CONGRESS, U. S. 



223 



tendon proposition. Another lengthy debate 

 followed, when the Senate adjourned at a late 

 hour on Saturday night, to meet on the next 

 evening at seven o'clock. 



It was Sunday evening, at seven o'clock, on 

 the third of March, when the Senate next as- 

 sembled. The final hours of the existence of 

 the Thirty-sixth Congress had come. The cur- 

 tain was about to fall upon a national career of 

 rising greatness and prosperity unequalled. The 

 future was uncertain, alarming, hidden. At 

 this unusual hour on the close of a peaceful 

 day, the Senate came together once more to 

 adopt or to reject those propositions which the 

 most venerable member of their body had 

 brought forward with the hope of allaying the 

 irritations, of soothing the angry passions, and 

 of satisfying the imperious demands of the con- 

 flicting sections of a great nation. 



Long before the Senate met, the galleries 

 were densely filled with spectators, and all the 

 available space on the floor of the chamber was 

 occupied by strangers. After this breach of 

 decorum had been corrected by clearing the 

 floor, and order had been restored, a prelude 

 was offered to the business of the night by the 

 Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Sumner, rising 

 and saying: 



" I offer a memorial of five thousand citizens 

 of Massachusetts, in which they call upon Con- 

 gress to stand by the Constitution as it is, and 

 the Government of the country, and to make 

 no compromise whatever. I understand that 

 there are memorials, signed by thirty-seven 

 thousand persons, similar to this, but they have 

 not yet come to hand. This is simply the fore- 

 runner of the others. I offer this now, and ask 

 that it lie on the table." 



It was so ordered. 



The regular order of business was then called 

 up, and the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Grit- 

 tenden, took the floor, saying : " I have not 

 risen with any vain ambition or purpose to play 

 the orator. I have no set speech to make/' 



[Great disturbance was now occasioned by 

 persons endeavoring to get into the already 



over- crowded galleries.] 

 The Presiding Officer: "The Sergeant-at- 

 Arms will be required to prevent other persons 

 from entering the gallery doors, and see that 

 order is maintained. It is impossible to pro- 

 ceed with the business in the present condition 

 of things." 



Mr. Crittenden : " The subject, Mr. President, 

 upon which I wish to address the Senate is al- 

 together too solemn and too interesting to the 

 country to be made the occasion for declamation 

 or eloquence. I do not aim at it. I am a plain 

 man, and I wish to speak plainly what I think 

 and what I believe on this great subject ; and 

 my wish is to do it with as much brevity as 

 possible." 



Mr. Clark : " I do not think it possible at all 

 for the Senator to be heard.'' 



The Presiding Officer: "It is impossible to 

 do business with the prevailing noise." 



Mr. Bragg: "I think we shall have to order 

 the galleries to be cleared. I move that the 

 galleries be cleared." 



Some brief remarks followed, when the mo- 

 tion was withdrawn, and Mr. Crittenden con- 

 tinued to be soon interrupted by the tumult 

 in the galleries, and the discussions which fol- 

 lowed relative to clearing them. Order being 

 finally restored, he proceeded to examine all 

 the grounds upon which a compromise was 

 urged, with much eloquence and force. In re- 

 gard to the sentiment of the people upon the 

 proposition for a compromise, he said : 



" What is the number of petitions forwarded? 

 I suppose, if I should say we have received pe- 

 titions from not less than a quarter of a million, 

 I should be within bounds. In addition to that, 

 societies everywhere have been petitioning in 

 the name of their whole body. State Legisla- 

 tures have memorialized, and, in fact, petitioned 

 Congress in the name of the people of their 

 States. I do not know how many. The chief 

 agents of the great railroad companies, owning 

 railroads in value to the amount of more than 

 three hundred million dollars, traversing the 

 country from North to South in every direc- 

 tion, have petitioned in favor of the adoption 

 of these propositions of peace, and they, gen- 

 tlemen of the highest standing and the highest 

 respectability, have declared that, as far as all 

 their travels extended along all these mighty 

 railroads, they have found the people, with 

 great unanimity, of the same opinion, and in 

 favor of the adoption of these propositions." 



His views were thus embraced in a few 

 words: "My principle, and the doctrine I 

 teach, is, take care of the Union ; compromise 

 it ; do any thing for it ; it is the palladium so 

 General Washington called it of your rights ; 

 take care of it, and it will take care of you. 

 Yes, sir, let us take care of the Union, and it 

 will certainly take care of us. That is the 

 proposition which I teach." 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, followed, and de- 

 scribing the present condition of affairs and 

 examining the measures proposed for adjust- 

 ment, he thus expressed his views : " Sir, if 

 my friend from Kentucky would employ some 

 of that eloquence of his which he uses in ap- 

 pealing to Republicans, and talking about com- 

 promise in defence of the Constitution as it is, 

 and in favor of maintaining the laws and the 

 Government we should see a very different 

 state of things in the country. If, instead of 

 coming forward with compromises, instead of 

 asking guarantees, he had put the fault where 

 it belongs ; if he called upon the Government 

 to do its duty ; if, instead of blaming the North 

 for not making concessions where there is noth- 

 ing to concede, and not making compromises 

 where there was nothing to compromise about, 

 he had appealed to the South, which was in re- 

 bellion against the Government, and painted 

 before them, as only he could do it, the hideous- 

 ness of the crimes they were committing, and 

 called upon them to return to their allegiance, 



