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34th Congress Special Session Cong. Globe 371 (1857)

handle is hein.congrec/conglob0052 and id is 1 raw text is: SENATE-SPECIAL SESSION. Proceedings of the Special Session. IN SENATE. WEn ESDAY, .March 4, 1857. In accordance with a proclamation of the Presi- dent of the United States, the Senate convened to-day in special session. The Secretary (Assur DiNsNs, Esq.) called the Senate to order. Mr. DOUGLAS submitted the following reso- lution; which was unanimously adopted: l2csoslcd, That the oath of office be administered by the ion. JSAns A. PEARcs to the Heon. J.%Ars M. MXAsoN Senntorelect from the tate of Virginia, and that he be, and heruby is, chosen President pro tcmvore. Mr. PEARCE having administered the oath pre- scribed by law to Mr. MAsoN, he took the chair. The Secretary read the list of new Senators, as follows; who Were severally qualified By taking the oath prescribed by law, except Messrs. BATES mnd FOOT, who were not present: Hon. MARTIN W. BATES, of Delaware. Hon. JAMES A. BAYTARD, of Delaware. Hon. JESSE D. BRIeHT, of Indiana. Hon. DAVID C. BRODERICK, of California. Hon. SIMON CAMERON, of Pennsylvania. Hon. ZACHARIAII CHANDLER, of Michigan. Hon. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. Hon. JAMES DixoN, of Connecticut. Hon. JAMES R. DOOLITTLE, of Wisconsin. Eon. SOLOMON FOOT, of Vermont. Hon. HANNIBAL HAMLIN, of Maine. Hon. ANTHONY KENNEDY, of Maryland. Hon. TRUSTEN POLK, of Missouri. Hon. THOMAS J. Rus, of Texas. Hon. JAriEs F. StimoNs, of Rhode Island. 'Hon. CHARLES SUMNERj of Massachusetts. Hon. JOIN R. THOMSON, of New Jersey. Hon. BENJAMIN F. WADE, of Ohio. At half past twelve o'clock the Hon. YoHN C. BETECINRIDGE, Vice President elect, appeared in the Chamber, accompanied by Hon. JAMEs A. PEARcE, chairman of the committee of arrange- nents. The PRESIDENT pro termpore administered the oath of office and relinquished tie chair to the VICE PRESIDENT, who addressed the Senate as follows: SENATORS: In assuming the duties of this sta- tion, I am quite conscious that I bring to their discharge few other qualities than a deep sense of the importance of this body in the scheme of. the Government, and a feeling of respect for its mnembers. Happily, my duties are comparatively few and simple, and I am sure that they will be made eas a ervading sense of propriety which wil utselt be fficient on all occasions to pre- serve the dignity and decorum of the Senate. In administering the rules which you have adopted for the convenience of your proceedings, I shall often need your kind indulgence, and I anticipate with confidence your forbearance towards ie errors that spring from inexperience. Cherishing the hope that our official and per- sonal intercourse will be marked by mutual con- fidence and regard, I look forward with pleasure to our association in the performance of public duties. It shall be my constant aim, gentlemen of the Senate, to exhibit at all times, to every member of this body, the courtesy and impartiality which are de to the representatives of equal States. 371 At ten minutes past one o'clock, p. in., the incoming President of the United States, Hon. JAMES BUCHA , and the outgoing President, Hon. FRANKLIN PIERCE, entered the Chamber with the members of the Committee of Arrange- ments, Hns. JAMES A. PEARCE, WILLIAM BIn- LER, and SOLOMON FOOT. All the persons entitled to admission according to the arrangements made by the-committeebaving beej conducted to the seats assigned to them, they proceeded to the eastern portico of the Capitol, where the PRESIDENT delivdred the following INAUGURAL ADDRESS. FELLOW-CITIZENS: I appear before you this day to take the solemn oath that I will faith- fully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, $rotect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I In entering upon this great office, I must hum- bly invoke the God of our fathers for wisdom and firmness to execute its high and responsible duties in such a manner as to restore harmony and ancient friendship among the people of the several States, and to preserve our free institu- tions throughout many generations. Convinced that I owe my election to the inherent love for the Constitution and the Union which still ani- mates the hearts of tlfe American people, let me earnestly ask their powerful support in sustaining alljustmeasures calculated to perpetuate these the richest political blessings which Heaven has ever bestowed upon any nation.. Having determined not to become a candidate for reilection, I shall have no motive to influence my conduct in ad- ministering the Government except the desire ably and faithfully to serve my country, and to live in the grateful memory of my countrymen. We have recently passed through a presidential contest in which the passions of our fellow-citi- zens were excited td the highest degree by ques- tions of deep and vital importance;hut when the people proclaimed their Will, the tempest at once subsided, and all was calm. The voice of the majority, speaking in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, was heard, and'instant submis- sion followed. Our own country could alone have exhibited so grand and striking a spectacle of the capacity of man for self-government. What a happy conception, then, was it for Congress to apply this simple rule-that the will of the majority shall govern - to the settlement of the question of domestic slavery in the Terri- tories! Congress is neither to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom; but to leave the people thereof per- fectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. As a natural consequence, Congress has also prescribed that when the Territory of Kansas shall be admitted as a State, it shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission. A difference of opinion has arisen in regard to the point of time when tie people ofa Territory shall decide this question for themselves. This is, happily, a matter of but little practical import- ance. Beside's, it is a judicial question which legitimately belongs to the Supreme Court of the United Staten, before whom it is now pending, and will, it is understood, be speedily and finajlyr settled. To their decision, in common with ad good citizens, I shall cheerfully submit, whatever this may be, though it has ever been my indi- vidual opinion that, under the Nebraska-Kansas act, the appropriate period will be when the num- ber of actual residents in the Territory shall jus- tify the formation of a constitution with a view to its admission as a State into the Union. But, be this-as it may, it is the imperative and indispen- sable duty of the Government of the United States to secure to every resident inhabitant the free and independent expression of his opinion by his vote. This sacred right of each individual must be pre- served. That being accomplished, nothing can be fairer than to leave the people of a. Territory free from all foreign interference to decide thSjr own destiny for themselves, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. The whole territorial question being thus set- tled upon the principle of popular sovereignty- a principle as ancient as kee government itself- everythtng ofapracticalfa'ture has been decided. No other questionremins for adjustment; because all agree that under the Constitution slavery in the States is beyond the reach of any human power except that of the respective States them- selves wherein it exists. May we not, then, hope that the long agition on this subject is approach- ing its end, and that the geographical parties to which it has given birth, so much dreaded by the Father of his Country, will speedily become extinct? Most happy will it be forthe country when the public mind shall be diverted from this question to others of more pressing and practical importance. Throughout the whole progress of this agitation, which has scarcely known any intermission for more than twenty years, whilst it has been productive of no posiuve good to any human being, it has been the prolific source of great evils to the master, to the slave, and to the whole country. It has alienated and estranged the people of the sister States from each other, and has even seriously endangered the very ex- istence of the Union. Nor has the danger yet entirely deased. Under our system there is a remedy for all mere polit- ical evils in the sound sense and sober judgment of the-people: Time is a great corrective. Po- litical subjects which but a few years ago excited and exasperated the public mind, have passed away, and are now nearly forgotten. But this question of domestic slavery is of far graver importance than any mere political question, because, should the agitation continue, it may eventually endanger the personal safety of a large portion of our countrymen where the institution exists. In that event, no form of government, however admirable in itself, and however pro- ductive of material benefits, can compensate for the loss of peace and domestic security around the family altar. Let every Union-loving man, therefore, exert his best influence to suppress this agitation, which, s*ce the recent legislation of Congress, is withdot any legitimate object. It is an evil omen of the times that men have undertaken to calculate the mere material value of the Union. Reasoned estimates have been pre- sented of the pecuniary profits and local advant- ages which would result to different States and sections from its dissolution, and of the compara- tivu injuries which such an event would inflict SENATE.

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