Mr. Crittenden On The Union

The following is tho conclusión of Mr. Di-iUeaden'a speech, deliverod in tlm Sonate on tho 13t!i inst., on the otctfio the. introdoction of his proposed compromiso oi' tlie slavery question : You think, pc-rliap.s. or soine of ymi, Shat the.re is no danger, thrit it wilt Imt tbunder and pass away. Do not entui - taia sueh a fatal delusion. 1 tsll you it is not B9. I teil you tliat as rare s we stand hcre disunioii wlllprogTö. I fciir it may swallow up even Old Kentucky iu its vortox - as truc a State to the Union as yet exista in the wlioU; Confederacy - I unlcss stiruethiug be done; but that yoi i will have disunion, that unarohy aiid maal will follow it, that all this will takt place in six months, I bulieve as confidently aaI believc in jour presence. I want to sdtisfy you of that faot. Mr. President, I ï-ise to suggtoi anotlier cousideratiou. I have beeu surprised to find, upon a littlo aimintioa, that when tho peaco of 1783 was made, which. recuguiïed the independeuce of this country by Great Êrittlio, the States nortk of Mason and Dixou'a üiiq had but tei - r.tjry of oae huudred and sixty-fjur tluiusand square miles, vvhile the State south of Mason and Dixon's line had more than six hundred thon.sand square' iniles. It was so divided Virginia shortly' aftorwards ceded to. the Uuited tatcs all that noble temtory northwest of the Ohio river, and exoluded s!avery froia it. 'hat ohanged the rclative proportiou OÍ -erritory. After tliat, the North had fuui lundred aud tweuty-ñvo thousatid square miles, and the Soutli thrce hundred uud e.ighty-fife thousand. Thu, at once, by tilt) conoession of Virginia, the North, from onahuudredaud siit3--l'our thousaud, rose to four hundred and twoiiy-fiva thoudaud square miles, and the South feil from six huudred thousaud to three hundred and eighty-fivo thousaud fiqut, miles. 13y that cession the Suuth bL'camo smaller iu extent than the Nexth. Wo!l, let us look beyond. I iutend to tako up as little time asposaiblo, and to avoid details ; but take all y-our subsequent ac(juisitions of Florida, of ljousiaiia, of Oregon, of Toxas, and the acquisitions mado from ilexico. Thay liav; been so divided and so disppsed of that the North has qow two millious two huadred thousand a-juare miles of territory, and t o South .is Iüss thun oue inilhon. Undor these ciivumstiince?, wlien ycu ïave beca so greatly magnifica--! d') not couipluin of it ; I aia statiug (acts - -whcn. your seciion has beca mado so mighty "bvi iliese grtat aCíjuisitiong, and tj a great es tent with the perfect consent oï tuo Soutu, cuht you to hesiute now upou adoptiiig tiiid liue, whieh wil leave to you on the North side of it ninc huudri'd aul odd thousand .square miles, c, id l.-.v.e to the tjouth only two hnndred aud cigLu-'1 five thousand 'Í It will givo you tiireo1 times as mueh as it will give her. Thor'j is three times as nmeli laad in your pji1tion as in hers. The South bas already oecupied some of it and it is in States ; hut altogethar the South gets by this división two hundred aud eighty-üve thousand s uare miles, aad the North uinfl hundred thousaud. The r,o.ii;lt of tf whule of it is, that tha Nurtli has t'vïa miüion two huadred thous.md sijuarc miles, and the South only one million. I niention this as no reproach, as no upbraiding, as no CQijtplaipt - noue at all, I do not speak in that spirit ; I dp nö'ii addross you iu that temper. JJut thedj are the faets, aud thoy ought, it seems to me. to have some weight ; aml w'nen wc come to mako a peaee otl'ering. are we to oount it, iire Wi to 111 jasare it niely ia golden seales ''. You gtit a priec, and t!.., dcarest price, for all tlie eouceistons asked to bemade; you have tj-j ünno eitablisbmoat of your U.iio 1 ; ymi hu-o the restoration oi' peiico and tia:K{uility, and the hopos of a miglity fiture, ail s .- curod by this ooneession. itov djarly must one iudivid i;il, or two individu ils, vaiue tiieir private opiuiqns, it' they ikluk t'.iüin more important to the worid thari thÍ3 mighty inte est of th l'aic:! nud thj goverameut of the L.iited Siatesl ' 8ir, it is a elieap saeritice. It isa glorioas saeritiee. Tuis Uuiou oost a great deal to establisii it ; it cost the yielding i of much of publie opinión and mueh ot' poliey, besides tho direct or indirect cost ot ït m all tne war to establisli tlic ïnuupeudenoe of tliis country. When it was done, General Waahuigtou him.ielf s:vid, lïroVicJöuce has helped us, or we oouhi úot have aceompüshed tiiis thing AiliJ this gift of our wisí-st men, tliis groat work of tliüir hands, this work, iu tho foundatiou and the strueture of whicl; Providente herself, with ber benignanÉ hund, helped - are we to give it all up for such small considerations 'Í Tlie present exasperation, the present feoling of diáuuior:, 's le result of a , ei-ü!'iied" controversy oa thu subject 'üf slivory aud of' temtory. I slmll not attempt 10 trace that coatroversy ; t is uuiu'eessury to the öcsasion, and inight be harniful.- Iu ré'ation to 'such controverses I wil} say, thougli, that' all the vyrörig is neycr upou onp side, or all the rigbt on the other. liglit aud wrong ia this world, and iu all suuh coiitroversiea, are mingled tugethor. I forbear, now, any disias.sion or any refereuce to the riglit or Wfqnj of tho conSroversy, tho mere party coiitrovürsy ; but, in the progress of party, wo uow come to a potnt where party ceases to descrve consideratiou, ad the proservation of the Uuiou degerve our bighei't ;ud' greatest exertions. 'q prèservti tlie con: I stitutiou of the country is tho highest ! duty of the 6enate, the higheït duty of Congrcss - to preserve it and to perpetúate it, that vü muy hand do.v.i the glories which wa have reoeivud to our cluldreu' aud ouv posterity. and tog3uoratiü'ud' farbeyund us. We are, Sonat.)r', in' ps'ltiou where history ld to take notiou of the coarse we pursuo. llistory is to reeoid us. It is to record that when the destruction of the Uuiou was imminent! wheu we saw it tottering to its faU ; wheu wl' saw brotlu-rs armiug their liauds fqr hostihty with one auotner, Wöstaod qu-lv"" roünjf about pomts oí' party pylítlciJ Í &■ bout questioas whicUi líe atterapted to gauctity aud tu consécrate by'apnaalpg tu our cuuseisuct! as tlio sourco ut' the.n. - Are we to allow suoh fearful catastrophe tu oocuf whilo we stand trilling atfay uur time 'i Wbile we stand thus, showiug. our inferiority to tlic high positiou whick' wo ooüupj', the whole country inay bó dostruyiid aud ruiued ; aud tu the amazeniout ut' all tao world, the groat Uepubliomay f all prostrate and iu rums, carryiui wiih it tue very hope of that liberty whieii we haya ciij.iyod ; oarryiiig with it, i 11 placw 'of tiie pjaee we have enjayed, 'nbtliiug but revolutioD and havocaud a:ircliy. .Shall it bc said that we have u.lowed all thasa evils tu come upou oifr' oouutry, while wo were enaod in the ■petty aud suiall disputes aud debatüs ti whiL-h I have ruferml 'i Cau it bb tu.it our name is to rest iu btey y : thw, BTerlasting stigma und b!ot upou' it 't tí;r, I wwl to God it w.is iu aiy pjwer' to presoive this Uniou by reuouauiog or agreeing to give' up every oonseieutious. aud Otilar c.i;ioa. I mig!it uot bo ablc to discarJ 't froin niy iniiul ; I aui under' : uo ubljaliofl to dn that.. 1 may retain tlio opiniou, but il I eau do so great a good as to preserve my country aud pivo it neace, and its iustitutions and its Un , i.oa stabüity. I wi-U forego uny actioa on my opintons. Well now, niy friendí (addrcMifg the republican Senators), that is nll iIi.ki is askcd of you. Cousidor it well, aad I do not distrust tbe ïesult. As t i the rest of tliis body. thü gentlemen frnm tho Smilh. 1 would my !0 them, esn yon ak moru thán tiiis? Aro you buit 0 i revclutioii. bent oi disuuion ? God forbW it. I cam-.ot bolle vë that Kuch wadness posaosses the A.mericati paople. Tliii givcs roaaoiiuble s.ilisfactiou I o.vi MAtuik wit!i oD-ifi tj n' ouly of my cnrn State. Old Keufcuoky will bc uMufied with it, mid kIio will staiid by tho Untnn nd die by t-lie Unimi, f thíi Utisfaotiou be givei Nuthiiii shall Baduee hor. Tlio olam ir of i)' rovnlutioü, tho Beduotiom and temptitione "f no revolutimi will tempt hor to rano ono stop. 8iio hns etood alw.ivs by t!u siile of t.'i eonititution ; Fhu lias aivv;ys boen devoted to it, and is ibis day Giva hor tliis satisfaution. and I beüeve all tho Sta;es of tha Poatli that aro not desirous of disttnion as a bettor thiiii; than tlie Union and the onftitutior., wiü bi latbfied and will adhere to the Union, and we hall go on in our groat crocr of natioual prosperity and national glory. Rut, sir, il is not nocessary fir me to gpk to vou of the ooiisaijnencea tUaï wiil follow disunion. Who of iu is not proud of tho greatness we have aclueved ? Disuniou and geparation datroy that greatni-8. Unoo disunited, wo aro no loiior groat. The nations of tlia earth, who liavo looked upon you as a formidable power, a mighty power, and risiug to au untold and imtnonsarublo greatness in the future, will saoff ut you. Your ilig, that now claims thu respact of the world, that protects the rights of your citizeus ererywhore, what will becoiua of it ? - What becomes f its gloriou influence ? It is gone; and with it the protection of American eitizens and propsrty. To say nothing of the nationaJ honor wliioh it displayed to all the world, the protoction of your rights, the proteotiou of your property abroad is gone with that national ttng, and we are horeafter to conjure and eontrive different flaga for our different ropublics, according to the feveri!) tancies of rovolutionary palriots nnd disturberg of tlic pcace of the world. No, gir; I wuut ♦o fullow no such flag. I waut to pressrve the Union of my country. We liaTe it in our power to do o, aud we ara responible if we do not. I do not despair of the Republie - When I see before me Senators of o raucb intelligence andi.0 much patriotisin, who haTe buen so honored by their couatry, ent hero a the guardián of that rery Union which i uow in qustion, gent here as the guardians of our national rights, and as guardians of that national flag, I cannot degpair ; I cannot dsapond. 1 caunot but heliere that they will fifid souie mcans of reconoiling and adjusting the rightg of all jiarties, by concessions, if neeeisary, so as to preserve aud give msre ftability te tho country aud to its institutions. Mr. President, I have occupied more time than I iutended. My remarks were degigaed aud contemplated only to reaoh to an explauation of this reselution.