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mp 
 
 m 
 
 THE ] 
 
SPEECH 
 
 OP 
 
 MK. COCKE, OF TENNESSEE, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE OREGON QUESTION, 
 
 DELIVERED IN 
 
 *HE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, JAN. 15, 1846. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 ^. * G. S. GIDEON, PRINTERS. 
 1846. 
 

 
(;■(' 
 
 fi'V. 
 
 .ift 
 
 SPEECH. 
 
 The House having resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole upon the 
 4Btate of the Union, and the following resolution, reported from the Cora- 
 tnittee on Foreign Affairs, being under consideration, to wit: ' ^'*"''' * 
 
 "Resolved ky the Senate and Howe of RepresenUUives of the Utuled States of America in,- Cmigreu 
 ■ttisenAled, That the President of the United States forthwith cause notice to be given to the 
 Government of Great Britain, that the convention between the United States and Great Britain, 
 •concerning the territory of Oregon, of the 6th of August, 1827, signed at London, shall be an- 
 fiuUed and abrogated, twelve months after the expiration of the said term of notice, coaforiiMbly 
 
 %o the second article of the said convention of the Cth of August, 1827." 
 
 'M*l Vd 
 
 Mr. InoERsoLL proposes to amend by erasing all after the word ''shall,*' 
 and insert the following: 
 
 " Shall be annulled and abrogated at the expiration of the term of twelve months from and 
 after said notice shall be given, conformably to the 2d article of the wid convention of the 6th of 
 August, 1827." 
 
 Mr. HiLLiARD proposes to amend by erasing the words "forthwith cause 
 notice to be given," and insert "be empowered, whenever in his judgment 
 the public welfare may require it, to give notice." 
 
 UIJ 
 
 ]^r. COCKE; being entitled to the floor, addressed the committee, aQcl 
 ic^iimwenced by observing that it was but yesterday when our country pre- 
 sentjed a scene of peace and proisperity which filled every American boeom 
 iwiti) joy. We saw under our republican form of government a people pro^- 
 p^rpus and contented ; the husbandman was at home in his tield , enjoying the 
 <Qiii«t> hajtpiness of rural life; the mechanic was busy in his workshop* the 
 ineccb^nt at hie books, and all was peace throughout the land . Industry re- 
 •fifiibved its «Ml^qa^ reward , and t,tad& and pnt^rprise , after being for yes^r^ par- 
 ^y%Q4, hftd regained its vigpr and streiigth. Such had been the case wh«n 
 Mx. p., pot ten w«eks since, hsid left his hompand set out fur thjs place, a^ 
 the Eepf«sent£^tive of a gallant people. But the glorious spectacle whichtben 
 ijlled the ^reast with a patriotic delight ha^ undergone a sudden change, £^)(| 
 l^lth9jC|^ftBwa».npvtri\n,ffj?i^B4,, ^f %e[o9ke^»fer9ad|nan>rdirsctipn,:<Sf 
 
beheld a dark cloud hanging witli lowering and threatening aspect. The 
 multerings of the rising tempest are distinctly heard in the distance; and llw 
 hurried clouds and furious wind, which have been raging around us here, 
 •admonish us of its speedy approach. Yes, in that House some gentlemen 
 were found bold enough to stand forth far beyond the line which wisdom 
 and prudent counsels would mark out, and, baring their bosoms to the 
 shock, had almost invoked its vengeance and defied its power. 
 
 The sound of the war bugle had fallen upon the ears of the nation like 
 a thunder-clap in a clear sky. They had not seen the danger, nor had 
 they anticipated its approach. Well may they ask, with painful anxiety, 
 what does all this mean? I answer, that it has grown out of the first effort 
 of the Executive to settle our difficulties with a foreign Power, with refer- 
 ence to* party considerations, which Mr. C. would endeavor to notice more 
 at length in the course of his argument. 
 
 Mr. C. had no intention to cast injurious reflections on those who had 
 preceded him in this debate. He trusted that they had all been actuated 
 by the purest and most patriotic motives. If he knew his own bosom, and 
 did not mistake the impulses of his own heart, he was ready to go as far as 
 he who went farthest to sustain the interest, and honor, and integrity of the 
 nation. His colleague over the way, (Mr. Stanton,) who had addressed 
 the House on yesteiday , had vouched for the patriotism of genUemen of his 
 own political school , and seemed fondly to hope that his colleagues, who 
 differed from him in political opinion, would exhibit the same patriotism on 
 the present question . In this remark hia colleague seemed to entertain a 
 doubt on that point, but Mr. C. could assure him, and assure the country, 
 that his colleagues on this side of the House, though they might differ with 
 the honorable gentleman in their political course, were actuated by as high 
 and patriotic motives as any gentleman on that floor. He felt that he 
 slionid be unworthy to represent any portion of the gallant people of Ten- 
 nessee, could he now betray a cowardly and recreant spirit, that feared ta 
 bear aloft the banner of his country. Yes, the people of Tennessee had 
 proved their patriotic spirit in many a hard-fought battle-field, and never 
 yet had been found wanting in maintaining the honor of their native soil. 
 Ne^d he allude to the various memorable spots where they had poured out 
 their best blood in her cause? Need he name the battle-fields of the Horse- 
 Shoe, of Talladega, and of Emucfau? There might be seen their courage 
 and patriotism brightly manifested. Mr. C. would be unworthy to repre- 
 sent them could he act a cowardly part, or should he be actuated by a piti- 
 ful and dastardly spirit on a great national question like this. No; he was 
 
with 
 
 high 
 hat he 
 
 Ten- 
 ared tO' 
 see had 
 
 never 
 ive soil, 
 red out 
 
 Horse- 
 courage 
 
 repre- 
 Y a piti- 
 he wa» 
 
 Actuated by no such motive. He wished not heedkssly and recklessly to 
 approach the consideration of a question which so deeply involved the peace, 
 prosperity, and happiness of his country. He thought they all should ap- 
 proach it witli due deliberation, prepared to act as it became American 
 statesmen. He had said that on the issue of this question, as it had been 
 presented in the report of the honorable chairman from the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs, depended the peace of the nation. On thi' subject he 
 trusted that he should be able to cite an authority which would be consider- 
 ed among the highest that could be adduced by gentlemen on both aides of 
 the House. 
 
 It would be unnecessary for him, upon the present occasion, to trace the 
 grounds of the American title to the Oregon territory ; they had been placed 
 before the country by the publication of the history of our negotiation on 
 that subject since 1818, and the country seemed to be well apprized of every 
 link in that chain of title by which we clahned the country. But Mr. C. 
 was not one of those who affirmed that Great Britain had no riglits in Ore- 
 gon. He claimed the rights which belonged to us, and his constituents 
 stood ready to risk their lives, their fortunes, and all they possessed to de- 
 fend those rights. But Great Britain also claimed rights there which per- 
 tained to her. If those rights should be wholly denied — ^if nothing but the 
 whole of Oregon would satisfy our demand, as some gentlemen had insist- 
 ed, an injurious reflection would necessarily be cast upon the administrations 
 of Mr. Monroe, Mr. Adams, and even the present Executive, as well as on 
 ■a large portion of his Democratic friends in that House. He was unwilling 
 to cast such reflections — it was not his purpose to reflect improperly upon 
 any one — but when the question was examined, we should see where tiie 
 high functionaries of the nation had placed this controversy. 
 
 Our Government upon four successive occasions has offered to divide the 
 Oregon territory with Great Britain by the 49th parallel of north latitude . 
 In the negotiations of 1818, 1824, and 1826 we offered Great Britain to di- 
 vide Oregon with her by the 49th degree of north latitude ; and on two of 
 these occasions we had added the concession of the free navigation of the 
 Columbia river. The venerable gentleman from Massachusetts, though 
 now foremost in the clamor for the wnole of Oregon, yet in 1818 and 1824, 
 tlien intimately associated with Mr. Monroe as Secretary of State, made no 
 opposition to the proposition to give to Great Britain one-half of the country 
 with all the lights before him, though now he insisted so strenuously on 
 our right to the whole. Again, when the venerable gentleman came into 
 ihe Presidential chair he offered to compromise the difficulty by ado^tinjj 
 
the 49th parallel as a boundary. If the British Government had no rights 
 in Oregon, I pit it to the gentleman to tell the country why it wbh that 
 upon these several occasions, he, as an American statesmen and diplomatist^ 
 was willing to grant to a foreign Power a country to which he now seems 
 to think our title so remarkably clear. The present Executive, through hi? 
 Secretary of State, (Mr. Buchanan,) has during the past summer again 
 repeated the offer to Great Britain of the 49th parallel, and many of his 
 Democratic Triends had not been backward in declaring that it was fair 
 and honorable, and just in the President to go that length, 
 
 Mr. C. did not wish this great question, of so much public concern, t«> 
 assume in this discussion a party character. Let us have our party dissen- 
 sion at home; but, in considering our foreign relations, let us soar far above 
 mere party dictation, and look alone to the best interest of our country. It 
 was not a subject for mere party strife; it was a national question, in the 
 strictest sense of the term , and should be placed high above all party in- 
 fluences. The feelings and associations of mere party politics should not 
 be suffered to approach it. But Mr. O. must be permittedto allude to what 
 had been the course of some of those gentlemen who were now most clamo- 
 rous for the instant abrogation of the convention of 1827, and for asserting 
 our title to the whole of Oregon, let the consequences be what they might. 
 He desired to refer such gentlemen to the resolutions of the Baltimore Con- 
 vention in 1844, and which the Democratic ptuty stood pledged to act upon. 
 Thnse resolutions declared diat we must go for the whole of Oregon; this 
 formed one prominent topic in the Baltimore Democratic creed. What had 
 the President declared in his inaugural address? He had reiterated the 
 principle embodied in the Baltimore resolutions. Yet, how had he acted 
 in reference to these professions and pledges, when he had obtained posses- 
 sion of the Executive chair? Forgetful of the Baltimore resolutions; for- 
 getful of the terms of his own inaugural ; forgetful of those articles in the 
 government official and in the Democratic jjajjers of less notoriety tlirough- 
 out the country claiming " the whole of Oregon, or none," he had turned 
 his back upon his own avowed principles, and had offered to cede away one- 
 half of a territory to which , as he had since declared in his message to this 
 House, the American title was " clear and unquestionable," and which 
 iritood upon " irrefragable facts and arguments," Such had been the his- 
 tory of that question; but now the whole of Oregon was claimed in the 
 message, insisting that our title to the whole must be maintained tit all haz- 
 ards; and some gentlemen in that House, unmindful too of former pledges,, 
 when they had ascertained that the President had left the line of 54° 40', 
 
 I 
 
 and 
 
 «quii 
 
 49°, 
 
 otir t 
 
 title t 
 
 Stan 
 
 positic 
 
 shouh 
 
 would 
 
 such I 
 
 have a 
 
 retary 
 
 of this 
 
 fer had 
 
 title to 
 
 and no 
 
 Oregon 
 
 every sp 
 
 portion 
 
 away. 
 
 It is 8 
 of those 
 this Orej 
 gi'ee, in( 
 pursued 
 the sessi( 
 the Hon 
 giving n( 
 They to 
 longed 
 and that 
 j udginen 
 prepared 
 sired to i 
 reading ; 
 of which 
 ''As to 
 of 1827, 
 
J rights 
 OH that 
 )matistr 
 \f seem* 
 lUgh hi* 
 >r again 
 y of hi« 
 was fair 
 
 icern , to 
 
 y dissen- 
 
 far above 
 
 ntry. It 
 
 n,ini ihe j 
 party in- 
 
 liould not 
 
 ie to what 
 
 ost clamo- 
 
 r asserting 
 
 \ey might. 
 
 nore Con- 
 
 , act upon . 
 
 regon; this 
 Wliat had 
 
 Lcrated the | 
 
 d he acted 
 
 ned posses- 
 
 utions; for- 
 icles in the 
 ty tlirough- 
 had turned 
 e away one- ; 
 esage to this | 
 and which ; 
 een the his- 
 imed in the 
 d at all haz- 
 mer pledges^ 
 e of 54° 40', 
 
 «« 4 It : I . .1 i 
 
 and had come dolv^ to the lih^ of 40**, endoreed that positioh as a ftiir aifhl 
 equitable proposition ; yet when the President refuses to stand to his offer of 
 49°, and returns to the principles of the Baltimore resolutions, and asserts 
 our title to the whole of Oregon, they instantly follow, and declare that out 
 title to the whole territory must be maintained. Yet my colleague, (Mr. 
 Stantox,) in his speech on yesterday, remarked, in the face of the present 
 position of the President and of many of his fHends, that if Great Britain 
 should now accept the offer of the 49th parallel , no American statesman 
 would say our Government should not accept that compromise; indeed, 
 such have been the sentiments of many of the friends of the Executive who 
 have addressed this House. After the present Executive, through his Sec- 
 retary of State, had offered to the British Government to give up one-half 
 of this territory, by adopting the 49th parallel as a boundary; after that of- 
 fer had been rejected by the British Minister and then withdrawn, and our 
 title to the whole again asserted, the question presented itself in this view 
 and no other: The President, after having offered to give away one-half of 
 Oregon, now called upon the nation to maintain, at all hazards and by 
 every sacrifice which courage and patriotism could prompt , our right to that 
 portion of the country which he had himself very coolly offered to give 
 away. 
 
 It is a little remarkable to observe what course had been pursued by some 
 of those iri6k conspicuous in the nation for the zeal professed by them ofl 
 this Oregon question. To Mr. C. that course appeared, in no small de- 
 gree, inconsistent and unaccountable. What course, for example, had been 
 pursued by the Committee on Territories in that House two years ago, in 
 the session of 1843? The ground assumed in their report had been, that 
 the House of Representatives possessed no power to pass a joint resolution 
 giving notice to England of the termination of the convention of 1827. ' 
 They took ground directly against the notice, maintaining that it be- 
 longed to the treaty power, and not to the National Legislature to give it; 
 and that the President would doubtless give the notice whenever, in hie ' 
 judgment, the public mterest should require. Although he was not now 
 prepared to endorse this opinion, and waiving it for the present, yet he de- 
 sired to refresh the memories of gentlemen. He v/ould take the liberty of 
 reading an extract from the report then made by a committee, the chairman 
 of which was the standard-bearer of the Democratic party in Tennessee: > 
 
 *' As to the twelve months' notice, required to be given by the convention 
 
 of 1827, the committee do not regard that as at 
 
 ;cessary, in order to 
 
8 
 
 «pcn the way (o such dclion as it contemplated by this bill. The commit- 
 tee do not know that, for tlie purpose of organizing such a government as is 
 now contemplated, it is at all important to annul or abrogate that convention. 
 That country is large, and there is evidently room enough for the subjects 
 and citizens of both countries in the exercise of all,thcir enterprise in trade and 
 commerce. Al* that will be required of them is to conform to the laws, 
 And to respect the institutions which we may establish. Doing this, we 
 ehall never envy the equal participation in the benefits and advantages to 
 be derived from a well-organized system of Government. Any possible in- 
 convenience arising from the continuance of the convention of 1827, not 
 now anticipated by the committee, ran, and doubtless will, be looked to by 
 the Executive, who can, at any time, abrogate the same by giving the no- 
 tice contei»plated in it. The giving of that notice, being a matter of treaty 
 stipulation, belongs, perhaps, exclusively to the Executive, on whose prov- 
 ince there is no occasion , and the committee have no inclination, to intrude." 
 
 Now, he would ask, who was the chairman who made this report to the 
 House? It was the present Governor of Tennessee, the Hon. A. V. Brown, 
 « prominent member of the last Congress. And of whom did the conunit- 
 tee consist? It consisted of (he Hon. Mr. Daniel, of North Carolina, the 
 Hon. Mr. Houston, of Alabama, the present chairman of this committee, 
 '(Mr. Tibbatts, of Kentucky,) and the Hon, Mr. Wentworth, of Illinois, 
 '^the same gentleman who had on yesterday spoken with so mu,ch Cjirnest- 
 ness iu behalf of the notice, together with Mr. Dimcan, of Ohio. Of these 
 six gentlemen, four were now members of this House. The report con- 
 lested the right of Congress to interfere with the question of notice, inas- 
 much as that belonged to the treaty power, and the connnittee had neither 
 ithe right nor (he inclination to infringe upon (he duties of the Executive 
 (department. 
 
 [Mr. Wentworth here intei-posed, and said he had not heard the re- 
 mai'k of the gentleman in which his name was introduced. He would 
 thank the gentleman to repeat it.J 
 
 Mr. C. said he had named Mr. W. as one member of the Committee on 
 Terrhories, in the last Congress, from which a report had been niade that 
 ■Congress had no power to give such a notice as that proposed , and the pro- 
 duction of (he report at the present moinent did but prove the truth of the 
 old adage, which declared that ''old documents were dangerous things." . 
 
 [Mr. Wentworth said that no man on that floor would accuse him of 
 Advocating any such doctrine. The report had been drawn up by Mr. A. 
 V. Bro»vn, and Mr. W, had disclaimed the position in " 'ninority report.] 
 
 Mr. C. sa 
 
 [Mr. Wei 
 nan had rel 
 It the Clerk 
 
 Mr. W., 
 .0 nothing n 
 )( passing tl 
 ihe Oregon ! 
 take both to 
 
 Mr. C. 
 to the Presi( 
 
 [Mr. W. 
 
 Mr. C.n 
 gcnt'rtman I 
 man from I 
 delivered oe 
 and further 
 tract: 
 
 ''There , 
 they arose, 
 collision wa 
 a question : 
 the notice 
 on Territo 
 acting strit 
 that they w 
 regard to 
 occupation 
 intend to h 
 
 In reply 
 Adams,) h 
 
 "He wo 
 differed esi 
 mittee on 
 nation of 
 House ha 
 er was ex] 
 That w 
 Teply he t 
 
9 
 
 Mr. C. said there was no minority report on file. .i-uij ^fj .mtiMi i^ 
 [Mr. Wentworth then requested that the extract to which the gentle- 
 nan had referred might be read by the Clerk. And it was read accordingly 
 It the Clerk's table. 
 
 Mr. W., having listened attentively to the extract, said that it amounted 
 .0 nothing more Uian what he hod said yesterday. He had been in favor 
 :>f passing the Oregon bill without the notice, or passing the notice without 
 he Oregon bill, iuid that the House should take one or ihe other, but not 
 take both together.] 
 
 Mr. C. Yes; but the report said that the givinflr of the notice belonged 
 , to the President, and not to Congress. ., 
 
 [Mr. W. replied, that it had been written by Mr. Brown.] 
 Mr. C. now resumed. Such had then been the doctrine of a loading 
 £;ent!nman from Tennessee, though not, as il now nppearod, of the gt;ntle< 
 man from Illinois. In the speech of the same goiitlenmn from Tennessee, 
 delivered on the 27th January, 1S45, the same doctrine was again avowed, 
 and further enforced. Mr. C. read from that speech the following ex-, 
 ■tract: 
 
 I *< There might be collisions, to be sure, in joint occupation; and when 
 they arose, they must be provided for; but the question of the probability of 
 collision was not one which addressed itself tj this House at all. That was 
 . a question for the consideration of the Executive, whether we should give 
 the notice contemplated by the convention of 1827. Now, the Committee 
 on Territories bp'ieved, when they reported this bill, that they were 
 acting stricUy and exclusively within the legislative powers of Congress; 
 that they were leaving the Executive to act, when and how it pleased, with 
 regard to giving this notice to terminate. what was usually called the join'* 
 occupation of this country. That was a question with which they did not 
 intend to interfere." ,, 
 
 In reply to this speech , the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, (Mr. , 
 Adams,) had made the following remarks: ; 
 
 i . "He would give the twelve monUis' notice, because, in that respect, he 
 differed essentially from the principle advanced by the chairman of the Com-<] 
 mittee on Territories, tliat this House had nothing to do with the termi-^- 
 nation of the joint occupancy. On the contrary, he believed tliat this 
 House had every thing to do with it, because it was war, and the war pow-. 
 er was expressly given to Congress by the Constitution." 
 
 • That was the position then taken by the venerable gentleman. In his 
 ^eply he then said that the notice was war; now he says that it is not war. 
 
1« 
 
 but peace. He then coiitMed tlte epiniOR of the cimirman, who deiued|i^e could inv 
 the power of the Kou^ to pMs the notice, expre^Iy upon the grotind that|o victory. 
 the nodcfe fthiounted to w», and, therefore, the House ou^ht to be a partyj Mr . C . tho 
 to it, because the House, by the Constitution, possessed the power of de-|iven to'Oveti 
 (Aftring ^hr. The gentlehmn then bounded the note of war, insisting ^at^iinistration 
 GWlgress iilone could give the notice, and that the Pi-esident, without thellt was that \ 
 Gongrefe, oould not give it, because CongTeSa, and not the President, wa» President asl 
 the war-makittg power. At that time, according to the gentleman, to give {maintained 
 the notice was to declare war; the notice was war. Yes, and pass this re- ^ Great Britaii 
 solution or amendment, now uiider consideration, in the existing state of who did not 
 the jiegotiation, and carry out the recommendations of the Executive in as- 'might, war 
 sorting our title to the whole of the Oregon teiritory, and war with aU its the result, 
 hon-ors will be the inevitable consequence. What was the existing stale of' of the Oreg 
 the negotiation ? We had been trying for years to settle our difficulties with i the national 
 Gireat Britain on this Oregon question, and had not succeeded. The British ! %e country 
 envoy durmg the last summer made us an offer, which we had rejected. ' Mr. C. h 
 Our Government then jwoposed again to Great Britain the forty-ninth paral- \ here let hin 
 lei as a permanent boundary between the two Governments — an offer which | upon what 
 Was not so favorable as those we had made on two former occeaions. It 
 wns refused. Whereupon our Minister, by the direction of the President,. 
 hard mstantly Withdrawn it. This appeared to Mr. C. rather a petulant 
 and childish act, and he had no doubt it had been done in a temporary fit 
 of ill-temper. Where had been the necessity to withdraw it? The British 
 envoy had not wilMrawn his offer on its rejection by us, and the countiy 
 was now to be involved in war for the "whole" of Oregon," one half of' 
 which the President had offered to give away. The American people were 
 always ready, if war was inevitable, to breast the stonn and stand by their 
 country right or wrong, and they would pledge united hands and hearts to- 
 its triumphant prosecution. But who did not desire that the grounds of our 
 quarrel should be just, that we should be manifestly right before the world; 
 because then we should have the sympathies of mankind with us; and be- 
 cause then We might with leason hope that the spirit of the living God^ — 
 that same spirit which had graciously hovered over our arms heretofore* — 
 Would agam spread his wings #ftr out defence, and inspire our armies with 
 dietermrned valor? He had bc^ With hb in our revolutionary struggle, anti 
 ift'our l&st contest with the Ame im^rious Power he had again appeared 
 for our help, and had nerved the arms of our soldiers and tnctrshaUed thetrt 
 ob td victory. Let our cause be as just now as it had been heretofore, and 
 
 tars been m 
 visited with 
 a single ins 
 to go as far 
 ed , he slot 
 Until this I 
 passed thei 
 it in its pt 
 must cont 
 rashly pla 
 He had 
 this ]-i0S!ti 
 condition 
 con<iition 
 heavy in 
 hundred 
 than twe 
 now , an< 
 linoie ov 
 not ever 
 comstati 
 
11 
 
 <i^no derMed|(re could invoke high Heaven, and God himself would lead us forth agftin 
 ground tha«|o victory. 
 
 [o be a paWyl Mr . C . thought that he had shown thftt if the notice in Its present form wa» 
 wer of de-iiven to Gi eat Britain, war was the inevitable consequence, unless the Ad- 
 sisting fliat|iiinistration should abandon its present position . What was the proposition ? 
 Without theflt was that we should terminate the convention of joint occupation. The 
 isident, was^President asked that our rights to the whole territory should be asserted and 
 an, to giVelinaintained, although we had four times offered to divide the country with 
 IS this re- *Great Britain . If we should enter on the occupation of the whole territory ,► 
 ng state of who did not see that war would be inevitable ? It was so: disguise it as we 
 utive in as- 'might, war with all its terrors, and all its miseries and sacrifices, would be 
 ith aH its the result. Such being the case, as the assertion of our right to the whole 
 ng state of ' of the Oregon territory did not in his opinion involve at all the question of 
 culties with | the national honor, we might with great propriety look at the condition oT 
 The British ! the country and its state of preparation for war. 
 
 ad rejected. ' Mr. C . had said that this question did not involve our national honor, and 
 unth paral- i here let him ask gendemen who were so clamorous upon this occasion,, 
 offer which | upon what sea had Great Britain insulted our flag ? When had our gallant 
 iasions. It I tars been impressed into her service ? What American citizen had been 
 "resident,, f visited with oppression by her ? Point him to the time and place, show him. 
 H petulant ' a single instance when such a thing had taken place, and then he was ready 
 to go as far as he who went farthest. When such a fact should be establish- 
 ed, he stood ready and prepared to vindicate the rights of our citizens. 
 Until this should appear, he must notr ashly pass the Rubicon , which once 
 passed there could be no receding. This resolution was the Rubicon; pass 
 it in its present shape, and the Government must go on at all hazards, or 
 must content itself to retire within the 49th parallel. Mr. C. should not 
 rashly place the country in that position. 
 
 He had said that the nation was not pre ...d for such a contest; and iifc 
 this j-tosition he was borne otit by our past history, as well as by the present 
 condition of the country. Should not our Government consider well that 
 con<;ition? Look at the States of the Union groaning under the weight o( 
 heavy indebtedness they cannot meet. Did they not owe more than two- 
 hundred millions of dollars, the interest on which alone amounts to ntore 
 than twelve millions annually ? The States weie unable to discharge this 
 now, and when was it to be met? Pennsylvania owed forty millionfl; Il- 
 linois owed from fifteen to twenty millions, was largely indebted, and cOuhi 
 not even pay the interest on her liabilities. Would gentlemen, under cif- 
 comstances like these, unless the honor of the nation required it, plung^e 
 
 mporary fit 
 ^he British 
 »e countiy 
 »e half of 
 eople were 
 d by their 
 1 hearts to^ 
 ids of our 
 !ie world; 
 ; and be- 
 igGod— 
 etofore — 
 lies with 
 rgle, and 
 ippeai'ed 
 ed theirt 
 we, and 
 
19 
 
 the country headlong into a wild and precipitate war ? He trusted noi^*^ exciusivel 
 How was our present debt to be met ? and how were we to pay thf*'* expect 
 millions more which such a war would impose? Again, he repeated thatjf*''*"^''^''^** 
 >our national honor not being at stake, we should, before taking such a hastj^ *■"'"&' *" 
 Btep, look well to the fearful consequences. jentleman a 
 
 But what more was there in our situation which makes this so particu-^ "® engrat ei 
 larly inappropriate a time to enter upon a great military contest ? Wh 
 was at present in contemplation by a majority on that floor ? The chair-f''^®*"^ '" 
 man of the Committee of Ways and Means was engaged in preparing al**®^****^""^® | 
 bill to reduce the existing tariff, under the professed pretext of increasing'®'''"®™®" °^' 
 the revenue. The House hed been expecting it for sometime, and jtteen accuston 
 would probably be brought in witliin a few days. The tariff of 1842 was'''^^ defamati 
 lo be largely reduced; and when that should have been done, where would •'•"^ °"® ^'^^ 
 be our revenue to carry on the war? The present tarifl" produced us some^'y* ^^' 
 twenty-seven or twenty-eight millions, and our regular peace establishment '" """ ^ ^^ 
 lequired at least twenty -five millions of that amount. Lessen the duties, and "® **'" ' 
 what amount would be collected? Certainly not as much as at present, if '^ abrogate tn 
 peaces should continue. But how much might be expected should we go |P*^" ^ '^^ 
 ■to war? Not over five millions. War must necessarily check our com- *art, deciannj 
 uierce and prevent importations, and bring desolation and ruin on our rev- ""v quesuon 
 enue. There would at once be a deficit of twenty millions for a peace accompanying 
 establishment, and how much inorewouilbe required for war? At least \^^^' """* 
 thirty millions annually. Where are we tv. get it? From the tariff, now namtam so n 
 to be revised and reduced? No: nor by thn riff of 1842 witho.a reduc- would invit 
 tion; nor by any other tariff. Resort must be ... d to direct taxation. 'The ^^^- *^®ace 
 last resort to collect annually the sum of fifty millions by direct taxation ''® nation na( 
 upon the labor and toil of a people already oppressed with liabilities under 
 the Sub-treasury system, which requires all Government dues to be collect- 
 ed in gold and silver, would be intolerable oppression upon the country. 
 
 Again, therefore, he insisted that, as no question of honor was involved, 
 it would be right to pause, to look at the bearing of so great and hazardous 
 a measure, and not rashly compromit the labor, and treasure, and peace, 
 and blood of the nation. Gentlemen should not approach such a question 
 like zealots, but like statesmen. 
 
 The favorite system of the gentleman from Virginia behind him (Mr. 
 Dromgoole) was soon to come into view. Instead of returning again to 
 the cursed paper system, as it had been termed, the gentleman's favorite 
 iSub-treasury was to be held out for the adoption of the House; and all the 
 currency of the country, at least in all Government transactions, was to con- 
 
 ficreased evei 
 le same coui 
 
 rong. 
 
 Gentlemen 
 
 !3ry little sac 
 
 T war thatu 
 
 iced the glit 
 
 i» the death 
 
 Kaces, ot no 
 
 om the hill 
 
 le honor of 
 
 ful been doi 
 
 iie tented fi( 
 
13 
 
 trusted no(jl^^ exclusively of gold and silver. And how did the very learned gentle- 
 to pay thl'*'* expect that we were to get a revenue of fifty five mUIions of dollars 
 ipeated thatl'^'^^^^'X ' ^ ^ P'^'^ '^ S^^^ ^"^ silver ? It was a waste of time to think of such 
 3uch a hast]l^^^"S> ^^^ ^^ attempt to exact it would impoverish the country. The 
 . lentleman's fine machine would not work, and no such monetrdiiity ought 
 so particu4 ^^ engrafted on the policy of our Government. 
 
 est? What' "^ gentleman fi-ora Ohio (Mr. BrinkerIiopf) had on yesterday rejoiced 
 The chair-f^^^'y ^^ finciing himself in company with the venerable gentleman from 
 preparing ^Massachusetts on this question . He had lauded him to the skies, as other 
 f increasinff'®"'^^'"^'* ^^^^ ^^® ^^Y ^^^ <^°"® during this debate, who had formerly 
 me, and it ^een accustomed to abuse him. Gentlemen who had lived and breathed 
 •f 1842 was^'^h defamations of that venerable man upon tlieir lips were now ready, 
 here would ^'^^^ °"® accord, to place his name on the fairest page of his country's his- 
 ;ed us some'^'y* ^'■- ^- ^^^ "**^ really know what the gentleman had done to bring 
 tablishment '" ^^^ ^ t?nddenly this profusion of praises. 
 
 duties, and He said , if it was proper to give to Great Britain notice of our determination 
 present, if '^ *^brogate the convention of 1827, let an additional clause be engraftfd 
 oiild we go |P**" *'^® resolutions, containing assurances of a friendly disposition on our 
 our com- >art, declaring that we are ready to renew the negotiation , and settle this 
 in our rev- ''"'y question of diflTerence between the two Governments. Such a clause 
 for a peace Accompanying the notice would tend to check the mad career of both na- 
 At least \o^^- While it >\ould show, on the one hand, that we were determined to 
 tariff now maintain so much of our rights to Oregon as were clear and unquestionable, 
 would invite England to renew the negotiations in a spirit of compro- 
 mise. Peace was our manifest policy. Under its mild and gende sway, 
 'le nation bad grown up from infancy to manhood , while a prosperity which 
 iicreased every hour had been spread around its path. Let us persevere in 
 le same course, yielding nothing of our rights, claiming nothing that was 
 rong. r.Uiyh 
 
 Gentlemen might clamor as much as they chose for war, and do this at 
 iry little sacrifice, because it was not those who were generally most noisy 
 T war that usually fought our battles when war came. Who was it that 
 need the glittering front of hostile arms ? Who was it that bared his bosom 
 n the death-shot and bayonets of the foe ? Not usuMly those in high 
 fiaces, or noisy politicians. It was our gallant and hardy log-cabin boys, 
 om the hills and from the mountains, who maintained on the bloody field 
 le honor of their country. Mr. C. had often thought that justice never 
 lul been done to those suffering and unpretending men. They entered 
 ue tented field, and in the deadly shock of arms they fell covered with glo- 
 
 Jut reduc- 
 on. ^The 
 t taxation 
 ties under 
 )e collect- 
 unlry. 
 involved, 
 mzardous 
 lid peace, 
 question 
 
 an 
 
 (Mr. 
 again to 
 i favorite 
 d all the 
 s to con- 
 
14 
 
 ly and witlji blood, and in a few houcs they were thrown into a promiscjl 
 OUB grt^ye, wbea the grae^ sod eoon coveted their dust, w)d tbek nantii 
 fnd the places of burial weie forever forgotteo; while he wlio leaped ov^ 
 Hofivt dead bodies and marched through tiieir yet warm and gupbing; bloo<i 
 «|i^oyed all the fruits and all the glory of yicU,>ry, aod tbe poor soldier s) 
 in the bosom of the land of Uis fathers and was foi^goUeiii 
 
 And here it would not be out of place to allude for a moment to the di4 
 Uibution policy. He invoked gentlemen to cany that policy out, and thij 
 \o let the poor soldier know that, when he left the wife of his bosom and til 
 pledges of love, for the sultry march to the field of death, if h? fell, thf 
 his Government would educate his children.. Thi«< reflection would thri<) 
 «rm him for the conflict. I 
 
 In conclusion, Mr. C. inquired, who was it that would check our o^ 
 ward march to future greatness and glory ? Under our present system 4 
 government, with wise laws and their faithful maintenance, a noble destiii 
 awaits us — a destiny, the contemplation of which fills every American b( 
 8om with patriotic emotions. Behold this glorious galaxy of Slates, ho| 
 beautiful they shine, cemented together as they are by the blood of our r4 
 volutionary sires. And none in this cluster shines more brightly than ni 
 own native TenneiEBee. Christianity herself smiles at the scene, and ri 
 gards this favored country as her cherished home, as she beholds untol 
 millions of the sons and daughters of freedom worshipping in the temple k 
 liberty and at the altar of tlie living God. | 
 
 But if war, that scourge of nations with which a righteous Providenif 
 punishes guilty man, was destined for our chastisement — if all negotiatioi| 
 and every efTort for peace should finally fail, and our only honorable resoj 
 should be to the sword — then welcome war, with ail its elemeiUs of destruj 
 tion and death. When the voice of war shall be heard calling the bra| 
 to the field, Tennessee will be with the foremost to the rescue; and in tlji 
 darkest liour of her struggle, where balls fall tliickeet, in the hottest Oi th 
 battle, will be seen her brave and gallant sous, with strong arms and patf 
 otic aearts,bearingaloft,amid the raging storm, our flag, with 'Hbe, stars ai) 
 the stripes," until the shouts of the brave and the true siiall prockiim it vi|| 
 tohous again , or until they fall and perisli for tbe land of their fathers th| 
 cannot be saved. 
 
to «i promise! 
 id tb«ic Banoi 
 tu) leaped ovj 
 jupbing blooj 
 »or soldier slei 
 
 i 
 iont to the di^ 
 r out, and thil 
 bosom and U* 
 if hefoll.tbf 
 n would thria 
 
 check our o^ 
 isent system ^ 
 Et noble deetiii 
 r American b| 
 of Slates, hojl 
 lood of our r4 
 r"itly than raj 
 scene, and r^ 
 leholds untol 
 1 the templ« i 
 Ml ."• «ii\hi}/it 
 lus Providenc 
 ill negotiatioit 
 onorable resof 
 ents of destrui 
 Jling the braf 
 ;ue; and in ti^ 
 I hottest bi tl^ 
 :trms and pati 
 'Ulie. stars ai| 
 proclaim it vif 
 leir fathers th 
 
 ; s^iiii 9fU nf«*i