servience to the Slave Power was assured by the mere legalization of lifelong bondage and unrequited labor on its narrow but fertile intervales, and in its mines of precious ore.

The XXXVIth Congress assembled at Washington Monday, December 5, 1859. The Senate was still strongly Democratic, though the Republican minority therein had grown gradually, until it numbered twenty-four. Indiana, Minnesota, California, and Oregon, were still represented by Democrats, as were in part Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois; but the strong anti-Lecompton wave of 1858 had swept into the House delegations from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, decidedly hostile to the Administration; and these, with unanimous Republican delegations from all the New England States, left no clear majority for any party. On the first ballot for Speaker, Thomas S. Bocock, Dem., of Virginia, received eighty-six votes; John Sherman, Rep., of Ohio, sixty-six; Galusha A. Grow, Rep., of Pennsylvania, fortythree: twenty-two were divided between three "Americans" or Southern Whigs, and thirteen were scattered mainly upon anti-Lecompton Democrats: whole number cast, 230; necessary for a choice, 116.

Mr. Burnett, of Kentucky, now moved that the House adjourn till to-morrow, which was negatived Yeas 100; Nays 130: whereupon Mr. John B. Clark,' of Missouri, rose, and, amid a shower of objections and interruptions, proposed the following preämble and resolution:

"Whereas, certain members of this House, now in nomination for Speaker, did indorse and recommend the book hereinafter mentioned,

"Resolved, That the doctrines and sentiments of a certain book called 'The Impending Crisis of the South-How to meet it,' purporting to have been written by one Hinton R. Helper, are insurrectionary and hostile to the domestic peace and tranquillity of the country; and that no member of this

House who has indorsed and recommended

it, or the compend from it, is fit to be Speak

er of this House."

The book thus advertised was written by a young North Carolinian of the poorer middle class, who, having migrated to California, and spent some time in the Northern States, had imbibed ideas respecting Slavery which it was not safe to express in his native State. Those ideas he had embodied in his "Impending Crisis," which was, in substance, a vehement appeal to the poor whites of the South against persistence in servility to the slaveholders, backed by ample statistics, proving Slavery specially injurious and degrading to them, as well as baleful and blighting to the entire South. This book, being deemed effective as an antiSlavery argument, whether in the North or in the South, had been recommended to general attention, in a circular signed by two thirds, at least, of the Republican members of the last Congress, including, of course, many of those returned to the present. Messrs. Sherman and Grow, between whom the Republican vote for Speaker was divided, were both among the signers of this circular. Hereupon, Mr. Clark proceeded to make, amid interruptions and questions of order, such a speech as a slaveholder might be expected to make on such a theme; urging

having been withdrawn, the vote was declared: for Pennington 117; John A. McClernand, Dem., 85; John A. Gilmer, Amer., 16; and there were 15 scattering. Mr. Henry Winter Davis, of Md., who had hitherto voted with the Americans, now cast his vote for Pennington, and elected him-he having the exact number necessary to a choice. John W. Forney, anti-Lecompton Dem., was soon after elected Clerk by a close vote. The majority in the Senate was not merely Democratic, of the Lecompton or extreme pro-Slavery caste; it was especially hostile to Senator Douglas, and determined to punish him for his powerful opposition to the Lecompton bill, by reading him out of the party. To this end, Mr. Jefferson Davis submitted 10 an elaborate series of resolves, whereof the following is the most material:

legislation or legislation of an indirect and unfriendly character, possesses power to annul or impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United States to take his slave property into the common Territories, and there hold and enjoy the same while the territorial condition remains."

The discussion of the series consumed a large share of the time and attention of the Senate during the entire session. It ultimately transpired that they had been indorsed by a 'Lecompton' or regular Democratic caucus, and that their ulterior object was the reading of Mr. Douglas, and other tenacious champions of Popular Sovereignty, out of the Democratic party. At length," the Senate came to a vote on the first of the series, which was as follows:

6

"1. Resolved, That, in the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the States adopting the same acted severally as free and independent sovereignties, delegating a portion of their powers to be exercised by the Federal Government for the increased security of each against dangers, domestic as well as foreign; and that any intermeddling by any one or more States, or by a combination of their citizens, with the domestic institutions of the others, on any pretext whatever, political, moral, or religious, with a view to their disturbance or subversion, is in violation of the Constitution, insulting to the States so interfered with, endangers their domestic peace and tranquillity—objects for which the Constitution was formed-and, by necessary consequence, tends to weaken and destroy the Union itself."

This resolve was aimed directly at the Republicans, and was passed by a strict party vote—that is, by the votes of all others in the affirmative, against the Republicans in the negative : Yeas 36; Nays 19.13

Pearce, Polk, Powell, Pugh, Rice, Sebastian, Slidell, Thomson, of N. J., Toombs, Wigfall, and Yulee-36.

NAYS-Messrs. Bingham, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Wade, and Wilson-19.

"2. Resolved, That negro Slavery, as it exists in fifteen States of this Union, composes an important portion of their domestic institutions, inherited from their ancestors, and existing at the adoption of the Constitution, by which it is recognized as constituting an important element in the apportionment of powers among the States, and that no change of opinion or feeling on the part of the non-slaveholding States of the Union, in relation to this institution, can justify them or their citizens in open or covert attacks thereon, with a view to its overthrow; and that all such attacks are in manifest violation of the mutual and solemn pledge to protect and defend each other, given by the States respectively on entering into the constitutional compact which formed the Union, and are a manifest breach of faith, and a violation of the most solemn obligations."

This was adopted: Yeas 36; Nays 20; the division being identical with the foregoing, save that Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, was now present, adding one to the Republican vote.

While the above resolve was under consideration, Mr. Harlan, of Iowa, moved to add to it as follows:

“But the free discussion of the morality and expediency of Slavery should never be interfered with by the laws of any State, or of the United States; and the freedom of speech and of the press, on this and every other subject of domestic and national policy, should be maintained inviolate in all the

States."

This was rejected: Yeas 20; Nays 36 (as upon the adoption of the second resolve, with the order reversed). "3. Resolved, That the Union of these States rests on the equality of rights and

14 YEAS-Messrs. Thomson (John R.,) of New Jersey, Bigler, of Pennsylvania, Rice, of Minnesota, Bright, of Indiana, Gwin and Latham, of California, Lane, of Oregon-in all, seven from Free States; with Messrs. Kennedy and Pearce, of Maryland, Hunter and Mason, of Virginia, Bragg and Clingman, of North Carolina, Chesnut❘ and Hammond, of South Carolina, Iverson and Toombs, of Georgia, C. C. Clay and Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, Brown and Davis, of Mississippi, Benjamin and Slidell, of Louisiana, Mallory and Yulee, of Florida, Hemphill and Wigfall, of Texas, Crittenden and Powell, of Kentucky, A. Johnson and Nicholson, of Tennessee, Green

307

privileges among its members; and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate either in relation to persons or property in the Territories, which are the common possessions of the United States, so as to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally assured to those of every other State."

This was also adopted-Yeas 36; Nays 18: the Yeas, as upon the first vote; as also the Nays, except that Messrs. Grimes and King did not vote.

The next was the touchstone-its

passage by a party vote the object of the movement. It reads:

"4. Resolved, That neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature, whether by direct legislation or legislation of an indirect and unfriendly character, possesses power to annul or impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United States to take his slave property into the common Territories, and there hold and enjoy the same while the territorial condition remains,"

This important resolve-the sentence and death-knell of "Popular Sovereignty"-was passed by the decisive majority of thirty-five Yeas to twenty-one Nays "-every Democratic Senator present but Mr. Pugh, of Ohio, voting for it; though Messrs. Latham, of California, Fitch, of Indiana, Rice, of Minnesota, and perhaps one or two others, had been known in other days as friends of Mr. Douglas, and champions of his doctrine. Mr. Douglas himself was absent through

and Polk, of Missouri, R. W. Johnson and Sebastian, of Arkansas-28 from Slave States alone-every Slave State but Delaware being fully represented, and casting its full vote for this proposition. Total 35.

The NAYS were-Messrs. Fessenden and Hamlin, of Maine, Clark and Hale, of New Hampshire, Sumner and Wilson, of Massachusetts, Simmons, of Rhode Island, Dixon and Foster, of Connecticut, Collamer and Foot, of Vermont, King, of New York, Ten Eyck, of New Jersey, Pugh and Wade, of Ohio, Trumbull, of Illinois, Bingham and Chandler, of Michigan, Doolittle, of Wisconsin, Grimes and Harlan, of Iowa-21.