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Congressional

Congressional image
Parent Issue
Day
23
Month
February
Year
1842
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Ii the House, Jan. 20 and 2i were occupied with receiving petiiion, or rather wilfi the pressntalioQ of ihem. „2 very large number of petilions oti slavery, embracing niany thousand eignaluree, and praying foi agrent variety of objecte, uere preseutedj the greater part ïefuaed n reception, some laid on the table, and a few referred. The details respecting ihem we cannot publiah, ds they would lili oar paper. Tho trinl of Mr. Adams is exciting very greotsenfiation,both in Congress and througli out ths aation. r.'lie uorthern papers generally are compelled lo adtnit that Mr. Adams is riglit, and many of ihem epeak of hU cotirso wit il npproval. The Cincinnati Gazettc eayé: "Weve che House 6mply to receive al! pettüons, and report upon Ihem, tliero vvould beau end of' all these .quustions and debules, oud wky, ii doea not do so, pur readers kaow as wol.l as we. Certain t is, it mnsi do it, sooner or Ínter. The country will not bc dragooiKíii into a vi!csubi'rviency by uny ifire braad Southrjna, let ihm threaten or jjravado ns they may." f'As Tor the alarm cry of the elissolulion of the Union, il is all balderdadti, Who arnong ihoso arrogant pretenders ihat now assail Mr Adams, ventured to aBsai! M?. llhett %ohen lie introduced a resoïuüon into the jijvjuaefour yeara ego ibr this expresa object? They were dumb then. Yet now, wlien a petilion only a pre?ented, denuiici'ation. fierca abueef invegtivQ üro hurlod by Jjeifi pUiCUt Bt'üt Qgainst au o!d tuon! We óuld not givea fig (or such affectatioo.g of valor - sucíi falee and bollow hej-tod regard lor Ihe Union," The Southernera have made the offer to Mr Adams, to withdraw the resolution of censure pending agaiüsl him, if he will withWiw the petition whict he oft'ered, for the diesolulion of the Union, üe declined acceëng to the proposition, on tho ground that hehad preeented the petition froni principie. A propoailion to lay the wholo matter on the iftble, was negatived, ayes 90 - nays 100. - ÍThe ptobabiliiy ia, the rtpylutioa will be dtbated a tew weeks, nnd then dropped, The expulsión of Mr Adams froni the Houtse, orj even hia censure, would produce a feeling! through tho Free States not easily allayed. The following ftom the A. S. Standard will give a botter idea of the Btate of fechng at' Washington, then the minutiae oí' the c'ebates: The Speaker announced to Mr. Adarns that bis position entiiled hún to the üuor. 1 ihought of a para! iel l scène, - 'Then Agrippu said unto Paul, It is permjtted unto thee to speak fur thyself. And Pauk stretched forth bis hand und saió. " Up rose, then, that httle, feeble, ba ld,; gray, totteriny old majj, his eyes dimmed and'his bands treaibling wilh cijnstituiiunul iniirtnity and agc - upun whose consecruted head the vial3 ut' tyrauaic wrath had beea now outpourcd, wlulo around him gleanied a hundrod lowermg brows, in long-standing, hereditary lmte, kindled j into new fuiry by the urousing ui' the vilest, most brjiUuJ, and sordid pussions. - mong the croud of slavers who ñlled the: gállenos, lie cuuld seek nq friend?, and but a few arn ng thuso arouiul him, over all of wborn, in yeara gone by, he had! held almost imperial sway. Tho visión of ihat hour, that moment, 1 feit was worth mQre lo me than all the rest of roy' life, No roiruniic or dramutic scène of, ficiitious mierest ever awnkened by the; powor8 of poeüc fancy, tho high emotiunsi of this solemn, throbüiog reaüty . Mild, calm, unexcited, undepressed, he turned his inuek face a 6cene appalliug1 to many a beurt that had a sluuter cover-! ing, and raised bis voice, high koycd as usual, but clear, untretnutous, iirm. The' inftrmitiesi of body disuppeared in a mouieiil; ui if you uoticed his shakmg, half palsied hand, you did so only to dunk. ófi the old Doge uf ihe Adrititic Republic on: "the Giaiu's stoiicase." "Thou tremblest, Falieru." " 'Tiá-with age tic;i." At fitst, there wus nothing ui' indigna-; tion in hid toue, riannor, or word, tíur-i prise and coid conlompt was all. Bat spon a fli.sh of wii nering scorn suucU the un- happy Marshall lo the earih, aud a single, breath bluw uil his inock judicial aríay mto uir atid oinoke. ltHis puny mindV] O, it was exquiöité! Poor Marshall is on hts back, flat ui the mud, and wül neverj rise aguiu. llut tho graudust touch of the' wholo was wbere Adams, in a top.eof in-j sulted m.ijesty and reinvigoratod spirit,! tsaid, in reply io the nudacious and atrocious charge of "high Ireason," -"I cali for the reuding of the first parngraph of the Declaratiun uv iivoEi'f.N-' düíck! Kead il! Ukad it! And see what that says of Ihe rigta of a peoplo to reform, to change, to dissolve their governmeni." Tije look, the tone, the atiitudo and gesture of the venerabie in3uited patriot, ut that instant, were most iuijjusing. The voice wns that of sovercign cuinmand - as of a Cae?ar to his lcguná. Hts slight, tooping frame scemed io dilate and heighten; the burden of 6eventy five years had rolled offfrom him; and shone put above ihe slight things around him, (who hatl tfiought themselve8 his equals, in being his aasociates) lika an anüittied king, or an inspired prophet. Whon the reader carne to that passage of the Declaralion thav solemnly'prociaimi the right of reform, revoiution, uud restance to oppression, the old man thunderedout "litad that againV And he looked proudly oround on tho listeningJu'iKe, aa he heard hia triumphant vin.ii- cu.iftiaded (urih m the glorieus senrj teticwi OTQr Rettöluiinnary Jtfana Cmr2a. The syuipaïhetic ineiantáiieous rej.1 vulsion of feoling was Iremendouaund pal pftbjëj thbngK voiceless. Every drop o! J Fniiii, honest blood in the vast assemblage . bounded wi.h the high impulse; nnd every ; fibra thrilfal with the cxcitement.. The ' wholo acti.n, tl.ough simple, natural, un. nttected, was dramatic and eñective beyond Shakspeare's noblest conceplion - l Jube Phiilip Kemble might have leurni cc in this school of imture's nction. A slmng exhibition of the" facis in the . case, inoöily in bolif, calm measurod : sentence, concluded Mr. Adam's hightoned appeal froui the profane babblers óf Ibis slavish generasion, to the saitited Fa thers oftHut system of Revolutionary iib oi which be is the coeval and the nolj bk-si cliumpion nd represenlative. And j (hen he sat duwu, vindicated, viclorii.us. j Mr. Eveiett,of Vermom, a grave, quiei, : unexcitable man, eminent .lor his prudenció and good sen.se, then spoke brieily in cöndeinnalion of the airocious assnuh whieh the proposed resolulion made uon ihe venenued Mr. Adam?, r.nd concluded by moving f. postpootnentiill Munday Then got up Mister Henry A. Wise, and in tusown pecufiar, ini:niii?iy ridicuj lou? s5.v1 Óf fip]nj tü.ply headed pora[o?iiy, ?el bimself to do nway the evident effect of Mr. AdamT5 proceedurc, by alJlnS U(on Ihc House lo "listen to a voice ' froin ihe tomb!" Hecailed for the readinjï of the Farewell Addressof WashingUm. Whea the Cierk read lbo famous pussage - "Frown indinant!y," &c. Mr. Wie 6creamed out in the style of a tragedy hcro- "Read thett agttinl 'ïhe fee ble itnitatibn wns too pulpably ridiculous. lt waa almost killing. The whule audience burst intotnercile.s laughter at this realization of the fuble oí' the frog and ox - I And tho poor frog seemed ior the mo. j ment to have actutilly exploded with the shock. Hesu(will) such a face as I did not suppose any man was capable of put ting on; and, to punieh the House, he j made the poor Clork read a doaen tedious ! passages of the uddress, in spite of the remonstrances thnt all were perfectly familiar with the admirable document in jquestion. It put me iu tnind of "Hark from the tomb a doleful sound.'1 Mr. Adams increased the roar of laughter by cali ing on tbo Clerk to read the repeaied clause again; and he pointed out its proner application, by sayir.g - "That shou'ld have been thoughl of when tho gag-laio waa passéd." Wise then went on with redoublod bitj terness, and for two houra lavished every : species ofrnalignant imperlincnce upon Mr. Adama. líe collcd iüm o vamj.irc, an abuser uf his ia hor, &c. In his incoherent ravingp, he tüiked of an English party, a French JPacobin party, with one or both of which he idenüfiud ihe modern nbolitionistP i; and so on, rending column afi ter column from the Emancipator and othj er abolition papers, till his l'riends moved and carried an adjournment, lo enable hun to continue to-morrow. VYedesday, January 26. To day Mr. Wise lesumed. The galleries wero ngain crowded with a vast concoursc, impatient to hear Mr, Adama LÍO his grand replyjbut VVise, as if conscious of the real object of the assemblage, ! seemed detennined to worry and exhaust thern, and conlirmed his tedinns,disgusting n-mgense for more thun two mortal Siours. The proceedings of this day are equaüy important willi those of yesferday; wnd i 1 tru3l a portion of theni uiay be given in i full in your columns. Viscount Murpelh has been a dteply intereated spectator and nuditor,both to day and yesterday, sitting in patiënt attention to this momeutous display of republicun ; turbulence. He occupied thechair of one j of ihe memherrf, and was apparenlly the ! persan to whoni ife direct uil his svvng gering, bullying abuse of the Briiish na-j j tiun aud Government. Whenever he suid ; any thing particularly malignant and nbuswte, he ulways ttirned lothe Vi.count, a tic' pointed signifkantly at him,npparentl)rdelighted to insult a stranger and u lord, without ihe possibility of a reply. . When Wise finished the buzz nnd dam ! or, hich had drowned the greater part of his speech, was hushed in expectation of thereply; but to to the surprise and dis gust of every gentleman in the House, the Speaker gav f hö flior tohiscolleigue, Mr. Underwouja, of Kcntucky ! The total insensibility of bóih these Kentuckians to every claim of delicacy, propriety, juslioe and honor, displayed in thus wresting from an abused and insujted man his right of reply to a epeech direcled solkiv agninst hïm, excited general indigniition. Bul Mr. Adains, whorose the moment that Mr. Wise finished, securod the floor by rateing a point of order, which must lake prece dencii. Mr. Adrtmspbjecteá lothe resolution as out of order, beca usé tt nccused him of two crimes, lor which the House had not the power to try him, nnd for which the laws ussigned the punishment nnd mode of -tri al before the proper tribunal, - the Con stitution guaranteeing this right wiih nll the forms of jusiice. These two crimes were - subordinaliou of perjury and high treason. He said he would refer to a case in the past proceedings of this House, wero charged with the crime of murder ir cold blood! and a proposition was then made to try them for this crime in this House, and cxpel them from it as punish ment, There carne then a man into theHouse, a man with his face a id hands dripping with the blond of a tnurdered brother member, and tho staiusand (i)otch es of that inurdered vicliiu stilt to be toen upon his face." [llera ihere was an in discribable movetnent emong ihe wliole BssemMy, as if a general shuddcr passed over (hem, followed by a silenee likc death.] "It was hen prnpneed tu pasa over ihis man, the real author nf that n)urder and tho prinncipal actor in it, and to punish meiüly the man who pulled tho trigger, and sent the buil through thu beurt of the vieiim, though he was but a tooi in the hands of the actual murderer. Tho comtnittoe, appointed lo examine into ihecase, reported a resolution to that effect. But I opposed ii; and whiíé I insisted on the crrminality of that blood stained real murderer, 1 contended, that ihiè House had no juriidiclion; and urged that they shouM boih be hamled over to the proper tribunals, to be dealt with as the laws próvida for that crime. For that same principie I contend now, in my own case." AM eyes wcre lurned upon the condetn ned criminal, who sat sturing, faacinated by the eye of his ca lm acense.-, horror struck, lis though conscience-sjnitlen. - The miserable man wriihed and gafjped a fey moments under tho awful inflictiop, ririd theri sprang up convulsivoly, nnd stro'ching out his quivering hand?, as if he sought to clutt-h (ilO !hroiU A liis enemy, burst out in a voice between ascream and a hoarse whisper, and imploringly proiested his innocence. He iavokcd the jirstice of the luw. He had demanded a trial by the legal tribunals. He was not the murderer. He was a most unwilling wimess. He went to the ground only to shield the life nf a doar friend. Thai man defended him then, here, and at home, on the merils of the case. He went on in this way tiil, boiüng wilh fury, hc denounced Mr. Adarns as "a black liar and a iraitor." Unrnoved, Mr. Adams denicd that he ever defended Wiso on the meritsofthe case. He said then what he dio1 now of hitn; and he now appealed to the journals of the House to prove it. And on the record of the votes there givcn, the gentleman from Aecomac would find that thoso who then voted for his expulsión were thnse very northern Democrats whfim in his speech yesterday and to day he had emlifaced as lus dear and true friends. Mr. Wise again interrupted to the same purpose; when Mr. Ca!houn,of Massachu?etts, expressed his hope that hia colleague might be ailowedto proceed without interruption, as tho gentleman from Virginia had been. Wise, on this, dvanced tovvards Mr. Calhoun,who sits a few seats from him, and stretching out his arm towards hitn, though still sone dista nee frorn him, ui - 'Do you want tl t;iKo ibis Up? j'ou had bíter take it up." A Knul rail lo order put him down. Mr. Adams continued for somc time; and then Mr. Marshall attempted to feav eomething to screen bimse'f, but did not eucceed. He merely tried to screen himself under legal technicalilies. Ö-Read the following rtsolutidn!, and then thitik of our Demacratic Leislaturo, which has repeatedly laic! on the table, a resoltition on the right of petition. D- we not need a Liberty party in Michigan?