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"Y^LEoWIMIIYJEI^SIIirY"

1912

MR. CLAY'S SPEECH
TO THE
JERAL ASSEMBLY OF KENTUCKY,

i. G. HODUKS i CO. — SUTB PBI.XTBBS.

MR. CLAY'S SPEECH.

HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES OF KENTUCKY,
NOVEMBER 14, 1850.
Mr. PAYNE, of Ma&on, oflfered the following resolutions, which
were unanimously adopted, viz :
Whereas, jt is known that the Hon. Henry Clay is now in this city
on a visit. Therefore,
Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed to invite him to
visit the General Assembly to-morrow at 12 o'clock.
Resolved, That the Speaker of this House be appointed its organ to
express to him the high appreciation they have of his efforts, as their
representative in the hall of the national councils, and the deep sense
of obligation they feel to him, and the entire delegation from Kentucky,
and the distinguished patriots, Cass, Webster, and Foote, and others,
for their able and efficient efforts in the passage of measures which,
under Divine blessing, we hope may entirely stop the tide of dissatis
faction, allay the agitation in the country, and bind more closely to
gether our happy confederacy.
Resolved, That the clerk communicate the resolutions to the senate,
and request that they will unite with this house in the representative
hall on that occasion.
The SPEAKER announced the following committee under said reso
lutions, viz: Messrs. PAYNE, ROGERS, WILLIAMS, of Bourbon.
McELROY, TODD, of Logan, DESHA, and TALBOTT, of Boyle.
The committee of the senate, Messrs. POPE, IRWIN, and EAKER,
announced to the house through their chairman, Mr. POPE, that the
senate had accepted their invitation, and would unite with them in
the hall of the house of representatives on to-morrow at 12 o'clock.
NOVEMBER 15, 1850.
Mr. PAYNE, from the committee appointed to wait on the Hon.
HENRY CLAY, and invite him to visit the legislature on this day at
12 o'clock — Reported that the committee had performed that duty, and
that Mr. CLAY responded that it would, .afford him great pleasure.

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and that, at the designated hour, he would visit the legislature in the
hall of representatives.
At 12 o'clock the Senate, preceded by ihe officers of that body, en
tered the hall ; and the committee of invitation, accompanied by Hon.
Henry Clay, appeared. Upon Mr. Clay's being introduced by the
chairman of the committee —
Mr. SPEAKER (Johnston, ) addressed him as follows :
Mr. Clay : Allow me, as the organ of the representatives of the
people, to welcome you to this hall — ^the theatre of your early and suc
cessful labors for the prosperity and happiness of the people — and to
introduce you to the sons and descendants of many of your co-laborers
in this field of your usefulness. To those labors Kentucky is indebted
for her prosperity and her greatness.
Always faithful to the trusts reposed in you by the people of this
great commonwealth ; when dangers threatened, they found you the
fearless defender of the constitution and the rights of the people. Per
mit me, sir, to tender you the high appreciation of the members of this
body of your successful efforts as their representative in the national
councils, for the success of those measures which we hope will give
peace and quiet to the country, and bind in an indissoluble bond our
glorious confederacy. To you, sir, to the Kentucky delegation in con
gress, to the distinguished senators, Webster, Dickinson, Cass, Foote,
and others, Kentucky, yea, sir, America, owes a debt of gratitude.
Mr. CLAY replied as follows :
Mr. Spealcer, and gentlemen of the General Assembly:
In presenting myself before you, in conformity with the resolution
of the house of representatives, and the invitation received by me from
the committee, I have first to perform the agreeable duty of tendering
an expression of my profound acknowledgments and my grateful thanks
for the distinguished honor awarded by you to the Kentucky deleo-a-
tion, to the patriotic and eminent senators of the United States, to oth
er members of congress, and to myself, who co-operated, at the late
session of congress, in the adoption of measures having for their object
the harmony, tranquility, and preservation of the union of our coun
try. And to you, Mr. Speaker, I owe especially an expression of my
obligation for the eloquent and complimentary terms in which, as the
organ of the house, you have been pleased to allude to my public ser
vices on this and other theatres. In the absence of those whom you
have so highly honored, in association with me, I feel quite sure that,
in assuming to present for them their respectful thanks, which they
could so much better do were they present here, I shall have the cor
dial approbation of their hearts. Heretofore I have frequently receiv-

ed gratifying testimonies of the confidence and attachment of my coun
trymen, but they were principally confined to the party of which I
was a member. What gives extraordinary and inexpressible value to
this occasion is that it has been dictated by no party feelings, but is the
voluntary offering of my fellow-citizens, of both -political parties, who
unanimously passed the resolution which has brought us togetheiO)
The last session of congress opened under the most lowering and un
favorable auspices. The public mind had been greatly agitated, dis
tracted, and divided upon subjects connected with the institution of
slavery. I had witnessed other periods of great contest and agitation.
In the case of the admission of Missouri, the whole nation was greatly
convulsed, and there was just cause of serious apprehension for the
safety of the union. In the instance, also, of the opposition of South
Carolina to the tariff, in 1 832-' 33, there was great danger of a civil
war with that state, which might, in certain events, have spread to sur
rounding states. But what peculiarly distinguished the late stmggle
was that, far more than on any former occasion, was the sentiment
avowed, not merely of the existence of danger to the union, but we
heard, in various quarters, an open and undisguised declaration of a
necessity and desire for its dissolution. We beheld, too, what we had
never before seen, in a time of peace, the assemblage of a sectional
convention of delegates, the tendency of which was to break up the
confederacy. Mr. Speaker, in common with others, I had foreseen the dark and
gathering storm. The, perhaps, presumptuous hope that I might, un
der the blessing of Providence, be an humble instrument in assisting to
allay it, constituted a principal motive with me for returning to public
life. Long before the meeting of congress, and during the earlier part
of the session, it engaged almost exclusively all my most anxious
thoughts. The result of my reflections was that series of resolutions
which I presented to the senate of the United States in February last.
My desire was to embrace all the subjects of agitation, arising out of
the institution of slavery, and to leave none open for future agitation,
and, if possible, to settle them in a just and honorable manner as to
both the contending parties. How these resolutions were received, op
posed and discussed on their first presentation, it is not necessary to
state. Subsequently a committee of thirteen was appointed by the
senate, charged with the duty of considering all the subjects. The
committee reported, and their various measures varied but inconsidera
bly from the resolutions which I had previously offered.
Those different measures were : the admission of Cahfomia as a
state into the union; the establishment of territorial governments for
New Mexico and Utah, without the Wilmot proviso; proposals to Texas

for fixing her boundary; more efficacious provisions for the recovery of
fugitive slaves ; and the abolition of the slave trade m the Distnct of
Columbia. j • •
When the message of the President, recommending the admission
of California into the union was first presented, not entertaining myself
a particle of doubt as to the propriety of its admission, and not being
aware of the great and extensive opposition existing amongst the south
ern members of congress against it, I was in favor of its immediate ad
mission, as a separate and distinct measure. But, when I became ac
quainted with that opposition, and considermg that it was a mere ques
tion of form, I thought it best to unite it with othel: kindred measures,
in one common bill.
The admission of California was opposed first, upon the ground of
its having constituted itself a state without the previous express au
thority of congress, and secondly, because the territorial limits which
it had assumed for itself were deemed to be too large and extensive.
We repUed, as to the first ground, that Califomia was not the first
state which had been received into the union without the prior sanction
of congress, but that several other states had been so received. That,
although it was most regular that congress should give its previous as
sent, that that was a matter not depending upon the constitution, but
was within the sound discretion of congress. That, in the case of the
other states, there was less ground for the course which they took, be
cause they were living under the blessings of law and order, and teni-
torial governments established for them by congress ; and that, in the
case of Califomia, owing to divisions in congress, upon the subject of
the Wilmot proviso, that body had been not only unable to give its as
sent to the formation of a state in California, but had totally failed to
perform the high and imperative diity of establishing a territorial gov
ernment for Califomia. It had left California without law, without or
der, without govemment, in a state almost of perfect anarchy. In
such an abandoned condition, the people of California had a right, as
any rational community upon earth would have had a right, to institute
government for themselves, and to establish law and order. As to the
extent of the territorial limits of California, we all felt that they were
quite large, and if they could have been re-formed without rejecting tho
state and remanding it back into a territorial condition, perhaps some
modification would have been made in the limits. But, large as they
arc, itis not believed that they embrace anything like as much arable
land as is contained in several of the states of the union, and compre
hensive as those limits are, they are not as extensive as those of Texas,
which would have been made still larger, if they could have accom-

plished it, by some of the ^ cry members who objected to the size of
California. Prior to the last session of congress, at the preceding session, and
even no longer than twelve months ago, the great effort of the south
was to avoid the Wilmot proviso being engrafted on territorial bills. It
was that odious restriction which created the greatest complaint, and
occasioned the most excitement and agitation at the south. Well, the
committee reported territorial bills for New Mexico and Utah without
the proviso. The south triumphed — triumphed by the liberal, mag
nanimous, and patriotic aid of northern members. It is true that,
whilst the honor of the south, in that respect, is perfectly preserved,
she may never enjoy the privilege of transporting slaves to either Cal
ifornia, New Mexico, or Utah. But if she never can, whose fault is it?
Not that of congress, which has cautiously abstained from all prohibi
tion, and has adopted the principle of non-intervention. It has left
New Mexico and Utah perfectly free, when they come respectively to
form for themselves state governments, to admit or exclude slavery, as
they shall deem best for their own happiness, and, whether admitted
or excluded by their constitutions, upon their being presented for ad
mission into the union, they are to be received as members of the con
federacy. In regard to California, she, by her constitution, and not
congress, has excluded slavery. The vote of her convention interdict
ing it was unanimous, nearly one-third of the delegates themselves
being from slaveholding states. In so deciding for themselves, they
acted in perfect conformity with every sound principle of theory and
practice which has ever prevailed in this country, and in entire accord
ance with the highest southern authority. I ask, then, if there is
blame, who is to be reproached for the exclusion of slavery iu Califor
nia, New Mexico, and Utah? Not congress, most assuredly. The re
proaches must be directed against the people of Califomia for the ex
ercise of an incontestable right, and against nature and nature's God,
for irreversible decrees against the introduction of slavery into the
mountainous, barren, and mostly unprofitable regions of New Mexico
and Utah. If these insurmountable obstacles can be overcome, the
people of those territories are left free to introduce slavery if they
think proper. But candor obliges me to say that I think it never will
be introduced there.
The most difficult, complicated and embarrassing question which en
gaged our deliberations, was that of the boundary of Te?:as. Three
different opinions in regard to it prevailed, and were entertained by re
spectable numbers. According to one, the western limit of Texas was
the Nueces, and did not extend beyond it. Another opinion main-

tained that it stretched beyond the Nueces to the ^^<^ ^^^'^^^^
up that river from its mouth to the southem line ^'f ^ew Mex.«^
The third opinion held that it embraced the who e country east of the
Bio del Norte, from its mouth to its head, i^^^l^^mg nearly al of New
Mexico. All these opinions were maintained with great plausibility, if no
abiUty. The southem members, almost unanimously, and with great
zeal and earnestness, urged the last opinion. It appeared to me that
if ever there were a case upon earth, in which a disputed boundary
should be settled and amicably adjusted by compromise, that of iexas
was one. We offer, it is true, a very large sum of money, ten millions
of dollars, for the exclusion of New Mexico from her limits; but then
we were previously bound, to the extent of nearly one half that sum,
to the creditors of Texas, in consequence of the United States having,
in virtue of the resolution of annexation, appropriated to themselves
all the duties on foreign imports, receivable in the ports of Texas
whilst independent, which had been previously pledged to those credi
tors. Texas, therefore, does not, in fact, receive more than about five
milUons of dollars for the relinquishment of her territorial claim. I
voted, with great pleasure, for the appropriation of the money, because
I hoped and believed it would be honestly and bona fide appUed to the
extinction of her pubUc debt, and to her consequent relief from all pe
cuniary embarrassment. And, Mr, Speaker, I wish that we had some
legitimate ground (I lament we have no legitimate ground) to advance
to every debtor state in the union a sum sufficient to pay all its debts
and to restore its credit, wherever that credit has been tarnished. We
are all members of one glorious confederation, and I should be most
happy to see every state standing upright and honorably in the general
confederacy, and commanding the esteem, the confidence, and the ap
probation of the whole world. If any one state act unworthily in re
ference to her public debt, her conduct brings more or less reproach
upon the whole confederacy,
Jjl will at present say nothing (I may hereafter have occasion to say
Something) in respect to the fugitive slave bill, except that it was the
aim of the provisions which are embodied in it, to give fair, full and
efficacious effect to the constitutional provision for the surrender of fu
gitives. No one was hardy enough, upon the floor of the senate, to
deny the right of the owner of the fugitive slave, in virtue of the con
stitution, to be restored to his property. The only difference of opinion
was as to the mode of effecting that object. But the momentthe con
stitutional right is conceded, every thing is yielded. For all will admit
that a constitutional duty on the part of congress should be faithfully
and effectuaUy, and not elusively and inadequately performeS!*' The

last of the measures in the series was that of abolishing the slave trade
in the District of Columbia. That trade had lost much of its extent
by the retrocession to Virginia of that poriion of the district lying
south of the Potomac, and by other events. It was reduced, I think I
was informed, to a single prison or depot in which slaves were deposit
ed. Those slaves were not bought in the district, but were brought
chiefly from Maryland and Virginia into the district. It was a trade
in which the inhabitants of the district had no sort of interest — on the
contrary they wished it abolished. Southern gentlemen, years and
years ago, had expressed the opinion that it ought to be abolished. It
sometimes exhibited the institution of slavery in one of its most painful
and unpleasant forms. I have myself seen — not often nor lately —
gangs of slaves, chained together, driven through Pennsylvania Ave
nue. And what humane person can contemplate such a spectacle with
out painful feelings? The existence of the trade gave rise to great
clamor and great exaggeration at the north. Why should it be con
tinued in the district? Why not let the trader, if he chooses to con
tinue to prosecute his business, go to Alexandria, to Richmond, to An
napolis, or to Baltimore? If the states of Virginia and Maryland will
not allow him to go there, that is no reason why he should be tolerated
in the district. It was within the clear and indisputable power of con
gress to abolish the trade. In putting an end to it, congress has done
no more than Kentucky has done in forbidding trading in slaves as
merchandize — than the state of Mississippi has done, which inserted in
her constitution a similar prohibition — than many other slavaholding
states have done. The law which was passed does not touch or affect
in the slightest degree, the institution of slavery as it exists -within the
district. It does not prevent the inhabitants of the district from seUing
or otherwise alienating their slaves. It does not prevent thera even
from going out of the district, purchasing slaves, and bringing them
within it for their own use. The law was a mere regulation of police,
called for by all the considerations which can unite in the passage of
any law, and in which, in the absence of all passion, excitement and
agitation, all impartial men would concur.
Such, Mr. Speaker, is a brief account of the system of measures re
commended by the committee of thirteen. That committee thought it
expedient to unite, in one biU, all those kindred measures which related
to our recent territorial acquisitions. They thought that, considering the
actual state of opinion in congress, it was best so to unite them. When
thus combined, each party would see what it gained and what it lost,
and would be sure that, in the passage of the common measure, it
would find its losses compensated by its gains. Moreover, there was.

unhappily, a distrust engendered between the parties, as to what might
be the result, if the several measures were separately proposed. One
said to the other, if we pass what you want, having got it,^ you will
afterwards refuse to give us what we want. By the combination ot the
measures, each party would see and know the exact extent of what it
conceded, and what was conceded to it; and, being once passed, there
would be no risk of bad faith. The friends of the compromise were in
favor of all the measures, either in the aggregate or in detail. Wedded
to no matter of mere form, actuated by no pride of opinion, they were
animated with no other desire than the peAce and harmony of the whole
country. The opponents of the compromise, with some exceptions,
were against the measures, in the aggregate and in detail, and their
objection, therefore, to their union, was not the. true and real objection.
But for their indiscreet and bitter opposition, the omnibus would have
passed months before the separate bills passed. Happily the whole
system of measures, as originally proposed, finally prevailed in both
houses of congress. The propriety of the union of some of them was
demonstrated, in the house of representatives, by the fact that, when
the Texas boundary question was presented, as a separate measure, it
was rejected by a majority of more than forty, and, when afterwards
it was united with the biU for establishing a ten-itorial government for
New Mexico, without the Wilmot proviso, it was carried by a decisive
majority. And now, Mr. Speaker, let us for a moment pause and consider
what are the actual losses and gains by the two sections of the union
in the adoption of this system of measures. I think that, as to Califor
nia, neither party, so far as the action of congress is concerned, can
be truly said to have gained or lost. What has been done there, has
been done by a competent and admitted authority, without the interpo
sition of congress. As to the territories of New Mexico and Utah the
wishes of the south have prevailed, the Wilmot proviso has been repu
diated, and, although I do not believe that slavery will be tolerated in
either of them, both are allowed to admit or exclude it, according to
their own pleasure. In regard to the Texas boundary, the south has
been rendered secure in all the territory lying west of the Nueces, and
extending to the Rio del Norte, and up that river from its mouth to the
southem hne of New Mexico, as an area for slavery, which had been
before disputed and controverted. '^!^he south gets an effective provis
ion for the restoration of fugitive slaves:) The south, I think will be
quieted on the subject of the agitation of slavery in the district of Co
lumbia, by the abolition ofthe odious slave trade in that District— a
measure equally demanded, iu my humble opinion, by the honor, th'e
dignity and the true interests of both the south and the north

Will that isysteiA of measures allay excitement and agitation and pa'-
cify, tranquiffize and harmonize the country ? I hope, trust, and be
lieve it will. At all events, the field of excitement and agitation has
been greatly circumscribed. No longer can California be a theme to
create division amongst us. She is now an admitted member of this
union, and can be no more put out of it than Kentucky or Virginia, oi-
• any other state can be put out of it. No longer can the WUmot proviso
be insisted upon, to be engrafted upon the territorial gdvernmeiits of
New Mexico and Utah ; for I venture to predict that, if any attempt be
made to fasten that proviso upon those governments, it will be resisted
by a decisive if not indignant majority in one or both bouses of congress,
No longer can the subject of tlie Texas boundary be one of agitation
and controversy ; for, from aU that I have heard, the people of Texas
themselves, who had the undoubted right to decide for themselves
whether they would accept or reject the proposals of congress, have,
as I never doubted they would, consented to those proposals. As to
the slave trade bill in the District of Columbiaj the north I presume will
hardly attempt a repeal of that, and I confidently anticipate that no such
attempt will be seriously made on the part of the south. In respect to
slavery within the District of Columbia, which is dying a natural death
rapidly, I think we may confidently hope for freedom from all disturb
ance on that account.
Thus, Mr. Speaker, I trust aiid believe that of ali the numerous
threatening topics connected with slavery, at the commencement of the
late session of Congress, one only remains to create interest and solici
tude, and that is the fugitive slave bill. Narrowed down to that single
ground, the slaveholding states will occupy the vantage position. The
constitution is with them, tlie law is with them, the right is with them,
and, if its execution shall be opposed or attempted to be thwarted by
force, that state which makes such an opposition will place itself clearly,
manifestly, and indisputably in the wrong. Occupying such a ground
the slaveholding states may fearlessly and confidently await the fssue.
It was not to be expected, nor did I expect, that the measures a-
dopted at the last session of congress would lead to immediate and
general acquiescence on the part of the ultras, at the north and at the
south. They had been impeUed by such violent and extreme passions,
that it was too much to expect that they would silently and promptly
admit their error, and yield to what had been done for the best interests
of our common country .~ Accordingly, we perceive that, at the south,
that second edition of the Hartford convention has again assembled, and
is labouring to stir up strife and contention ; and in several ofthe slave-
holding states the spirit of discord and disunion is busily sngaj^ed in its
2

10
unpatriotic work. But I confidently anticipate that all these mad ef
forts will be put down by the intelligence, the patriotism, and the love
of union of the people of the various slaveholding states.
And here, Mr. Speaker, let us make a momentary inquiry, as to
what would have been the condition of the parts of the confederacy on
the subject of slavery, if unhappily it had been dissevered. Assuming
that the line could have been drawn between the slaveholding and the
non-slaveholding states, aU north ofthe states of Maryland and Virgin
ia, and all north of the Ohio river would have become a foreign, inde
pendent and sovereign power. Contrast, if you please, our present con
dition with what it would have been under that order of things. At
present, we have a right, if any slave escapes from his service, to de
mand his surrender. We have a right to take the constitution and the
law in our hand and to require the surrender. I do not believe that
there will be any open and forcible resistance to the execution of the
law ; the people of the north have too strong a sense of the propriety of
obedience to the law for that. But, if there be any such resistance, we
have a right to invoke the employment of any part of the militia of the
United States, or the army or the navy of the United States, to enforce
the execution of the law. And, although I have no authority to com
mit President Fillmore to any specific line of duty, I have known him
long, well and intimately, and I feel entire confidence in him, as a man
of ability, and of honesty, and of patriotism, who will perform his duty
and his whole duty, in seeing to the faithful execution of the laws of
the iMid, to which I pledge the support of the utmost of my poor abil
ity. fXn the existing state of things, we doubtless shall not recover all
our fugitive slaves that escape. We shaU, however, recover some, and
the courts and the juries in the free states have demonstrated their read
iness to give, by their verdicts and judgments, ample indemnity against
those who entice, seduce away and harbor our runaway slaves^
But how would the case stand in a dismembered condition of the
confederacy ? Then we would not have a right to demand a solitary
slave that might escape beyond the Ohio into what would then be a for
eign power. -' If all the slaves of Kentucky, in that contingency, were
to flee beyond the Ohio river, we would not have a right to demand
one of them. In the absence of extradition treaties (and no such treat
ies would ever be concluded in respect to slaves,) we should have no
right to demand a surrender of one of them. Nothing is clearer, in the
whole public law of nations, than that one independent foreign power
is not bound to surrender a fugitive who takes refuge in the dominions
of another mdependent foreign power. We have recently seen this
great international principle acted upon by the Sultan of Turkey, in the

II
case of Kossuth and his Hungarian compatriots, who took l-efuge in the
Sultan's dominions. And his refusal to surrender them, upon the de
mand of Russia and AusU'ia, was enthusiastically admired, approved,
and applauded by all of us.
Now, Mr. Speaker, we have the constitution, the law and the clear
right on our side. Dissolve the confederacy, and create new and inde
pendent powers, the law and the right would be transferred from us to
them. I may be asked, as I have been asked when I would consent to a
dissolution of the Union. I answer never — never — never ; because I
can conceive of no possible contingency that would make it for the in
terests and happiness ofthe people to break up this glorious confedera
cy and to separate it into bleeding and belligerent parts. Show me,
what I believe to be impossible to show me, that there will be greater
security for liberty, life, property, peace, and human happiness, in
the midst of jarring, jealous, and warring independent North American
powers, than under the eagle of the union, and I will consent to its
dissolution, I would yield to it, if Congress were to usurp a power,
which I am sure it never will, to abolish slavery within the limits of
the states ; for in the contingency of such a usurpation, we should be
in a better condition as to slavery, bad as it would be, out of the union
than in the union.
Apprehensions have been entertained and expressed as to the want,
in future time, of territorial scope for the slave population. I believe
that a very distant day, not likely to occur in the present or the next
century. Whenever the vast unoccupied wastes in Mississippi, Ar
kansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Texas, shall become fully
peopled, slavery will have reached its natural termination. The den
sity of population, in the United States, wiU then be so great that there
will be such a reduction in the price and value of labor as to render it
much cheaper to employ free than slave labor, and slaves becoming a
burthen to their owners, will be voluntarily disposed of and allowed to
go free. Then, I hope and beUeve, under the dispensations and bles
sings of Providence, that the continent of Africa, by the system of col
onization, will be competent to receive from America all the descend
ants of its own race.
ff f the agitation in regard to the fugitive slave law should continue,
and increase, and become alarming, it will lead to the formation of two
. new parties, one for the union and the other against the unionT^ Pres
ent parties have been created by division of opinion, as to systems
of national poUcy ; as to finance, free trade or protection, the improve
ment of rivers and harbors, the distribution of the proceeds of the pub-

12
Uc lands, (fee. But these systems of poUey, springing out of the ad
ministration of the government of the union, lose aU their interest and
importance, if that union is to be dissolved, Tliey sink into utter in
significance before the all important, pervasive, and paramount inter
est of the union itself. And the platform of that union party will be,
the union, the constitution, and the enforcement of its laws. And if it
should be necessary to form such a party, and it should be according
ly formed, I announce myself, in this place, a member of that union par
ty, whatever may be its component elements. Sir, I go further, I have
had great hopes and confidence in the principles of the whig party, as
being most likely to conduce to the honor, the prosperity, and the glory
of my country. But, if it is to be merged into a contemptible aboli
tion party; and if abolitionism is to be engrafted on the whig creed, from
that moment I renounce the party and cease to be a whig. I go yet a
step further ; if I am alive, I will give my humble support for the pres
idency, to that man, to whatever party he may belong, who is uncon
taminated by fanaticism, rather than to one who, crying out all the
time and aloud that he is a whig, maintains doctrines utterly sub^-er-
sive of the constitution and the union.
Mr, Speaker, I speak .without reserve and with entire freedom. If
there be a man who treads the soil of this broad earth, that feels him
self perfectly independent, I am that man. I have no ambitious aspi
rations, I want no office, no station in the gift of man, I would re
sign that which I hold, if I thought I could do so, at this time, with
honor, I want no place whatever — I beg pardon, sir, there is one
place only which I desire, and that is a warm place in your hearts.
Out of our late heated discussions and divisions one good result has
been produced. The people generally, whigs and democrats, have been
more thrown together, in free and friendly intercourse. Both have
learned to appreciate each other better. For myself, I say, alike with
truth and pleasure, that, during the late arduous and protracted session,
I was in conference and consultation quite as often, if not oftener with
democrats than whigs; and I found in the democratic party quite ps
much patriotism, devotion to the union, honor and probity, as in the
other party.
Mr, Speaker, the State of Kentucky, although not one ofthe largest
states in point of population, occupies a proud and lofty position in'the
confederacy. She was the pioneer state in the settlement of this great
valley. She is geographically not remote from the centre of the union
to which she has been always firmly attached. The renown of her
arms and the uncalculating gallantry of her people are every where
known and admitted. To every field of battle, Jhin her n^ach, siSI

13
the days ofthe revolution, her sons have rushed and poured out freely
their patriotic blood. That splendid monument upon yonder hill over
looking this picturesque valley, so creditable to the sculptor for the
beauty of its classic design and the excellence of its chaste execution,
attests their glory and the afflicting loss of their friends and country.
Covered, as the column almost is, with the names of the heroic dead,
let us cling to the union until there is not a space left upon the marble for
inscribing the names of those who may hereafter fall in fighting the
battles of their common country. Whilst the North Western States
and Pennsylvania, and Virginia and Tennessee, and Kentucky, remain
firm in their attachment to the confederacy, no presumptuous hand will
dare to attempt to draw successfully a Une of its separation.
In conclusion, Mr, Speaker, I renew an expression of my respectful
acknowledgments for the distinguished honor of this occasion. It will
form an epoch in my life, will be ever cherished most gratefully in my
memory, and will be transmitted to my descendants as a precious lega
cy to them.

[NoTs BY THE REPORTER, — During the deUvery of the preceding
speech, there were frequent bursts of enthusiastic applause, but it has
not been deemed necessary to mark them in this sketch,]

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