Speech Of Mr Riley

Mr. Riley smid in reply to t'ue Sánator froin tiie Twoutj-ninth (Mr Withey) i that he had not intendcd to offer one word íti K'.ipport of his substituto, proviJiul t)ie SeuAte hd sei-n fit to take a silent Me rtpkñ tha severtil propositions embodied in t!e tbree ierios of resol atiou liefure it, but be uo( fclt it his duty ', to deíine his potition, and give tho re:s ons why he wa1) in fsvor of the substitute offcred by him, and oppoged to tiu1 original resolutions prcspntcd by tho j ator from the Tbirteentb (Mr. Frenoli), i ag well as to tho report made by tho I dtoiary C'ommittoo a a substituto for tlie i sama. Tho Sonntor from tho Tiiirtoenlh, amotig othor things. not only próvidos in bis fiist rcRolution for a couíiscation of the " Pütire proporíy, real üiid personal, of all didrtynl pewon," but he alio provides thíit " all perng held to lervioe j or labor by bupIi dilojal oitizons. shall be j diachargsd therofrora and endowed w'rth freedom." If tho Senator from the Thirteanth, MÍd Mr. Eüey, intand to be undorstood thut Conpross or tlie President muy, by a general act, or doeree of emnnoipation liberat the aves in tho disloyal States, then, he gaid, he was opposod to hig resolution fir the simple rí'as'i) th;it nelther Congrí, tiür the President, hits the power to do auy such tbinj;. The Senator was di'clavir.g un impossibilit.'. and askhig OobgreM or the President or both, to riolate the Constitution, whioli botli had 8'iUiiiinly sworn to support. It wag by I a:d ihrnuirh tht sime constitution, tlmt the war luis boon so far qonduoted, nnd I the moment we step beyond the line l wwrked out by it anl the powers grauted, j thst moment revolution sets in and ;mirchy reicrns The thoory adopted by the govenimiMit at Washington is, thut South Carolina is as mueh Soath Carolina to-day, nnd co'ist'tv(tiona!ly as complete n mouibor of t'no Uuioo, and as outirely subject to the la-ws of Congres as she was om? T9M ag an(l th'-reforo it is, that the military arm)' of tht' nution has been tuaimooed to bring her bsck fo her alleg'mnee to that constitution. We cannot, wo raust not ; viólate this irstrunient, at the Ritmo timo that we ro aitempting to enforce it over a rebellious people. As well raight Congrega atteuipt to rapeal the polioe regnlatiow of a disloyal State - as well ut tempt to rcpeal tho liquor law of the State of Michigan. Whero then, does the Senator fir.d t!ie power to oarry out his theory, '' that all persons held to service or la'oor, shall be disehikred theretfom and endowed with freedoiD "? Who is to swocp nut tliese 4,UUO,0)0 of men ? % what set, thvuurh wíiat tribunal lpgislative. judicisl or exoeutive, is all this to be aoconiplisheJ ? llave our civil powers as a ïmti.Hi eit'oer increasod or ditoinishad sinee the ïvbelliou ? Is it not beeause they have r.ei'.lier 'r.icreaspd nor ditn'uiished, that the ooftstitufiön is to-day theoret ioally held pamroount frprn Maine to Glifomia, and the reason why 000,000 min have arraod theitisoilvps to defcud ixl support it íd this, its hour of peril, aginit those who would destroy it forever ? In addition to tlio principio of emancipstion, the rosolutions declare that the I property of rebels ought to ba confíscate. ï, h1 the same doctrine is also main i tfiined in the regolutiops reportad by the Judvoinrj Comiuittee, ttiTOUgTi its clmir man, Mr. Withey, and, tberefore, Mr R. 'iid, he wou'.d speak of that point when he exsmÍDd tlieir report. 'J'his report of the committee declares that " property of insurrectiomsts ghould be coufiscated to tlie largosi exteiit," and j " ihat, as bet '.veen the institution of slavery and the raiintonanee of the Federal govrrnmont, Michigan doos not hesitate to s-iy that, in sueh erigêney, slavery g'nould be swept from the land, and our country maintained." Taking the last propositlon first, said Mr. R., and lookitig simply at the principie deelarod, 110 true patriot ean for one moment hesitate. If, in the fortunes of war, eifchsr si n-cry or the country maat porich, let alavery " bo swept from thn land," and lot our country be maintainod. But if the committeo who drew the resoluttong, propose to confisoiiteor eminci);itc, t'ie slave of the South at one blow, thon, citii Mr. Rüey, I ottutot agree witfc thcni. ]J'-cause, first, thare is no power to emancipate thcni as has been alroadv sid ; and because, seeondly, it ia not policy to confíscate theni ; and thinjly, it ould be an impracticable undartakrng, if it was. iïow can property be reachtd in disloyal .States even if it w&i judicially, coufiscated ? Can an order or decrep of our judicial tribunal exeeute itsi'lf' Can it go nny farther than it is carried ly our nnnies? How would our Federal oourtg enforoo au act of confiscation in Georgia to day ? I ara in favnr, said Mr. R., of jiushing the war with nll the eitergy and nifians that the God of nature ha given us, for the regtoration of a viola ted contitution, at th'j same timo 'ígin'j; suoh powors oalv as tho constitution and laws of the country have given us in its prosecutiqn and in the conflict ilavery mu"t take re of itsclf ]f itfalls; fetitfall. Let i t moot its fate as an inoidcut of the war, and not as the objoot, of it. I would not put arins in tho huiitln of aslave, but I would uso him a he might be, nüd has been, used ; nna 1 wouia not return umi aunng the conflict, nor ever, unlons bound to do go by somo general act of smnesty, passeil ly Federal authority au coudition of peae Bnt, aeain, Biid MY. B , cvon if it wns possible to confíscate 4,000,000 llave, w!io is to caro for tliem aftorwards ? Who is to feed and clotlie tliem ? "Whoivill coliiiize tlio:n ? Wil}) a debt of 600,000,000 nlready cr.ieliiug us, likely to go up to $1,000,000,000 in another year if t!;e w:ir la'sfs, oan we ?- Are wo' prepnrod for tliis undrtal(ing, or slinll we let the slnves fecd upon the enetny, and tlms paraljze hini, and wcakon liim by eating nut his Kub$tnnco, nntil at la?t they fall into our hands from a military oenesiity. Aprain, t!ie repolutions of tlie eommittco declnre " tliat, ütfeliigan has befin i loyal to hftrself and t!ie Federal ment." H;ir slio ? fmid Mr. R. ITps Michigan always been nyn to the Fed eral conotitution ? So the flrst remin tion declares. Throe out of fcmr of the rppubiican Judgos of tlje Supreme Cüurt, h:ive, by tlieir unoCleial opiuicus. deelared th:t Michigan has not alwkjl boen loyal to the Federal eonstitution - that ahe is not loynl r.ow - that it bas upon her Rtstute-book dislnjHl sett iubriTrtive of the coniititution - that the " personal liberty bilis" are Tiolation of that iastrumt'iit, aiid I must occcpt tin opinión of cur Suprime Court. and dicrd the opinión of the Judicary Com mittco, and l ciinnot thercfore Tote for no mnch of tlieir rosolutiotis, nar subdcribe to the doctrine therein niaintaiiied. Jíut, unid Mr. R , I prefor the eubsti tuto offered by tajèotf First, the Orittenden resolution, wiiieh pafsed Congren, atit late extra sesgion, huoat utiani niousiy, nnd whiuh contaim io directions to the general g vernmeot, nor diotates how the war ouht to be pvosecmtei, bui wiiieh siir.ply declaros principies older t'ian iUolf. and wliioli Wiil oontinuu to i'xiüt, whther it passes tlio Sonate or not, so long as uur co1 stitu'ion lives and the deelured policy of tlie government in this war is maintaiied; aud aeeondly, I offer, said lie, a res!uti"n ddc'.arifg, in substarcce, that we apfrove the ireiioral policy of tbe President of the Uuitcd Statts in crushing the robellion, and that it behoovos all pcrsori to rally around him, in this crisis, and give liim th:ir utiited screngtli ar.d support, within all constitutional limit". Can we not al! rally around tbe Chiuf Magis rate of the nation iu this hour of peril, on this platform ? Is uot this more patriotic than au attetnpt to manage the war for ttito ? Or are we to add to the thousand or moro who havo dictated to him already, and who afsume to know jus', how ond when and bv what ntroans this rebell ion naay bc orushed, and who wou!d, they iiv, lone ago luive re8ton:d peace to ti,i. d';str.'icted c"iitifry,if they bad b'-en placed at the head of our arrny, to giove it on. to victory. If the party w!:o opposcd his election c:n now ooiue up ard give him their 'united strength and puppirtiu this cr'sis,"' cinnot the purty wbich placed him n powor? If we caí) sink all for the country and its head, canuotyou? In conclusión, said Mr. Riley, the position assuraed by the gontlotiian from the Twt'lfth (Mr. DoLand) cannot be mainíainod. He has mude an inflammdtory harfingue in tliis body, and declared that the people aro in ndvanco of the govornment, and that ho winhed the resolutions of the committee were ten times strenger tl)an they re. Qther Senators have iusisled that any moans mav be adoptod to crush tbe rebellion, btcnuse thyy say our political life is threntened Uut none of these gentlemen, liowcvor much tliey may wisb to do so, pan outrun the constitution and laws of the lsr.d with safety - for it is by it and tbüm alone that order can be restored and the rovernmfint preserved. Wo must ding to it and thora if we would live ; for when our constitution and lauM are gono all is gone. Wo wuy, then, find our country the plaything of one military despot after nother, until at last oven this poor wreek of our former glory and consequenoe, driven by n'ht and the tempest, -will go down with our final ruin.