the In-j dian negroes had cause for that fear, we are ' unable lo judge, except from the document before us. Between the Indians and our ar- i my, it appears there was no difficulty what- ever, liut the difTiculty appears to have been between the Indians and negroes on one side, and those who sought to rob the In- dians and enslave the blacks on the other. It , is also quite evident thai some of the peoj)le j of Florida were restless under the order of | the 5iU of April, prohibiting thern from en- j lering the Indian country. When intelli-j gence respecting that order reached St. Au- I gustine, it seems a public meeting was call- | ed and a committee appointed to procure its i repeal, in order that the white people might j enter the Indian country for the purpose of \ seizing slaves. \ This committee, said to be composed of' men of high standing, addressed a long letter to Gen. Jessup, in which they say, speaking of the people ot Florida; "While they be° lieve that the accomplishment of a certain pa- cification must, ao it ought, be an object of i primary importance in these negotiations, they ! persuade themselves that the preservation of the negro property belonging to the inhabi- tants ot this desolated country, must be seen by him to be an object of scarcely less mo- ment." It is a most undeniable fact, bo.'ue ' out by every part of these official documents, that the people of Florida supposed that the great object of the war was to aid the slave- \ holders in capturing and recovering their slaves. This same protest goes on to recount facts in regard to their slaves havinor run away, and finding a place of refuge in the In- dian country, and the concluding of an armistice by General Jessup, without getting their slaves back, and then the signers add": " Against such a course, a course so destruc- tive of their rights and interests, the citizens of !St. Augustine, and others, in public meci- ing assembled for themselves and on behalf of the inhabitants of Fast Florida generally, do most solemnh/ protest.'" This, ... °i-. "*^ .**'.•;<«>:•;'