306 



CONGRESS, U. S. 



States have a purpose or a constitutional right to legis- 

 late upon or interfere with slavery in any of the States 

 of the Union. 



Resolved, That those persons in the North, who do 

 not subscribe to the foregoing proposition, are too in- 

 significant in numbers and influence to excite the 

 serious attention or alarm of any portion of the people 

 of the Republic, and that the increase of their numbers 

 and influence does not keep pace with the increase of 

 the aggregate population of the Union. 



" In favor of the passage of the resolutions 

 I see a gentleman's name, 'OWEN LOVEJOY.' 

 Are you the man ? " 



Mr. Lovejoy. "I am that man. I thank 

 the gentleman for that word. Before replying 

 to it, however, I want to say, in pursuance of 

 the. line of thought which I was upon, that the 

 people have determined, as I believe, to carry 

 on this war so as to put down the rebellion in 

 the speediest and most effectual way, and I 

 have no doubt that the Government will grace- 

 fully yield to the popular sentiment. 



" Now, if I understand the resolution read by 

 the gentleman from Kentucky and my atten- 

 tion was diverted from the reading of it for the 

 moment it asserted that we had no right to 

 interfere with slavery in the States. 



" Yes, sir ; you will always find my vote in the 

 affirmative upon any such resolution as that. 

 But that was when these States were all loyal 

 to the Federal Government ; that was before 

 slavery had broken out into rebellion ; that was 

 before these States had seceded, and cast off 

 their allegiance to the Government, to all its 

 claims, and all its obligations, and of course to 

 all right to protection and immunity. 



" Now, Mr. Speaker, it is one thing, as I un- 

 derstand it, for two combatants to get together 

 in a duel, for instance, in the ancient sword 

 practice, and contend according to rule, ac- 

 cording to the code. If they get together even 

 as prize-fighters, they have requirements that 

 will not allow the combatants to strike certain 

 parts of the body ; but here is a man who is 

 playing foul, and who is striving to take your 

 life by any and all means : are you bound by 

 the rules, then ? Has not the Constitution the 

 right of self-preservation ? " 



Mr. Richardson. " I desire to ask my col- 

 league what was the condition of South Caro- 

 lina at the time when he voted for that resolu- 

 tion?" 



Mr. Lovejoy. " I do not remember the date 

 of it." 



Mr. Richardson. " It was in February last." 



Mr. Lovejoy. "It is well understood that 

 when this resolution passed no state of war 

 existed, no rebellion had broken out in arms." 



Mr. Richardson. " I ask my colleague wheth- 

 er the Star of the West had not been fired into." 



Mr. Lovejoy. "I think it was subsequent 

 to that, but no matter as to particular dates ; 

 I am talking about a state of war and rebellion 

 as contrasted with a state of peace. Now, I 

 suppose the gentleman from Kentucky, as well 

 as others, will admit that the Constitution and 

 laws require us to do a thousand things in the 



present state of the country that they would 

 not allow us to do in an ordinary condition of 

 peace. There is no question about that. My 

 simple point is this : I have said it once before, 

 but as the charge is persistently made upon me, 

 and upon those who advocate the policy which 

 I advocate, that we are for making this an 

 abolition war, an anti-slavery war, I again take 

 occasion to say that that is not our purpose as 

 an original, ultimate purpose, but only as a 

 necessary incidental measure in the suppression 

 of the rebellion. 



"Now, I want to ask the gentleman from 

 Kentucky a question. Does the gentleman 

 prefer that slavery should be preserved and 

 perpetuated rather than that the Union should 

 be preserved and maintained ? " 



Mr. "Wickliffe. " I will answer the qnes- . 

 tion. I am for preserving this Union under 

 the Constitution, regarding its obligations im- 

 posed upon every citizen, every section, and 

 every State of this Union. I am not for violat- 

 ing the Constitution when it is not essential 

 for the safety of the Union. The gentleman 

 asks whether I am for preserving this Union in 

 preference to preserving slavery. If that issue 

 is to be raised, when it is presented I shall be 

 ready to meet it. I believe we shall preserve 

 the Union and slavery under it. I am for the 

 principles as declared by the gentleman him- 

 self in voting for the resolution I have read, as 

 declared by the President in his inaugural ad- 

 dress and in his two Messages to this House. 

 If these principles are observed, I have no fear 

 that the Union and the Constitution will not be 

 preserved." 



Mr. Lovejoy. "Now the question I pre- 

 sented to the gentleman respectfully was, 

 supposing it is impossible to preserve them 

 both, suppose it becomes as apparent to all as 

 it is apparent to some of us, as we think, that 

 one or the other must go into the ocean the 

 vessel or Jonah which shall go overboard? 

 That is the question I propounded." 



Mr. "Wickliffe. " I would prefer thro wing. the 

 abolitionists overboard." 



Mr. Lovejoy : " I do not doubt it, and that 

 is tantamount to saying that the gentleman pre- 

 fers seeing the Union go by the board rather 

 than slavery; for in the sense in which he uses 

 the term lie makes them identical. Those 

 gentlemen who advocate this policy which 

 seems now to control the army, and apparent- 

 ly the Administration, prefer the preservation 

 of slavery to the preservation of the Union, 

 provided both cannot be preserved." 



Mr. Mallory, of Kentucky, said: "I will 

 say in response to the question propounded to 

 my colleague (Mr. Wickliffe), that so far as I 

 understand the feelings of the people of that 

 State that if they ever come to regard the 

 institution of slavery as standing in the way 

 of this Union, or of constitutional liberty, they 

 will not hesitate to wipe out that institution." 



Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, obtained the 

 floor for the purpose, as he stated, " of trying 



