NEGRO EQUALITY-THE RIGHT OF ONE NAN TO HOLD PROPERTY
IN ANOTHER-THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY A DISUNION PARTY    THE SUCCESS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY THE ONLY SALVATION
FOR THE COUNTRY.
I
SPEECHI
OF
HON. BENJAMIN STANTON, OF 0a10.
Delivered in the U. S. House of Representatives, May 3, 186O;'/?
Mr. CHAIRMAN: I have M prepared speech for wi. that reeling, if I should say anything that
this occasion, and it is the first time I have at- grates harshly upon any gentlemen's prejudices,
tempted to address the House or the Committee it will be unintentional, and not designed.
for four years, except upon some question imme-    Mr. Chairman, before proceeding to the dis.
diately pending for action.  Four years ago I cussion of the main question I desire to consider,
discussed the question of the power of Congress  I wish to address a remark or two to the speech
over slavery in the Territories; and with the of the gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. ENGLISH.]
argument I made on that subject I am still satis- Yesterday that gentleman spent a solid hour in
fled.  1 have not seen any satisfactory answer to attempting to demonstrate that the Republican
it, and I do not propose to reargue the question. party was in favor of negro equality; in attmpt  Let me say one word or two, preliminary, in ing to show that the Republican party was iu
regard to the tone and temper of the discussions  favor of social and political equality between the
wuich have prevailed in this Hall during the  negro and white man-yes, sir, a solid hour,
present session.  It seems to me that they have  In the State-of Ohio, and in all the Northwest,
indicated a great lack of statesmanship and dig- if the gentleman will poll the Republican party,
nity, and of that parliamentary courtesy indis- he will not find one in every thousand who is in
pensable to the careful consideration of grave  favor of extending equal social and political privnational questions.                             ileges to the negroes. In the Constitutional Con  Gentlemen seem to forget that we are a people  vention of his own State, and inthe Constitutional
covering twenty-five parallels of latitude and  Convention of my State, the question of extendforty degrees of longitude, embracing every vari- ing equal political privileges to the blacks was
ety of soil and climate, and every variety of pro- presented, discussed, and decided, and in neither
duction, of character, and of social institutions. of them did it find advocates worthy of the name,
It seems to be imagined that we must all think and was rejected by almost a unanimous vote.
alike, reason alike, come to the same conclusions;  It is true, that the Democracy of the Northwest
or that our differences of opinion shall be causes are very hard pressed.  The gentleman from Inof bitterness and discord and strife.  I appre- diana will not undertake to argue in favor of the
hend, if I had been born and educated at Norfolk, principles of the Democratic party, and say that
I should probably have entertained opinions very  the Constitution carries slavery into all of the
similar to those entertained by my friend from  Territories.  He will argue in favor of no  such
Virginia, [Mr. MILLSON;] and if he had been born thing, here or anywhere else, when he can possiand educated upon the banks of the Ohio, he bly avoid it.
would probably have entertained opinions very    What, then, is to be done?  Capital must be
similar to mine.  If I had been born and educa-  got up for the campaign in Indiana  and the
ted in Turkey, I would probably have been a Northwest and the only capital uponwhich they
Xussulmrnan; but, sir, born and educated in a  can go to the people, and hope for success, is by
Christian country, I entertain the tenets of appealing to the popular prejudice,gainst nethe Christian faith.  What allowances are or groes.  That is the whole story, all there is of it,
have been made for the difference of soil and or about it. There is no man, to my knowledge,
climate, education and habits?- It seems to me  in the liepublican party, in either State, who is
that there ought to be a little charity extended in favor of the extension of equal political and
for different opinions, different feelings, and dif- social privileges to negroes.  The gentleman
ferent prejudices  Entering upon this discussion  seems, however, to insist upon it, that because
'E
r, C.-, 1, , 
& -2.- 33
IC
7 
2
condition, not a question whether a white man
may hold property in a negro; but a question
whether, in the nature of things, and consistently
owith the rights of man, one  man  can  make a
chattel of another.  He held the affirmative of
that preposition, while I hold the negative; and
that is the proposition I propose to discuss.
Now, let it be remembered that this is entirely
outside of, and independent  of,  any question
arising out of the existing institution of slavery
in the States.  That is a question I do not pro  pose to interfere with, and with  the origin of
which I have no concern.   I do not propose to
disturb it, and therefore it is uot my purpose to
inquire whether its origin is right or not.  I am
to consider what is the proper relation between
man  and  man, as  an original question in the
original institution and construction of society whether Robinson Crosoe might lawfully make
a chattel of his man Friday.  Now, the first diffi culty you encounter in the advocacy of such a
principle as that, is as to who shall be the master
and who shall be the slave.  If Robinson may
lawfully enslave his man Friday, may not Friday
lawfully enslave Robinson? I can see no differ ence.  And so it must of necessity resolve itself
into a question of physical power.  If one man
has the right to enslave another, it is because
he is wiser or stronger and by the aid of his in tellectual or physica&  power, in some form  or
another, to subjugate another man  to his will.
That is the only philosophy there is in it.  The
strong man may enslave the weak.  If that be
so, if Napoleon or Nicholas may, through the in strumentality of superior wisdom, or -by combi nation of numbers, constitute themselves despot s
over millions, the existence of the power estab lishes the right.  It is precisely the sane ques tion, whether applicable to one man rling the
million, or whether it is applicable to one man
ruling his fellow.  If might gives the right, if
strength is a warrant which will authorize one
man to snbjugate another man  to his will, then
it is just as applicable to despots subjugating
million,s as it is to the individual.
You are therefore cut loose from all moral obligations or moral restraint, and you resolve the
whole government of mankind into the sheer
question of brute force. It is said the white
man may enslave the negro because he is his superior, physically and intellectually.  But it will
be remembered,  if mere superiority gives the
title, then it is not simply that a white man may
enslave the negro because he is inferior, but that
he may enslave another white man who is his
inferior.  It is the inferiority of the slave and
the superiority of the master upon which  the
right rests.  It is not, therefore, a question of
race or complexion.   Now, that is not the Republican doctrine; it is not the Republican philosophy.
I do not hold that superior strength or superior intellectual power gives to one man any
right to enslave, or subjugate, or control another.
I hold, and I-lbeliev-e the Republican party of the
country'holds, to the doctrine of the natural
equality of man —that is, an equality of rights.
I do not, mean t~obe} misunderstood, when I speak
the     fortitutrion of the St ate of Indi   a    na has  not
onlyt dianechised negroes, bult excludes,                             them
from they State, and deprived them of the means
of s'ub~istteine, that every mi;fi who stops short
of that limit is in favor of ne  g ro eq     uality. Now,
while I do not approve of the doctrine of negro
equality, I am not one who believes that negroes
a      re b    easts, or men who ought  to be considered
as outlaws in every country. I believe a negro
is entitled to live upon the soil where he was
born.  I believe he h     as   a righ t      to the proceeds
of          his labor, to his earnings,   and to his  libert y.
That is my opinion; but I do not choose to make
him my eqwual socially and politically because I
do Sd  iamb.   And I Cannot very Well compre hend teie teelings which prompt men to wage a
war upon a poor, down-trodden, helpless portion
of the community.
The~- seems to be some terrible apprehension,
th*t  Add political rights, or any rights what ever,ie; t   nded to negroes, they may come
into'xotapetition with the whites. Is the gentle man from Indiana [Mr. ENGLISH] distressed with
the apprehension that some negro may be a can didate for Congress in the New Albany district,
Find rfuta id gp-6tion to him? I ask the gentle mai Why this in'ncessant warfare is waged upon
negroes; *Ih they are treated as, outlaws, un less it is *thit s09e portion of the population is
jealous th'at h:egroes may wage successful com petitio'n *ith them; may usurp their places, find
oCtelpy       Pstios Which they like to enjoy them selves?  NOWt, as I do not beli'eve there is the
least daiugear of any black or mulatto superseding
me in my poiition here, or of obtaining any office
in the dibt'tt I represent; as I have no apprehension whatever of anything of that kind, I
entertain nio jealousy of them, and no hatred
towards  dtem.  All this talk is an appeal to
that lb*, irulgar, popular prejudice which wages
war agayhst the negroes, because the lowest man
in society is himself always Ianxious to find some
one lowei' than himself, upoiv whom he can look
ddWi atn8 domineer over and treat as an inferior.
Thit is the:ejudice appealed to, and it constitutes:the dsook in trade of the Democrats of the
Northrest.
fBut I:that pass. Mr. Chairman, I rose mainly
for the pturpose of replying to an argument delivered early in the session by the gentleman from
Alatbama, [Mr. CURRY,] who, I am sorry to see,
iS not present. Te presented the question before
the people in a Statesmanlike manter; and the
argument,, therefbre, demands  a careful  and
courteous reply.  The gentleman from Alabama
sets out:With the allegation that the great question which underlies the party politics of the
present day io the question of the right of man
to hold:property in man, he affirming that proposition. I understood him to state it as a general proposition, in philosophy and in morals,
not connected with existing institutions, but as
a thing Wi~hch exists in the nature of things,
apart from thle existence of slavery in any State,
or of any provision of the Federal Constitution.
I tfhdestead him to hold that it is le~,;':mate,
that -it is sounnd philosophy, for one me; f)ld
property in another; not a qu~s):, r 
3
of the equality of men, that they are equal in'
strength, intelligence, social positions or political
rights.  I mean that every  man  has certain
natural, inherent, and inalienable rights.  All
have them equally alike, and to the protection of those rights they are all entitled.  The
right to live, the right to the enjoyment of a
man's own earnings, the right of locomotion, to
go from place to place, are rights which all men
have. without regard to their intellect, whether
it be inferior or superior.
-Mr. Chairman, this thing is obscured, and a
mist is thrown over it, by bringing the two races
in juxtaposition, and claiming that the black race
may legally be subjected to the white race. But,
sir, it is not a question of race; it is a question
of the essential manhood of the party sought to
be subjugated.  What is the negro?  I make no
question about his equality. Wlhat is he? Where
does he belong in the scale of creation?  Is he a
rational, accountable being, the proper subject
of civil and moral government, or is he a beast?.
That is all the question. How do your laws treat
him in Virginia?  I[ a slave knock out his master's brains, you arraign him in your courts, you
indict him and try him and hang him for murder. If a horse kicks out his owner's brains, you
do not indict the horse for murder, do you? Why
not?  Why do you make the distinction?  Because the one is a rational and accountable being, the proper subject of civil and moral government, and the other is not.  There is, then,
a difference between a man and a horse-a difference as the subject of property and as the
subject of government.  Now, that being so, the
accounta bility  and rational          ity of the  negro being
recognised, it carries with  it cert ain       o ther c onsiequences.  According to my understanding of
moral philosophy, the re is  n o o  ther mode recognised among          men w   hereby the human  race may
be perpetuated, except through the instrumentality of the family relation-husband and wife,
parent and child. Whatever institution, therefbre, utterly destroys and prostrates these relat~ions, brutalizes the man, and is at war with the
essential attributes of humanity. The' chattelizing of men, of necessity, cuts Up all these domeslic relations.  There can be no such thing
as a marriage between slaves, because that is a
permanent, life-long union between the sexes.
The relation of parent and child is also one
which is guarantied by the laws of nature; and
that system of social organization which utterly
disregards it and tramples it under foot, is a system which cannot be reconciled with the rights
of man.
Now, sir, these remarks bring me to the conclusion that one man may not legally hold property in another, as an original abstract question.
I say he may nbt, because you cannot distinguish
who s ll be the master and who the slave, exeept by ~giving the mastery to the strongest. I say
he may not, because it is utterly inconsistent with
the essential attributes of humanity, and with the
fundamental laws that have been established by
the Almighty for the government of the world in
all nations and in all ages. There is no country,
thene never was any codntry known in any age,
whe re the family relation  ws   not rcontroeds
You  canttot abolis h it, you nutnab ieyaloy iof
without brutalizing that community.         hold
therefore, t  that that syst em which ip saip to be
right, which the  gentleman  fro m Alabima  [Mr.
CTfRY] maintains is the highest type ofcivilization,  is essentially at war with the  very first principles on which social  organization  can be  tustained.
Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Alabama is
right in another thing. He says that that is the
proposition which  underlies all this controversy;
and it is,  for this  plai n reason: if this insti tution
of slavery be the  preferable  form of civiliaation,
if one mai may legally chattelize atnot!er, and
make him his property, then it is  proper that you
should pr opagate  that    relation and that ins titution in all the unsettled Territories. That is the
form of civilization which you should,d,%pt and
establish in all your unsettled domain. If it be
not, then  I hold  you ought not  to  PFntPag.t iu,
and oughnt  not to   e stablis h  it.  It is theretore f or
that reason and   in tha t connection   th at it becomes the duty of Congress to inquir4 itxi   the
inherent  character  of the institution   itself —
wthther it be   right, or whether it be wro ng;
whether it be th e proper   form of civilization or
not.
But, Mr. Chairman, I am going into this discussion without any  arrang ement    of th ought,
and perhaps I may be a little desultory. I wish
to call thie attention of the Committee to another
proposition. We a re  now,  probably for th e first
time in our historry, ent ering a new   aspect  of national politics. The satety of our institutio:~s has
heretofore rested ii i the unquestionable loyalty of
the whole people, from one end of the Confederacy to the other; in their unquestioned,~ubrission to the great verdict of the people, p~ronioun
ced at the ballo.-box in a constitutional mtnqer.
You have now, sir, for the first time in the history of the country, a political party prgaaize,d
on the express doctrine, and with te avwqwed
purpose, of overthrowing the Government, in the
event of their being unable to control it through
the ballot-box. It is asserted here by gent,zinc
on the other side-by one portion of tbhn-thgt
if a Republican President shall he elected, they
will resist his inauguration forcibly. That is one
proposition made on the other side of tale H4use
by the Democratic party.          -.
I take it for granted there can be no C4matro.
versy about what that resistance au0nta to,  It
can only be done  by levying war ga!:t the
United States.  The thing threatened  i'4,tr easpn
against the United States.  There an be no
controversy about that.
Another portion say that, if a Repub~ic^ Proe ident is elected, they will secede from  the C(on.
federacy, and organize a separate and independ ent confederacy of their own. Whether that
constitutes treason or not, is a matter of opin ion, and may be a matter of controversy; but it
is, nevertheless, equallyr fatal to the perpetuity. of
the existing Govqrnment and the existing insti tution8 of the countr~y.
Mr. Chairman, let Us look this proposition
straight in the face. Here id a political tatr for 
4
eight years in possession of the Government,
wielding its patronage, amounting to some eighty
million dollars a year.  The expiration of their
lease of power approaches; and the question is
made, as to whether they shall be continued
longer in power.  They say to the people, "Gen- 
tlemen, we are willing to take charge of this
Government' for four years longer, pretty much
on the same terms. We would like to do it, for
it is rather agreeable than otherwise. If you do
not choose to intrust us with this power, then we
will resist any other man who may he placed in
the Presidential chair. We will rule this country,
or w          e will ruin it.  We         will overturn    this Governmen             at aif we are       not allowed to  administ er it
ourselves." That, is the naked, undisguised proposition      of th e Democratic party          in    the year of
grac          e 1860.  I s ay i t   here  in the   hearing of gentlemen who have advocated these doctrines;  and
I do. not know that any gentleman upon                that      side
of the House has discla         im ed   that as being the
setutled purpose of the par                            ty.
Mr. NIBLACK. As the gentleman from  O hi            o
seems to take it for granted as a fair thing, when
a statement is made, and nobody gets up to contradict it, that all the members of the House are
to be held bound by it, I would ask him why he
and others did not get up and disclaim the doctrines enunciated by the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. LovEJOY] and others, with which I am sure
he does notcoincide?  Is he to be considered as
endorsing those doctrines, because he did not get
up and disclaim them?
Mr. STANTON. Gentlemen of the other side
of the House, of all shades of opinions and from
all sections of the Confederacy, have exercised
the liberty of speech here pretty extensively.
There has been no gag upon them; and, sir, I do
not now remember a single gentleman of them all,
who, in discussing this subject of the Presidential election, has disclaimed it to be the purpose 
of his party to revolutionize and overthrow this
Government, in the event of a defeat at the ballot-box.
Mr. NIBLACK.  This thing, then, Mr. Chairman, amounts to this: If we do not, when these
charges are made against us, get up and make a
speech defining our positions, we are to be held
as endorsing those who do speak.  It is a conclusion I repudiate. As the gentleman from Ohio
has made certain charges against this side of the
House, and as I am one of the members included,
I beg to say to him that I disclaim being bound
by anything that has been said by any member
of this or the other side.  When the proper time
arrives to give the House my opinions on these
subjects, I will do so; but at this time I deny the
authority of any man upon this side of the House
by his speech to bind me to any position which
my judgment disapproves of.  I believe that to
be the position of the majority of the members
on this side of the House.
Mr. STANTON. I think that the majority
have made speeches the other way.
Mr. NIBLAkCK. The majority of this side of the
House have not yet spokes, and they will not
probably for some time to come.
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Chairman, I know n-o other
' mode  of ascertaining  tbp y   opinions   and purposes
of a  party, e xcept by    taking  t he  publicly-expressed
opinions  of the  great   mass o f  it s  le adin g me n,
its  representative men, its men  who are  intrusted
with power, and who enjoy the confidence  of the
people  they represent; and whe n the y come  here,
without  contradiction,    by a n unbr o ken current
of speeches and declaration s  upon    that side of
the  House, and an  anounce that it is their  purpose
to over turn thi s  Gover nment or to rule it, 1 thinl
surely the re ca n be  no further  doubt  on that
head.
Mr. NIBLACK. I wish to say a word here for
the benefit of the gentleman from Ohio. and for
the benefit of other gentlemen  who may deem
that he is correct in the position he assumes.
Any gentleman, of any party, who will t.ake the
position in my district, or in any other district
of the Northwest-it is certainly so in Indiana —
that he will revolutionize this Government in
the eventof any result of any election, would
not get five hundred votes, whatever might be
his personal popularity. There is no difference
of opinion in the Northwest on the question at
all, if there be in reality in any section of the
Union. While that is our position, I do not
deem that it is necessary always to get up and
disclaim the charge when the contrary is alleged.
The position I have stated is, so far as I know,
that of all those around me who come from the
same section of the country that I do.
Mr. STANTON. I know that it is not necessary
for a gentleman to get up and disclaim every
expression of sentiment which may be masde by
others, and in which he cannot agree; but it
would seem, Mr. Chairman, that this is a matter
of such great magnitude as to call for an expression of opinion all around. If the repre sentative men of the party —not one, not two,
but mcce than twenty-have declared, in our
l hearing, that it is thefr purpose, and the purpose of the party to which they belong, to revolutionize this Government, it is about time that
some of those who assume the contrary position
began to speak.
Mr. NIBLACK. It was manifest that the gentlemen who spoke in the manner referred to by
the gentleman only spoke fbr the section which
they represented. If they had attempted to have
spoken for my section, then would have been
the time for us to have made the disclaimer; but
they have not done so;  they spoke for themselves, and themselves alone.
Mr. STANTON. I am sorry, but it is the fact,
that there are not many members of the Democratic party outside of that section. [Laughter..]
Mr. Chairman, there is another thing. It is
not merely confined to declarations in this House.
Who has forgotten that, during the present session, on the nomination of a minister to France,
when a proposition was made in the Senate to
inquire whether he entertained those opi nions,
it was answered by gentlemen of the other side,
that no inquiry need be made on the subject~ be,cause there was no doubt he entertained those
opinions, and that they concurred with him?
The proposition, I submit to you, M~r. Chair.
manjs ndy to the American people, is, tha~ a pafrt,~ 
,  declared that it was the purpose of that party tc
destroy the Union in the event of the election o0
an Opposition candidate for the Presidency.
Mr. STANTON.  My sense of hearing has de-  ceived me terribly if that be not so.  If the gentle man will have the goodness to go over the speech
mt ade by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr.
McPHERSON)] and look at the extracts therein
contained from the speeches  made  upon  the
other side of the House, he will find that there
were more than twenty speeches made upon this
floor, in which it was distinctly avowed that the
election of a Republican President-Governor
SEWARD  was frequently named-or  any other
man representing his views upon what they de nominated a sectional platform, would, of itself,
be a sufficient cause  for a dissolution of the
Union.  Does the gentleman from Virginia ques tion that?
Mr. MILLSON. No, sir, I do not question it.
That is what I affirm; but the gentleman stated
that it had been said repeatedly upon this floor
that it was the purpose of the Democratic party that members had declared that it was the pur pose of the Democratic party-to dissolve the
Union; whereas, allthat was said at any time, by
any gentleman, was, that in the opinion of that
gentleman, or in the opinion of that gentleman's
constituents, the election of such an individual
would furnish a just occasion for a dissolution of
the Union.
Mr. STANTON.  It may be true I have not put
it technically in the form I should have placed
it.  I did not mean to be understood as saying
that they had avowed it as the purpose of the
Democratic party, as a party organization; but
what I did mean to be understood as saying
was, that the leading influential representative
men  of the party here, who are the authorized
exponents of the opinions, principles, and pur  poses, of the party, had each severally for them  selves expressed that purpose.   And I take the
uniform expression of opinion of men occupying
that representative position, uncontradicted, as
the expression of the opinions and purposes  of
the party.  That is all.  I do not think they will
put it in the platform at Charleston, nor, per  haps, will they at Baltimore.
But this is the purpose avowed by men who
lead and control that party, and it will not be
disclaimed now.  The gentleman from Virginia,
while disclaiming it as having been avowed as
a party purpose, does not disclaim that it is his
opinion that it ought not to be done.  The gen  tleman does not disclaim that in his own judg  ment and in his opinion it would  be a sufficient
cause for the dissolution of the Union.
Mr. MILLSON. It is evident that the gentle.
man desires an expression of my personal opin  ion.  I do not concede the right of the gentle  man to require it.  I have the right to express or
withhold my opinions until my own selected time, and I did
not mean that the gentleman should infer that I occupied one
position or the other upon that subject; least of all did I de  sign that the gentleman should draw the inference he seems
desirous to draw.
Sir, the gentleman calls upon me for an expression of my
own opinion, and I will give it to himn. What is disunion?
What does disunion mean? It means battle and murder* it
means widows and orphans; it means tears and lamenta
that in advance avows a treasonoble purpose
and has declared its disloyalty to the Constitution and the Union, is not entitled to the public
confidence, and ought not to be intrusted with
th     e  Gove rn ment. W hen  I  talk about a     treas onable purpose, J do not mean there is necessarily
anything  disreputable in     it.  I remember        that
Washingto n was a  t raitor to the                 B ritish Governm   ent. It may b    e      that th e   oppression may be
unendurable, and that they may have arrived at
a  point which changes the   quali ty of   tre ason;
but, nevertheless,    that is the constitution al    def itnition of the offence.
Mr. ENGLISH. Will                    the gentleman allow me
to say                            a  w      ord?
Mr. STANTON. Certainly.
Mr. ENGLISH. I claim only to be an humble
member of the Democratic party; but I think
that it will be remembered that I announced'distinctly, upon this floor, in a speech which I had
the honor to make at an early period of the session, that I did not believe a corporal's guard of
the Democratic party'of the North would be willing to go out of the Union, or make any effort
in that direction, because of the mere election of
an objectionable man to the Presidency.
Mr. STANTON. They recognise political fellowship with a party, all of whom upon this floor,
from the other section of the Union, so far as I
know, do avow this doctrine. They are maintaining and strengthening that political sentiment
and that political party which avows this treaconable purpose. There is no controversy about
that.  They are endeavoring to build up a sympathizing party in the free States, and to give
them their aid in obtaining the control of the
Government.
I hold, sir, as an intelligent American citizen,
looking to the perpetuity of our institutions and
to\atheir welfare, that it is my first duty to see to
it that no enemy of our Government, no enemy
to the institutions of our country, shall be intrusted with the power and patronage of that
Government. I will not inquire what his opinions may be on the subject of slavery; whether
he is for its extension into the Territories or
otherwise. If he has avowed that he cares more
for his party than he does for his country, if he
has-avowed that his party purpose and his revolutionary purpose are stronger than his patriot ism, is not that a sufficient reason why I should
exclude him from any place of honor or trust?
Mr. MILLSON. I cannot say that I regard the
course of the gentleman from Ohio as fair. There
are at this time not half a dozen members of the
Democratic party present; and yet the gentle man is speaking in the hope that he shall be able
to take advantage of the silence of members as
evidence of assent.
Now, sir, I say, for one, that I have not, in
any remarks I have ever submitted to the House,
addressed myself at any time to the question the
gentleman is now considering, and I do not mean
to be drawn into any untimely or unnecessary
expression of my owrn position; but I take leave
to suggest to the gentleman, that he is altogether
in error in supposing that a solitary member of
the Democratic party, North or South, has ever.
5 
6)
tions and anguiish; and if any contingency should ever arise  them and infuriate them, by the dissemination of that idea.
which, in my opinion, invoked the decision of so awful, so  but when a Republican President has  been  six months in
momentous a question, sir, 1I should seek some place of re- power, then it will be demonstrated that that was a delu    tirenimont, and there pray that Almighty wisdom would en-  sion, and that the Republican party is seeking for nothing
able me to dispose of that issue, too great for the feebleness  that has not been recognised in the first sixty years of the
tf man.                                                        administration of the Government as purely and strictly na      Mr. STANTON. There is no gentleman upon that side of  tional.  I undertake to say to you, sir, that the Republican
the House who occupies, and who deservedly occupies, a  party to-day holds no principle, advocates  no  policy, that
nlore prominent, distinguished, and leading position, than  has not been recognised by every political party, in its turn,
tle gentleman Irom Virginia. His integrity and his sincerity  from the organization of the Government to the present day.
are unquestioned upon either side of the House; and yet the  Not one.  You cannot name to me a principle recognised by
gentleman from Virginia does not feel preplared to say now   the Republican party, incorporated into its platform, avowed
that he is not in favor of a secession, or dissolution, in the  by any authorized exponent of its opinions, that I cannot
event ol the election of a Republican President.  But let that  show you in the principles and platl.orms of every political
pass,                                                          party, and in the speeches of every public man who  has
Mr, Chairman, my own settled conviction is, that the only  been on the stage of action during the last sixty years, since
mode by which this Union can be perpetuated, and our in-  the organization of the Government, until the last ten or fif   stitutions maintaine d, is by the election of a Republican  teen years.
President.  I have no belief that if a Republican President    Gentlemen do not really controvert that fact.  They say:
be constitutionally elected, there will be any difficulty about   " It is very true, there was a strange set of men on the stage
1iis admiinistering the Government.                            of action at the time of th. Revolution.   They did not com.
Mr. HUGHES.  I desire to ask the gentleman, when the   prehend the slavery question very well. They did entertain
leading member of the Republican party announces the  some anti-slavery nlotions, which we do not approve. They
proposition that slavery must be abolished, and that you  did not comprehend it.  They did not investigate it.  We,
and I must do it, must he not mean the abolition of slavery  on the contrary, have gone over this whole question.  We
in the States?  And I wish to know from him whether the  have examined it thoroughly, and have made up our minds
eiection of a Presideit announcing such          a sentiment as that,  that they were in error."
elected by a sectional vote, elected by a large popular ma-    Suppose, for the purpose of argument, thatthatbe so. With
jority at the North, would not be an aggressive act, through  the opinions which the founders of the Government  enter  thc ballot-box, upon tihe South, and whether he supposes the  tained, they framed a Constitutinu; they put a practical con  South would submit to such an act of aggression?                struction on it, as Presidents, Senators, Representatives in
Mlr. STANTON. I regret that my friend from Maryland had  Congress, and Judges of the courts.  What I claim is, that,
not read the speech from which he quotes, instead of coni-  whether their opinions are sound or unsound, they are the
tenting himself with extracts.  If he had read the speech. he  opinions incorporated in the Constitution.  If they were in
wvould have found that the expression in reference to abel-  error in that particular, if these gentlemen have discovered
isling slavery, and that " you and I must do it," was ex-  new light, if they find that a different set of political princi  plained tby the further declaration, that it must not be done   ples are the true political philosophy of the times, that does
by any physical force-must nriot be done by any interfer-  not change the Constitution.  The men who made the Con  once withl the affairs of the slaveholding Statesbut by the  stituttion differed with you.  You propose a thorough and
moral force and power of truth, disseminated among the  complete revolution of the whole Government. You propose
slaveliolding as well as the free States, which would ulti- to reverse the principles of the founders of the Constitution
mately bring about the abolition of slavery.                   on the theory that you have investigated the subject more
Mr. HUGHES. But the phrase was, " You and I must do  carefully.  That may be a good reason for amending the
it."                                                           Constitution. Call a Convention, gentlemen; try it in your
Mr. STANTON. Yes; accompanied with that explanation  several States; modify the Constitution- but, in God's name.
as to the mode of doing it.                                    do not attempt to amend by construction.  Do  not under   Mlr. HUGHES.  By getting hold of the power of the Gov-  itake, because you have got wiser than yourfathers, to undo
ertlnlelt                                                      their work, and put a construction on it which they never
MIr. STANTON. Not at all; but the mode of doing it was  contemplated.
by enlibhteiiing the minds of men living south of Mason and       All I ask is, that you shall take that Constitution, with the
Diri'construction put uposn it by the men who  framed it, and
Mhr. HUGHES. Perhaps by changing the character of the  carry out the principles which they incorporated into it, and
Supreme Court.                                                  which they adopted in the practical administration of the
Mr. ST'ANTON.. I am decidedly of the opinion that the   Goverinment. That is precisely what a Republican Adminis char acter of that court might be very essentially improved  tration will do.  I do not care who may be elected the Re by a change.                                                   plblican President; six months of his administration will
Ir. IHUGHES.  Do you advocate a reorganization of that  satisfy anybody that you are all perfectly safe in his hands.
court?                                                        There will be a Republican organization in every slavehold   31. STANTON. I am in favor of a reorganization of that  ing State in less than six months *; and I do not believe but
court.                                                          that the custom-houses at Charleston and New Orleans will be
I said, fr. Chairman, that I believed that was the only  able to find officers without going very far from the place of
way to perpetuate this Union.  I believe it will be found,  the receipt of customs.
before the Republican party has been in power six months,         Now, Mr. Chairman, if this Democratic party is to suc that its purposes are purely national - that it has no aggres-  ceed, and if they are to establish, by another Presidential
sive purpose; that it will protect all sections of the Confed- election, by another popular verdict, that slavery is a naeracy in the enjoyment of their equal, constitutional rights;  tional institution,and is carried into all the Territories of the
and the country will then become satisfied that all this cry  Confederacy by force of the Federal Constitution, why, then,
of " niad dog," raised against the Republican party, is a  a collision is to continue between the two sections of the
delusion.                                                      Confederacy-; br I tell you, that whatever  the Supreme
Now, sir, for eight long weeks, gentlemen here made   Court may decide, whatever a Democratic Convention may
speeches, and incorporated into them the ravings of Wen- proclaim, and whatever the people may ratify at the ballotdell l'hillips and Lloyd Garrison, and every extravagant  box,thesentimentthatslaveryislocal,andfreedomnational
fanatic in the whole free States of the Confederacy, and dis-  will be insisted upon as determinedly as it now is, and the
semninated them broadcast, by tens of thousands, through  people will be constantly appealed to to maintain that doethe slaveholding States, as the opinions and principles of the  trine at the ballot-box.
Republican party.                                                 Mr. SINGLETON. I desire to ask the gentleman a ques  lIr. BARR.  I ask the gentleman if your party has not  tion; and I know, from his characteristic candor, that he
done the sanme thing with the speeches made on our side?    will answer me fairly.  You say it is not the purpose of the
Mr. STANTON. We have not circulated anything except   Republican party to interfere with slavery where it now exthe speeches made by gentlemen on this floor.  I have cir-  ists.  What, then, is your object in preventing  the South
culated the speech of the distinguished gentlemanfromGeor-  from going into the Territories, if it be not to destroy the
gia, [Mr. CR4WFORD,] and various speeches of that sort.  institution by restricting it to its present limits?  I beg to
Gentlemen have a right to circulate speeches made on this  know, in all seriousness, whether the great leading object
floor; but speeches made by Phillips, lectures delivered by and purpose of the Republican party in circumscribing us,
Gax rison, and extracts from the Liberator, have been imcor-  and preventing us going into the Territories, is not the conporated by gentlemen on the other side in their speeches, and  sciousness that, if slavery be kept within its present area, it
have bceeridissemcinated through the South as the opinions of  must perish, in half a century, from plethora? Is not that
the Republican party; and the greatmass of the people of the your purpose?
South entertain the opinion that these arecorrect expositions     Mr. STANTON.  I will answer that very folly, and I truss
of the purposes of the Republican party.  You may madden. satisfactorily, if my time will permit me. 
7
employment he may follow.  Working together in the same
field, a white laborer and a slave laborer, there comies along
a sheriff, and he levies upon the slave, takes him off, and
sells him at auction, as you would a horse. It is this contact
and association that it seems  to me c anno t fail to ha ve a de
grading influence upon  the social  position of th e wh ite   man
who is engaged  in the same ekind o toil that the slave   is.
Mr. SINGLETON.    Why, sir, one-half of our cotton planters
go upon the ir plan t ati ons and labor side by side with    th eir
slaves.   They have  no furthe r a ssociation with them than is
necessar y  to  ke e p   a   te wor           an i the at their work, and in their proper
place.  Does the gentleman su  ppose that I, who  may  be a
cotton planter, would degrade myself by handling my plow
in the  field where  my sl aves are at work?      Doe s   he charge
that?
Mr. STANTON. T           he  gentle          manw from M ississippi musthave
strangely misunderstood me. I said that the man who is
dependent upon his daily t oil for his daily bread, and not the
man who owns a cotton plantation.
Mr. SINGfATON. How can you su ppose it will af fec  t th e
man  who does not  own a  plantation, any more  than it does
the man who does own one?
Air.  STANHTON. The  man who  owns  the plantation a nd the
slaves on it, does not work upon the plantation as the equal.
but as the  mast er, of t he  s lave s. He  is  no mor e  upon an
equal it y with them, than  he   is wi    th his horse.
Mr. SINGLETON. No more are the white laboring men of
the South.  They do not associate with the slaves, or treat
them as equals. They have nothing whatever to do with them, except that they may work in the same field to gether.
Mr. STAUNTON. Mr. Chairman, there are some strange
practical results growing out of this institution. If it l)e not
as I state, will the gentleman tell us how it is, and why it is.
that there can be no manufctcturers, artisans,and indeppend:
ent yeomanry, in a slaveholdieg State? Why is that? Dlo
not gentlemen know? Does the gentleman from South Car olina sleep upon a bed made in his own State?
MAl. ASH).IORE. Yes, sir.
Mr. STANTON. Does he wear a fabric of any description
manufactured in his own State?
Mr. ASHMORE. At home I often do, but not here.
Mr. STANTON. Why is it? Because there is no  enco#4r agetment toeniterprise, none toinvention.  You must stimii late the mechanic arts, by establishing a system of la,lbor
which conters its benefits upon the inventor, tie,amdac turer himself. What  does the slave care  ior manula1wrif'
fine fabrics? He'does not gain anything by it. What doe,s
he care about inventing labor-saving machinery? It saves
him nothing. Hence you find that all the patents come from
'Connecticut and the Yankee States, and the other free States.
You find labor-saving machinery and mechanical operations
are confined principally and substantially to the free States
They are not in the South, because fr'ee labor there has nc
encouragement; and, m(;e than that, free labor must  bt
intelligent.
You cannot have a free laboring population in a commu
nity where you have no schools. I do not know of a cosct
mon school between the Potomac and the Rio Grande
There are a few colleges. Of necessity, it must be so as a
general rule. In a free State, where every man is the inas ter of his own earnings, the head of his own family, he re quires but a small space to occupy and cultivate for their
support.  But go into a slaveholding State, and the planter,
who has twenty or thirty slaves, and- who has half a dozen
families, must have a section or two of land to support them.
The consequence is, that the white population must be
sparse.  You cannot have them compact; you cannot have
school-houses and churches in every neighborhood, because
the population cannot sustain them.
But that is not all. The tendency of this dissemination of
education among the laboring population is to extend it to
the slaves; but you cannot educate the slaves, because
that is the seed of insurrection.
Mr. SINGLETON. I can inform the gentleman why it is
that the South has not been more extensively engaged in
manufactures and the mechanic arts. It is because it is
more to our interest to engage in the culture of cotton, to
supply the markets of the world with that material. BBut I
will tell the gentlemarn that, if the course which has been
pursued by the North is persevered in a little while
longer, and we are compelled to a separate organization -we
will soon imnprove in our knowledge of arts and manufac tures;* and we shall very soon develop a sufficient skill m
those departments among us, to manufacture everything in
the,qouth which is needed by them. We think now it is for
our interest to buy manufactured articles from the North
and to devote our energies to the cultivation of cotton~ corn
rice, &c. 
Mr. STANTON. If there were anythingg that would induce
Mr. SIN(GLETON. I want to know, from the gentleman
from Ohio, whether he does not think it will have that effect,
and if that is not the belief of his party?
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Chairman, the Republican party is
opposed to the extension of slavery into free Territories
mainly-I think I might say solely-because free and slave
labor cannot go there together.   The admission of slave
lablor is the exclusion of free labor.  It is because we will
not permit free labor and the dignity of free men to be degraded, from being brought into contact and competition
with slave labor, that we do not want slavery to go into the
Territories.  That is the essential reason.
Now, Mr. Chairman, I have no desire, nor is it my purpose,
to embarrass the slaveholding States by confining slavery
within its present limits, if there is any mode of escaping
from it.  If, as the gentleman from Mississippi seems to suppose, the confining of slavery to its present limits necessarily
brings about its extinction, I pray you, sir, what sort of confession is that of the character of the institution?
Mr. SINGLETON. There is a very simple reason to be stated in proof of my remark.  The slave population at the
South is increasing very rapidly, much more                    so, indeed, than
the white population; and it does not require the gift of
prophecy to foresee the result, unless we are  allowed to expand in some direction.  Expansion we  must    have,                               or sul —
very dies, and with it the safety and prosperity of the Souith.
And the gentleman talks about free and slave labor not
being compatible in the same community, and the lformer
being degraded by the latter.  The impression is attempted
to be made, by the gentleuian s speech, that          ther  e  is neo free
labor in the South.  Let me say, that there are free white
laborers in theState of Missi.ssippi, and throughout the South,
who work side by side with the slave laborers upon the cottoil plantations, and who do not feel themselves thereby                             a    t
all degraded.
Mr. STANTON. I understand that there are free laborers
in the South; but I also understand that a man who is dependent in the South upon his daily toil lfor his daily breadnot the owner of a cotton plantatiou, but i man who is dependent upon his toil, compelled to support his family by
his labor-must, by contact and association with slave labor,
be a degraded man in a slaveholding commutlnity. 
Mr. ShLNGLLq'ON. The gentleman is utterly mistaken. There
are hundreds and thousands of free white laborers in the
South, who cultivate the soil with their slaves, who would
scorn to associate ivith those who make the charge of degradation agoin,st them.
Mr. STANTON. It is not worth while for us to get in a passion about it.  We may as well keep cool.  I know that I
have seen enough of the institution of slavery, with the little
intercourse I have had with it, to know that amongst the
slaves the  selves they regard a poor laboring white man
as their equal or inferior.  A slave will tell you, when he
looks at a poor white laboring man, that he is white trasha sand-hiller.
Mr. SINGLETON.  You get your cue from the negroes,
then?
Mr. STANTON. The gentleman from Mississippi had better
keep his temper, for he will not make anything by scolding;
he cannot get me in a passion.
Mr. SINpGLE TON. Then treat   the people                            of       my section re spectfully.
Mr. STANTON. I have endeavored to treat gentlemen re spectfully.  If I have violated the rules of Parliamentary
order or gentlemanly decorum, I would beg the gentleman
to state it.
Mr SINGLETON. You have aspersed the laboring men of
my section.  You have said that the white laborer of the
South was degraded.  I regard the white laborers of my
State as gentlemen.  I have associated with them all my
life. I do not know one man who is in the habit of working
side by side on a cotton plantation with his slaves, who feels
that in this there is any degradation.  They are gentlemen,
sir, and are not in any way demoralized by this association.
bIr. STANTON. I should be glad to know how the position
I take can be conveniently refuted.  Take a mechanic from
a tree State, and put him into a slaveholding State; let him
be brought into competition with slave labor; let the value
of his labor be dependent upon that competition; and what
will be the effbct upon him? I submit the proposition. I go,
if you please, to Kansas or Nebraska, and               settle down at
Leavenworth or Omaha City.  There goes also a carpenter
frocm a free State, and settles in the'same place, and pursues
his trade.  I want a house built, and I ask him  for h ow
much he will do the job. He ciphers the mnatter out, and he
will t ell me, perhaps, that the cost will be $'2.500. "'Why,
bless you, my goodt fellow," I may reply, " I can go to
W'estport and buy a carpenter for $1,500-  and I cannot
afford to pay any such price as $2,500." Your white laborer
is exposed to that sort of competition.  So it is, whatever 
8~
Mr. STANTON. I understand the gentleman.  It may be
true that, when the whole of this continent is as densely pop  ulated as Belgium, we will need expansion.  I have no doubt
of it.  But I apprehend that that is a day which it is not the
B   business of this generation to look forward to or to seek to
provide against.  Providence, in His wisdom, has heretofore
irn the history of the world provided some new and improved
means o f obtaining subsistence for the human family, or
there have been discovered, from time to time, hew conti  nents for the increased population, so that His creatures
have been provided for; and I entertain no apprehension
but that it will be  so i n the future.  Itf man does his own
duty, if he develops the resources of the country-its  mini  erals, its water power, its timber-if everything that is prol
itable and available be turned to account, and madea source
of su bsistence for the human family,  there is little ('anger of
the people  of this continent, a thousand years hence, statrv ihg for want  of br ead.  In a slaveholding community,it is a
ve r y different thing. You cultivate the soil till its product ive q(uality is destroyed.  You multiply your,,lave popula tion, ti ll it  becomes a dangerous element in society.  You
increase  slave labor t ill its  value is diminished, and, in
every imode, you are constantly depreciating the product  ive capacity of the country where slavery exists. You arc
therefore under the necessity of still cursing new fields with
the institution which, in my judgment, has cursed those
where it already exists.
tor. IUGtIES. I wish to   r eply to one observation of the
gentleman from Ohio, in regard to the exhaustion of the soil.
I venture to assert. in the preseuce of the Represeitativces
of the people of tlic United States, that there has been more
improvenient miade in agriculture within the last ten years
in the slave States, than in any other portion of the United
States; and there are now in the South mnore improved imoiles
of  agriculture, and improvements of soil, than in any section
of the United States.  The gentleman will scarcely deny that
there has been more improvement in agriculture  in Mary land, Delaware, and Virginia, than in any other section of the
Union.
Alh'. NIBI,ACK. Before the gentleman from Ohio takes his
seat, I desire to propound to him one question, if I can get
h is atte ntion.  In the course of the gentleman's remarks, lihe
made  use of an expression which was rather a remar kable
one for  him, or any other gentleman on that side or the
House; that is, that free labor is not a lingering, helpless
thing, but is able to take care of itself.  That I coucede; but
if that be the cise, what necessity is there for seizing upon
all the powess of the  Governmuent    fo r   the purpose of protectivg that kind of labor, to the exclusion of l o, t pec s in   ther  labor?
Why  not leave the Territories        free  and open to competition
between  free a nd slave labor, and le    nt h at wh ich is most
advantageo us, most powerful, a nd strongest, prevail?
Mr. STANTON. One  word, Mr. Chairmanf, i n reply to the
getntleman tom Indiana.  If I understand thedoctrine   of th e
Democratic party, it protects slavery in the Territory until
a State Government is organized. That is not all. When this
incipient State Government is organized as  a free State, and
there are a thousand slaves there, you cannot emancipate
them; you are compelled to buy them out, and they cost
$1,000,000. Now, sir, a free State, with free labor, does not
want to be borne down and crippled, and conmpelled, on the
organization of its State Government, to buy out the laboring population that belongs to the slaveholders there; and
they ought not to be.
Further than that: free labor is able to take care of itself;
but if the Territory is under the government of slavery rule,
then the laboring population must, of necessity, be excluded
from all the  advantages that  resu lt from free -labor  civilization, such as the institution of schools, the establishment of
a free press, free spse,h, and all the privileges that are enjoyed in a free State, but which cannot be enjoyed in a slaveholding State, because they are inconsistent with the institution of slavery. That is why. I may not express my
opinion on the subject of slavery in a slaveholding State, because the safety of the institution would be thereby endangered. I may not publiUa my opinion on the subject of
slavery in a newspaper, and disseminate it in a slavaholding State. Why not?  Because it would have a tendency to
stir up insurrection, and is inconsistent wlth the nature of
the institution. Hence, I say, free labor does not wish to
be tied down and clogged and crippled by these things,
which of ne cessity exist in every slaveholding State.
me to desire to perpetuate the present state of things, it
iwould be  that the Sou th             should introduce mbanuatctures
amondg themselves, an thehereby bring  about an in    terchan                ge
of Comlmodities.
Beioreo I sit down, I have    on   e         word in   reply to a  remark of
the gentleman  from Mississippia little while ago. It is claimed
that the slavehold i       rng populaptio n       cannot be confined to         their
present geographical limits. If so, itresults froinoneoftwo
causes: eit      her      that  the continuance of              that policy upon the
same soil must  destroy its                          productive qualities, or be     cause
the increase of                     the slave population is such                                   as to put the
satfe         t y of the  community in peril. Hence               gentlemen say that
some years                 hence, slavery must       have me, re     room.  Now, I
wish        to call th     e  attention             of gentlemen oo the South to this
single proposition: if you must have expansion now, will
you        t  ell m  e  where is          t                                          b       tbe  the ultimate limit  of your expal  sion? You w           an t five more States              this year, or fifty years
hence; then a hundred years hence you will want twenty
more.  The ti me must  come whe  n the th ing      w ill   be b rok en
down and destroyed by                              its own  weight, and it is  only a ques tion of t          ime.  There i s  a   l imi t    to all expansion. There  is a
limit                                    to      the continent-to its productive capacity and area;
and                w hen that lim it is reached, then   that calalomity which the
gentleman dreads  must c                     ome,and no expansion can save it.
It is only a question   of tim e; and it is a question,               whether
we should  take hold   of th      e    thing to-day,  and remedy the
ev             il where  it exists             at present, or wthe thier we  ill permit it
to      go        on and  accu mulate,         un til it              will be more difficult to
eradicate.
Mr.  SMITH,            of Virginia. The gentleman from Oh io will
r     eadily see that the ar gument hte a(dressces to  the                slave pop ulation will apply equally to the white. When population be comes so dense, whether free or slave, the checks upon pop ulatioii will begin their work. Everybody understands that.
The very argument of the gentleman, which goes to show
that, as population increases among the staves, the difficulty
of keeping them in that position increases, also shows that
that difficulty arises, not from apprehension of revolution,
but from ion-employment.  BuitthestaLieargumentapplies,
and perhaps in a higher degree, to the white population.
:But that is a day which we claim there is no obligation upon
us to anticipate. We Representatives of the slave States
have the right to share in the common Territories of the
Union.  We cannot admit a policy to be wise and just and
b4lmane, which gives all to one section of the Union, against
the common right of the other.
Mr..S1TANTON. It is rather late in the day for the gentle man from Virginia to complain that the North is seeking to
monopolize the Territories.  There was a line of partition
within which slavery might go, and beyond which it might
not go; but, by the vote of the gentleman, it was taken
down and disregarded.
Mr. Sll3rH, of Virginia.  But the gentleman will remember, and I beg he will, that, in that respect, the rule was not
even. You professed to prohibit slavery north of 36~ 301,
and then gave us permission to have slavery south of that
line, should certain circumstances require it. It was imperative upon the one side, but not upon the other.
Mr. STANTON. Nobody proposed to force slavery into a
Territory against the will of the slaveholders. But protection was afforded to it; and the South was guarantied the
right to go into the territory south of 36~ 30' with their
slaves. But you were not content with that; you wanted all 
you inaugurated a struggle, and put on fo)ot a controversy fir
the possession of all the Territories; and il' you get the worse
of it, it is no work of ours.
The gentleman from Virginia says the same cause will
operate to demand the extension of territory for the free
population. There is notrouble, so far as free-labor civilization is concerned, about its being able to maintain itself
upon any reasonable limit. Free-labor civilization is not
that helpless being that is compelled to change its location on
account of the exhaustion of the soil, or because there is not
enough land for the whole population to cultivate. Free-labor
civilization, establishes a diversity of pursuits; it builds up
manutfacturing towns and villages; it inaugurates and establishes new and important improvements in agriculture;
it preserves the fertility of the soil; and it has the capacity
to sustain a large population upon a small surface.
Mr. SMITIH, of Virginia. The gentleman has not stated my
proposition correctly. I stated that, in the progress of population, as it went on increasing, the checks to increase of population would b~egin to apply, and would apply to the white!
population as well as to the slave.
PUBICSHIED BY THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COFFTEE. PRICE 50 CENTS PER HUNDRED.
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PUBLIC EXPENDITURES.
" SPEE'CH
OF
HON. R. H. DUELL, OF NEW YORK.
Delivered in the House of Representatives, June 14, 1860.
0 —, —
expenses were increased, during his eight
years, to -    -    -    - $144,684,939
Monroe's eight years       - 104,463,400
The  average annual expenditure, under
John Quincy Adams, was  $12,328,303
Do. under Jackson's first
term  -.  14,062,469
Do. Jackson's second term -  21,782,607
Do. Van Burenr       -    -   28,047,172
Do. Tyler       -    -    -   20,304,156
Do. Polk -    -    -    -  36,736,100
Do. Fillmore   -    -    -  48,661,900
Do. Pierce      -    -    -  67,235,324
Such was the average of expenditures
under  previous  administrations,  whilst
under Mr. Buchanan they increased, in
1858, to $82,000,000, and now, in 1859, to
$83,000,000 and upwards; and this, too,
in a time of peace, and with a falling rev ernue. Well may the people look with
astonishment and alarm on such a condition of affairs!  Compare the administra tion of Mr. Buchanan with that of General
Jackson, who, with revenues at no titme
exceeding in the average $26,000,000, yet
paid all the legitimate expenditures of
Governmien t, besides extinguishing more
than fifty million dollars of the public
debt, whilst Mr. Buchanan,  with more
than fifty millions of revenue per annum,
yet increases the public debt some twentyfive millions annuially 1I
From the foundation of the Government
down to this day, the statesmen of our
country have urged upon-us the necessity
of rigid economy in our public expenditures. Washington, Jefferson, Madison,
and Jackson, insisted upon an honest administration of the Federal Government,
that labor might be lightly burdened. Mr.
Buchanan in 1852, before  he  became
President, declared that mifty llions per
Mr. CHAIRMAx: I propose at this time
to c-all the attention of the House to some
facts connected with our public expendi tures.
At the commencement of the present
session of Congress, the Secretary of the
Treasury submitted his annual report, from
thich it  app        ear s  that, the total expendi.
tures of th is Governme -3t,        inclusive of th             e
public debt, during the fiscal year en(ding
June  30, 1859, was  $83,751,511.57-a
larger sum than has ever been expended
in any  one year since  the adoption  of' the
Constitution.  This amount was applied
o the  various bran ches o f the public s ervice as follows:
Civil, foreign intercourse, and miscella.
neous      -    -    - $23,635,820.94
Indian-s and pensions   -   4,753,972.60
Expenses of War Depart  ment       -    -    -  23,243,822.38
ExpensesofNavy Depart  ment             -    -  14,712,610.21
Redemption of Treasury
In order to ascertain whether there has
been a prodigal expenditure of the people's money, we should, in the first place,
compare this with former periods.  The
expenses of our Government, down to the
end of Mr. Jefferson's admninistration, appear to have been frugal and exemplary.
The cost of Washington's administration,
for the whole period of eight years, was
only. $15,892,188
John Adams'sfour years  -   21,450,351
Jefferson's eight years    -  41,300,788
As the war with  Great Britain occurred
during Mr. Madiison's term of office, the
.     -,61
,, 1.
I
jI..il
0
17,405,285-44
.83,75l.,511-57 
2
annum was an "enormous sum," and invoked the strong arm of the Democracy
to interpose and arrest the increasing expense of Government, for fear it mig.,ht, in
a few years, reach one hundred million.
It will be seen, Mr. Chairman, that during the administration of General Washington, the costs of the General Government were only fifty cents to each inhab-e
itant per annum.  The population of t           he
United States was then about four millions, and the expenses of the Government about two millions annually.  The
population of the United States is now
about twenty-eight millions, and the costs
of the Government is about three dollars
to each inhabitant.  During the administration of Genieral Jackson even,the costs
of the Government amounted annually to
but one dollar to each inhabitant.  Bring
this- Government  back  to the econonmy
of Jackson's administration, and fifty millions would be saved to the people of
the United States annually.
Sir, it can be shown that millions of
dollars of the people's money is not used
for Government purposes at all, but for
party purposes. It goes to political friends
as a reward for partisan services performed
for the Administration.  I cannot, in the
brief hour allotted me, point out all the
leakages in our national Treasury, but I
propose to call the attention of the House
to a few of them.
A derv dangerous practice has existed,
of voting large contingent fiends for the different departments of Government, which
presented temptations and opened a floodgate of corruption to the higher and lower
public functionaries. Many hundred thou.
sand dollars have in this way been put at
the discretion of the past and existing Administrations, no small portion of which
was squandered for most unsuitable partisan or private ends. The practice of hav-y.
ing large outstanding apl)ropriations lying'
over from one year to another, which often
amounted to many  mnillions,, has often
been abused by applying such appropriations to objects not designated by law, at
the discretion of the Administration.  In
this way there was never  any want  of
funds, when a partisan object required it,
or a private whim was.to be gratified, or
favorites wanted patronage.  Secret and
partisan emissaries were  by this means
sent out, under the guise 60f Government
agents,  for this, that, or the  othe r object,
the chief errand being     confidentia l, an d
the  Administration    newspapers of      the
country have  likewise    experienced th   e
benefits  of  contingent  and  disposable
funds in the hands of the Executive and
his agents.
The present condition ofthe Post Office
Department and  its revenues is a matter
deserving the gravest consideration of the
people. From a report recently made by
the Postmaster General to the Senate, I
compile the following remarkable table of
receipts and losses of the postal service
since 1850:
Fiscal year end-  Total   Excess of  Excess of
iitg Ju-ne 30,  Receipts    Revenue  Expen.
1850  - $5,495,149   $260,967       -
1851 -  6:,404,373    112,624      -
1852  -  5,016,039      -      $2,098,671
1853 -  5,084,.561      -      2,582,759
18'54  -  6,029,734     -      2,568,382
1855 -  6,384,795       -      3,572,822
1856  -  6,654,424      -      3,814,960
1857  -   7,101,712'    -.4,557,811
1858 -  7,224,735         -     5,389,561
1859  -   7,679,083    -        7;785,609
It appears that, in- 1850 and 1851, there
was an excess of revenue over the expe rses.   The course of losses since  1851
has been  most extraordinary-beginning
at over two millions in the first year, and
rising to nearly eight millions in 1859.
The loss in 1859 is greater than the total
revenue, the entire revenue  being a  million of dollars more than in 1851, when
the service paid a profit to the Government.
The full sunm of loss since 1852, during
all of which time the Democratic party
has been inpl}ower, is no less than thirty.
two millions two hundred and seventy thousandfive hundred and seventy-five dollars,
or aln average of more thaw four millions
of dollars a year. Now, the annual loss
has got up nearly to eight millions, and, at
the same rate of progress, it will be Dtirty
millions of dollars in theyear 1869.
* One secret of the present condition of
affairs will appear in the following table,
showing the increase of cost as compared
with 1850 in a few of' the older Statesan increase which demonstrates that it is
now a grand scheme of local patronage.
She increase has been greatest where it
should tlave been least, and it is perfectly
evident that a radical reform is needed:
Cost in 1850.   Cost in lS59.
New York:     -:- $'680,623       $1,t07~887
P.ennsylvania  -    -  332,376:; 67t,532
Maryland      -    -  182,381         299,766 
3
these three letters and twenty.six newspapers!  Mr. PEARCE, a Democratic Senator from Maryland, thus summed  up the
expense of running these six routes, a few
days since, in the Senate:
"The gross- annual disbursements for these six
routes are thus shown to have been $2,184,000,
while the receipts were but $339,000; the greater
part of which cam.e from the ocean mail from
New York, by way of Panama, to San Francisco.
The annual expenditures for local mail service,
in California, Utah, Washington, and  Oregon,
are about five hundred and eight thousand dol
lars. Add that to the $2,184,000, and yon harm
an aguregate of $2,693,000 appropriated for the
service of the Pacific mails, and the local service
of those States and Territories. They contain
about six hundred and fifty thousand people;
and if the postal expenditures for the rest of the
people in this Union were in exact proportion to
these, the postal service of the country would
cost about one hundred and twenty-six million
dollars per annum."
There was a n   appro priation    of $40,000
forPost Office blanks. This job wasgiven
to     a political friend of    the Administration,
who made a cleanprofit of$'30,000; and
this  f und wa s used,  with         the k nowledge
and  advice of the Presi de nt,       to keep alive
two of the  Administra  tion  newstpapers of
the country. The conduct of thie President  was  so  manifestly  wrong  in  this
affair, that his political friends denounced
him on the fl(oor of Congress.  Mr. PRYOR,
a Democrat from  Virginia, in speaking of
the transaction, said:
'-Look at the disclosures which have been
brought before the House at this very sessionI
I know that some gentlemen upon this side of
the Chamber-are disposed or indicate a disposition to throw the vail of concealment over revelations of executive abuse. I have no such inclination, sir. They are enormous; they are crying
grievances; grievances, I assure Igentlemen, which
smell very badly in the nostrils of the people.
Take, for example, the printing of the Post
Office blanks, by which, after the work is -done,
the surplus of appropriation is distributed among
the stipendiaries of executive patronage.  Gentlemen say, to be sure, that the excess is only
distributed'among the friends of the Administration.  Very well; if it was to be expended at
all, it was right to distribute it among the friends
of the Administration. But why did not the
President inform Congress that the law appropriated an excessive amount of money for this
specific service, and suggest a large deduction
from an exorbitant appropriationL? Instead of
recommending such a reduction, instead of indicating to the Representatives of the people
that here was anL instance in which theyr might
save a considerable sum: to an exhausted~ Treasury, that surplus expenditure was distributed
among the ~partisans of the Adraiyistration.                                   * *t
e:
-     -   259,030
a -     -   184,954
a -     -   144,060
-     L   20;{,52 7
-     -   197,468
.. - Il0,184
-     -    88,781
-     -   107,237
-     -  126,156
-  311,974
2,930,431
service of th irteen
Thus the service of thirteen States, 211
old, and  undergoing few changes since
1850, comes to cost two and a half times
as much to carny the mails now as then.
This is about the rate of increase for all of
the old States, while, in the new ones, of
course the increase is ten to a hundred
fold.
The management of the Post Office is a
disgrace to the  people  of the  United
States.  In many places, the inhabitants,,
who pay large and ample sums for postage,
are cut off from inail facilities, and are
compelled to either carry their mails themselves, or do without them.  The whole
cost of Department and mail service, in
1850, was  $5,220,214; and in  1859,.
$15,404,276-just three times as much.
Excessive expenditure is everywhere apparent.  As an illustration, compare these
two items for 1850 and 1859:
Rouite agents-1850, $58,266; 1859,
$377,225.
Printing blanks-1850, $30,638; 1859,
$117,171.
Now, sir, in 1790, when the Post Office
Department went into operation, it was a
self-supporting establishment.  Fromr th                at
time  down to 1850, a period of sixty
years, the Department ahas more thant sustained itself; but after 1851 the expenises
began to increase, so that in 1859 there
was a deficit, as I before stated, of nearly
eight millions of dollars.  What explanation can be furnished, consistently with
honesty  and  fair dealing?  None,  sir,
none!
Let us look at some of the items of
this expenditire.  We' are told  by the
Postmaster General, in his report, that we
have six Pacific miail routes; anid they are
very unproductive, antid all but one unneeessary, in my  judgment.   On  one  of 
these routes, only three letters and twen- -
ty-six newspapers were carried in nine
months; and yet it cost the Government
seventy-nine thousand  dollars to  carry
Virginia
North Carolin
South Car-olin
Georgia - I I
Alabama -
inlississippi
Louisiana
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio -
1    510,801
9,70,7.62
319,068
358,180
,;!; 393,6'28
370,003
777'517
334,820
365,675
806,414
6,586,053
States, 211 
4
took into his confidence in this matter
several other prominent Democratic poli ticians, his, intimate associates, among
them his brother Richard Schell, Prosper
M.  Wetmore, and Isaac V. Fowler, the
postmaster  whose defalcation  has  just
come to light.  The result was, that on the
24th day of April, 1857, Mr. Schell and
Mr. Fowler,  both  being  office-holders
under Mr. Buichanan, and old residents
of New York, addressed a joint letter to
the Secretary of War, in which they in formed  him  that this  property, which
shortly before had  been offered to  the
Government  for $100,000,  was  worth
$200,000 and recommended its purchase.
It was accordingly bought by the Govern ment and paid for at that price.  By  this
swindle the Government was plundered of
$150,000! The House of Representatives
having appointed a committee to investi gate this affair, the chairman of the corn o mittee, after investigation, declared that
the property was not worth $50,000, and
that there was a fraudulent combination to
extort an unfair, exorbitant and most unjust price  from the Government in the
sale of this property, and that Augustus
Schell, by the unwarranted giving of his
certificate, contributed to and enabled the
success of the combination in the matter.
Notwithstanding these facts, the Government continued to retain Mr. Schell as
collector and  Mr. Fowler as postmaster
until the latter turned out a defaulter to
the  tune of $155,000 both being recognised leaders of the Democratic party,
and intrusted with the collection of millions of the people's money.
Another  source of wasteful  expenditure
grows outhe t  of  the e no rmous profits of  the
public printing. Committees appointed by
the Senate and the House have made a
thorough investigation of this matter, and
from their reports  we are told that the
total amount paid for printing and binding during the past six years -was nearly
four million dollars, and that the work
might have been done for fifty per cefit.
less than the price paid by the Government for doing it.  In other words, that if
economy had prevailed, the sum of about
two million dollars might have been saved
to the Government. It appears that Mr.
Cornelius Wendell executed most of the
printing during the period referred to, under some arrangement with the printers
Now, sir, for one, I'denounce it. I am not re spon sible for it. I invoke              the judgmen    t of the
people against                         it."
Now  sir, I wil      l  tu rn my    at      tention to
other cases of pecuniary corruption. Take
the case of Fort Snelling, w   hich was               this:
The Fort and appurtenances cost the
Goveu rnment about $50,000. Attachehd to
it  as a military reservation was a tract of
8,000oacres  of beautiful land, at the june,
tion            of the Mississippi with its most im portant tributary nor     th  of        the Illinois river,
a       point certain    to be soon             the site of  a
large city. These 8,000 acres were worth
hundreds of thousands of   dollars, and if
duly  advert                   ised and put up at auction in
lots, would have probably brought $100
per acre.  Thi     s      immense property, which
w     as rapidly advancing in value, was  pri vately sold by the Secretary of War to a
single favored purchaser, for $90,000, or
$11 an acre. The majority of the Con gressional committee appointed to investigate the matter reported resolves
strongly condemning the whole transaction; and, though the Democratic House
of Representatives refused  to pass the
resolves thus reported, it accepted the
substitute, which declared that the management of the sale, by the agents authorized
by the Secretary of the War to conduct
the same, was injudiCious, improper, and
resulted, by reason of its want of publicity,
in the exclusion of that competition among
persons desiring to purchase, which, under
the circumstances, should have been permitted.,
In 1857, the Government wanted a site
for a fort near New York city. A piece
of land known as Willet's Point is situated on Long Island, on the East River,
and was marsh land, subject to fever and
ague. It had been for -several years in
the market without finding a purchaser,
though offered for less than $50,000.  In
July, 1856, it was offered for $45,000 to
a wealthy merchant of Willianisburgh,
who refused to take it at that price. At
a still later period, it was offered to the
Government for $100,000, and of this offer
the War Department was duly informed.
On- the 13th of April, 1857, the Secretary
of War addressed to Augustus Schell,
collector of the port of New York, a letter
informing him that the Government desired to p~u~hase W'illet's Point, and asking him. to agcertain its value. Mr. Schell
i,oo. 
elected by the Senate and  House, by
which he was to pay them a certain sum
for their share of the profits.  It was further arranged that Mr. Wendell  was to
pay other suri's towards the support of
Administration newspapers, and that, in
pursuance of such arrangement, he gid
pay large sums for that purpose, with the
knowledge and assent of the Adiniistration. The conmmnittee,ay that, from all the
testimony, it appears that Mr. Wendell,
in the contributions which hlie made from
the proceeds of the printing for party purposes, acted as the agent and friend pith
the knowledge and concurrence of the
Administration.   Mr.  Wendell  himself
says that he contributed directly or indirectly one hundred thousand dollars, to be
expended in elections to influence their
results, in addition to the bonus paid for
the contracts.  He sent money into certain doubtful Congressional districts in
Pennsylvania,  New   Jersey,  and  New
York, in 1858, to influence the election
of members of Congress.  A Mr. Megargee, of Philadelphia, testified before the
investigating committee of the Senate as
follows:
"Question. You   speak both  of Pennaylvania
and New Jersey?
" Answer. Yes, sir.
" Question. And of those State only?
" Answer. Yes, sir; of those only."
Mr.  Anthony, one  of the  committee,
stated in the  Senate that th e  a ggregate
cost of the public printing  is      about double
the fair price at which it  might be performed, and ought t o  be per for med; and
that some  port ion of the   Ex ecutive printing has cost five or  six times the usual
prices  tha t wo uld  be paid  by i ndividuals
for the   same work. That      the whole syst em  o f t he public printing is extravagant
in itself, and that  much  of it has been corrupt, or inexcusably careles s  in its a dministration, and th at  it demands immediate
reform.
From  the report  of the  Secretary   o f the
Treasury, it appears  that there  ha s be en
disbursed from 1807 to 1859, on        the various
public buildings  purchased or constructed,
under the  Treasusry De partment, the sum
o f $20,126,997.09.  Of th is  amovnt, over
thirt een mill ions has been expended within the past six years. The expenses of
the Navy Departmen   t for the yea r ending
June  30, 1859, was over fourteen million
dollars, which is a large increase. In
1848, the expenses of this Department,
although we had just emerged from the
war with Mexico, amounted to only about
nine million. I find by an examination,
of the Navy Register for the year 1860,
that we have in the navy at this time-in
a time of peace-.ninety-nine captains,
who are paid an average salary of $4,000
each; one hundred and thirty commanders, at a salary of about $2,000; three hundred sixty lieutenants, at a salary of about
$1,$00; one huntIred and fortyleight surgeons, at a salary of about $2,'200; sixtyfive pursers, at a salary of about $2,000;
besides an army of midshipmnen, engineers, mates, navy agents, naval storekeepers, naval constructors, clerks, &c.
A considerable number of these officers
are seldom on duty, and  we find written
opposite their names, "1 waiting orders,"
" on leave," " on  furlough," while their
pay goes on,all the same.  Now, I am not
saving that this is all unnecessary, but I
do insist that abuses have crept into our
navy which should be Corrected, and that
in a time of peace it is not necessary that
the sum of fourteen millions ogodollars
o 
" Question. Did you receive any money for political purposes in Pennsylvania or New Jersey
from Mr. Wendell?
" Witness. Am I really compelled to answer
such questions?
"Mr. KENNEDY. I think it is within the scope
of the inquiry.
"The committee thou ght the question was a
proper one, and that it should be answered.
"Answer. I did, sir, receive money at various
times for political purposed.
'1 Question. Were those moneys expended for
the promotion of the interests of the Democratic
party?
"Answer. Not all of them. Some of it was
used for a third party, which was organized to
divert votes from what was known as I the People's party' with us. The I People's partv' was
in opposition to the Democratic party. We did
not know there the party organized as' the Republican party.' The opposition to the Democratic party was called I the People's party;' and
to divert votes from that party, the third party
was organized. The object was to divide the
' People's party.'
"Question. Was such   a th ird part y o rgan ized?
"Answer. Yes, sir.
"Question. Did you believe that was necessary
to the success of the Democratic party?
"AAnswer. We certainly did, or we should not
have given them the money.
"Question. What was that third party called?
"Answer. The straight American party; the
s straight-outs.'
., 5 
machinery of the sloop now building at the navy
yard at this time, and if it can be done without
prejudice to the public service, to Merrick  &
Sons. Theirs is the only establishment in the
1st district which employs a  large,number  of
mechanics-at this time 390; when in full work,
450.
"The managitng partners  (Mr. U., sen., being
absent in bad health) are full of energy, straining every nerve to keep their force during  this
depression, and, in so far as I know, the only
Old Whigs of any influence in that districttwho
are in favor of the re-election of Colonel Florence.
"I know, from former experience, the value of
that influence, and feel persuaded that it is the
interest of the Democratic party to increase it.
"The 1st district will, I hope, be carried in
any event; but with that shop at work,  fullh anded, two weeks prior-to the election, the resuit would, I think, be placed beyond all doubt.
"With much respect,
"W. C. PATTERSON.
shbot](d be antnually expended  in this De partm-ent atone.  We  have nearly ninety
war vessels of' different kinds, carrying
from orne to onie hundred and twenty
gunis; eight navy yards, when there should
be but two;  and a large number of shore
stations.   T    he expen ses incurred in  thes e
various ways can be greatly curtailed,
and              it is the duty of the Governmentt to
ins     t     itute a -rigid scru tiny  into this branch
of  our public service.   One  source of the
large inc         re    abse in the expenses ofthe Navy
D ep     a     rtment is shown   by  the able report
of M essrs. SN    herm an and  R itchie,     from the
special comtmnittee appointed  at the last
session of the Thirty-fifthm                              Congress, to in vestigate   c ertain   abu   ses in th   e manage ment       of this Departrnent.   Ancl, a               few
day    s  si nce,  the Comnmittee on Expetditures in the Navv  Department  made an
able  report    to th is House upon the  same
subject, concluding  with  the following
resolutions, which were  passed by a vote
of two to one
"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy has,
with the   nctio t h e Na     of  the Presidents abused his
discretionar y power  in t       he se           lection of a        coal
agent, and in   the purchas                      e of fuel for   the Government.
"tResolved, That the Contract made by the cnrc  iSec-o
retary of                                   the Navy, under date of  t September 23,
1858, with Willia m C. N. Swift, for the delivery
of live-oak timber, was made      in v iolat i    on of  law,
and in   a manner unusual, improper, and injelrious to                  the public    s ervice.
"Resolved, That the distribution, by the Secretary of the Navy, of the patronage in the navy
yards among members of Congress, was destructive of discipline, corrupting in its inflaence, and
highly injurious to the public service.
11Resolved, That the President and Secretary
of the Navy, by receiving and considering the
party relations of bidders for contracts with the
United States, and the effect of awarding contracts, upon pending' elections, have set an example dangerous to the public safety, and deserving the reproof of this House.
" Resolved, That the appointment, by the Secretary of the Navy, of Daniel B. Martin, chief engineer, as a member of a board of engineers to
report upon proposals for constructing machinery
for the United States, the said Martin at the
time, being pecuniarily interested in some of
the said proposals, is hereby censured by this
House."
It was shown before the committee -that
a political friend of the President, inl Philadel phia, addressed himn the following let-.
ter, just before the election in Pennsylvania, in 18i58':
"c PHILADELPHIA~ Sept. 13, T1858.
"DRAR SIR: I venture to suggest to you the
importanqe;of awarding the contracts for the
" The President."
This letter was promptly sent by Mr.
Buchanan to the Secretary of the Navy,
with a note calling his attention to it, and
the result was, Merrick & Sons obtained
the  contract, thiough  the Novelty Wotks
in New York city offered to do the work
for a much less suim than was paid to the
contractors!  Can it be wondered at, in
view of such examples, that the Government is efadefrauded and robbed by its officers?  Sir, it is easy enough to account
for the increased expenditure in the Navy
Department, by the scandalous partition
of patronage in. the Brooklyn navy yard
among New York members of Congress,
by the live-oak contracts, by the contract
for machinery, by the purchase of coal at
exorbitant rates, and the commissions allowed political favorites.
An e xamina tion has  satisfied  me  that
millions of dollars are squandered annually by retaining in the  public service
custom-house officers, consuls, and other
agents,, whose services are not  needed.
In 1857, nearly four million dollars were
expended in collecting revenue from  customs.   I fin d by the official report of the
S ecre t ary of the  Treas ury, in  answer to a
resolution'of the Senate, that in 1857 the
whole amount of revenue collected at
Wilmington, Delaware, was $2,004, an-d
that eight custom-house officers were employed in the collection of this stum, at a
cost to the Government of $15,848 —
being a loss to the Government of $13,344.
At Annapolis, Maryland, there was collected the same year $374; four men were
'G 
7
If time  would  permit,  I could  go
through  with numerous  other expenditures of the Government, and show that
there was great room for reduction. That
these other expenditures might be greatly
reduced, I have not the slightest doubt.
The  three great items upon  wlich the
principal reductions can be made ate the
army, the navy, and the Post Office Department.  The  latter should  be  made
s elf-sustaining.  In reference to the military and naval defences of a country, I
think the true policy is not to keep  up
large armies and navies in time of peace,
because the public resources are wasted
before the war comes;  but to have as
small armies and navies as possible, and
thus preserve unimpaired the resources of
the country when the war arrives.
I am aware, sir, of the difficulties which
surround this subject, and that, with some
people, the right place to commnence a reforitm can never be found.  If we talk about
a referm in our army and navy, we are tol(d
that we desire to cripple the Administration.  If we were to cut off some of our
useless foreign missions, we should excite
the prejudices of those what have relatives
attached to our foreign embassies.  If we
seek to make the Post Office Department
self-sustaining,, we  are told that we  are
interfrinig,with  the extension  of com nmerce, the security of the country, and
the development of its resources.  The
people must take holl of this matter, and
demand, at the hairds of their public ser vants, retrenchment and reform.
But sir, I have no hopes of a real econcomy under a Democratic Administration.
That party has beeni in power-for nearly
eight years, during which time the ex penses of Goverinment  have fearfully in creased, and the fruits of its policy' are
now felt in a prostrate industry, a paraly zed commerce, a bankrupt treasury, and a
large and steadily increasing national debt.
By unduly enlarginrg the patronage of the
General Governinetit, the party in power
has corrupted public morals, debased pub lic sentiment, sapped the foundations  of
virtue, destroyed the itnlependen-ce of the
citizen, and disturbed the harmony existi ng -between the two sectionsofthe Union.
Corruption:: has has  ga4 ned- undisptited
control in every departmenot  ofG hovern ment, and stamped its stain indelibly upon
.our nation;: and, sh-am-elns::pmfligacy has
employed  by  the Government   in collectiing this sum, at a cost to the Government
of $983. At Oranoke, North Carolina,
th er e       was   col lected the  same year $82;
seven. me                         n    were employed in its collection, and it cost the Government $2,301.
At Buffalo, New York, there was collected
the same year $10,140.53; ten men were
employed in its collection, and it cost the
Gover    nment the sum                               of $16,89651.  At
M     o          nterey, California, there was collected
the same year $4,2, and it required three
men to collect it, at all expense to the
Government of $7,050. At Port Oxford,
Oregon, there was collected the sum of
$5.85; two men were employed in its collectioni, at an expense of $2,702. I milight
multiply instan.tces of this kind, but these
will suffice to show the loose mranner in
which this Adminristration manatges the
affairs of the people.
In tlhe report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, I also find a statement showing
the amount of salaries paid to, and fees
received from, the consular officers of the
.United States, for the year ending De.
cember 30, 1858. At Simnoda, the consul collected $1.56 in fees, and the salary
paid him by our. Government was $5,000.
At Tangier, no fees were collected by the
consul, but the sum of $,3;000 was paid
him by our Government.  At Tnnijs, the
consul collected $1, arid was paid by our
Government $3,000. At Carndia, $1,000
was paid our consul, and  no fees  collected.  At Gaboon, the same.  -At Stettin, $1,000 was paid, anal only $2 fees
collected. The total amount paid to one
hundred and tlhirty-three consular officers
was $255,540.85. ~ Total amount of lees
returned by them, $98,383-41. Amount
paid over and above fees, $157,157.44.
Look, sir, at the immernse patronage  of
the Post Office Department,-atid the army
of postmasters, route agents, messengers,
&c.,-employed in this branch of the public service. I atignex a statement showing
the vast patronage connected with this
Department of the Government:
27,977 postmasters, costing  -  - - $2,355,000
440 route agents, Costing -  - -    334,000
*28 express route:agents, costing  28,000
23 local agents, costing.-.-.     29,989
1,404 mail messengers, costing-      184,634
3t special1 agents, costing  -  -  73,000
Clerks, costing...'- - 918,000
Salaries in Post Office Department
propo-                   --,:.;-17:0,000 
8
given  us complete bankruptcy at homrne,
and national dishonor abroad. It is known
to the country, that when Mr. Buchanan
entered upon the discharge of the high
office of President of the United States,
there were $26,000,000 in the Treasury,
and that in ten months it had all disap peared, and $20,000,000 had to be bor rowed.  Eight months afterwards another
$10,000,000  were  borro)wed,  and  five
months later another $10,000,000 were
had in the same way, making $66,000,000
in all.  I submit that the honor and rep utation of the country demand a change
of rulers, not a mere change from one
Democratic  Administration to another,
but a thorough and radical change.  It
has been well said that the experience of
all Governments, in all ages oft the world,
has conclusively  shown  that  political
power cannot long be safely intrusted to
the same hands.  The long possession of
power has corrupted, perverted, and destroyed the Democratic party.  Its leaders,
its prominent men, have repeatedly, withill the last few years, been arraigned and
convicted, at the bar of public opintion, of'
acts of political profligacy and corruption,
which demnionstrates their unfitness for the
trust reposed uponi them.
Mr. Chairman, the party with which [
art proud to act has selected as its candidate for the Presidency a Inan who  is
" honest, capable, and faithful to the Con.
stitution."  We have placed our banner
in the hands of Altraham Lincoln-a man
brought up among  the prairies of the
West-a man who at any time, when necessary, can throw off his coat and go to
work-a man who will administer the affairs of Government for the benefit of the
people, and not of a political party.
The people of the United States have
learned, by bitter experience, that this
etertal cry of Democracy, Democracy,
and the false professions of devotion to
the interests of the country, are like the
songs of the syren, which enchanted but
to destroy.  And, sir, they have aroused
like a giant from his slumber, to burst
asunder the shackles of party, and redeem
the free institutions of their country from
the hands of the "spoilsmen."  They can
no longer be deceived by a false issue.
The evils which misrule has brought upon
the country ale now so severely felt, that
demagogiiism can no longer conceal from
the people the true cause of those evils.
They  will remember  that  the party in
power  won t he ir co nfide nce  by loudly
promising retrenchment and reform, and
a  faithful      admini s   tration of   th e Govern  ment, for the   h ap p   ines  s  an d  welfare  of
the people.  They see th at the se promises
have  been shamefully broken; that  the
expe nditures  of the Government have been  increased beyond all former precedent;
and that vast sums of the public treasure
have been wasted in the most wanton and
profligate manner; and, instead of a cor  rection of abuses in the administration of
the Government, they see corruption
walking  abroad in the land, with  bribes
in her hand, debasing the public morals
anti lowering the standard of public virtue.
Sir, I have hopes of tile future. I be.
lieve the people  ale  preparing to pro nounce, in tonles of thunder, their disap probation of' an Administration %those
policy is at war with their interest, and
of a political party whose principles  and
practices are dangerous  to constitutional
liberty. When that result is brought about,
I hope to see the Government once more
faithfully and honestly administered, for
the happiness and welfare of the people.
I hope to see the heavy cloud of adversity
which  now Darkens our horizon rolled
away,  and  the sun of prosperity again
shine forth, that the people, under the
genial influence of its beams, may ad vance to prosperity and happiness, and
our country resume her onward march to
increased power and greatness.
Sir, I regret being compelled to expose
to the gaze of' my fellow-citizens the  cor ruptions of their Governmenit.   I regre
that this corruption exists. But, sir, I would
come short of the duty I owe to a gener ous and confiding constituency, whom I
represent upon this floor, if I did not rise
here in my place, and show up the wasteful expenditure of the public money, and
denounce the extravagance and corruption of those in power. And, sir, while
I am permitted to occupy a seat in this
Chamber, I intend on all suitable occasions lo raise my voice against the cor-rnptions of Government, whether that
Government be in the hands of my own
party, or in those of the party opposed
to me.  -,;
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