Plymouth Weekly Democrat, Volume 3, Number 4, Plymouth, Marshall County, 20 February 1862 — Page 1

MO "HERB LET THE PRESS THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS MAINTAIN; UNA W E D B V INFLUENCE AND UNBOUOHT BY GAIN." VOLUME 3 NEW SERIES. PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, THÜBSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1862. NUMBER i WHOLE Xo. ICS.

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WEEKLY

DEMOCRAT.

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l.NDMYl DEMOCRATH- PLATFORM. Wiikreas, The Democratic jvirty having, from the l it j of its organization, been in favor of the maintenance of tlie Union mid the preservation of ihe Constitution, and seeing iu tl ij present condition of the country the deplorable effects of a leparture from itB time honored and conservative principles, and the triumph of sectionalism ; and Vrinlj believing that the Union and the Coustitu tioii can be preserved alone by the restoration of that prty to power, we invite all the Union men throughout the Und to unite with iw in sustaining its organization and currying out its principles. Therefore, Rrsohftl, 1. Tlut we reaffirm and endorse the

political principles that from time to time have Wen put forth by the National Conventions of Khe Democratic party. 2 That we are unalterably attached to the Constitution, by which the Union of these States -win forme J. and established : and that a faithful observance of its principles can alone continue the existence of the UuUm, and the permanent happiness of the people. 3. That the present civil war has mainly reulted from the long continued, unwise, and fa natical agitation, in the North, of the question ofj domestic s'avcry, the consequent organization ofj geographical party, guided by the sectionol platforms adopted at Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chicago, and tho envelopment thereby of sectional hate and jealousy, producing (as had long been foreseen and predicted by us) its counterpart in the South of .-M-ccssion, disunion, and armed resistance to the General Government, and j enii'nating in a uirmuv smie weiween mose wno should have been forever Itound together by fratcrual bonds, thus hanging upon the whole country a calamity which we ar now to meet as loyal c'ltzens. striving for the adoption of that mode of peltU'ment best calculated to agiin restore utiion aud harmony. 4. That in rejecting all propositions likely to result in a satisfactory adjustment of the matters in dispute "between the North and the South, and esHwally tli'j metswes which would have seenred thcliorder slave States to the Union, and a liarty co-operation on their part in all constitutional and legal mstitres to procure a return of the jnore.Soutliern Mate to their allegiance, the Republican part assumed a fearful rcsponsiltility, and acted in total disregaid of the best interests of the whole country. 5. That if the party in power had shown the name des" re to sertle. by amicable adjustment, our internal dissensions before hostilities had actuilly commenced, that the Administration has recently rThnitH$ to avoid a war with our ancient enemy, Great Britair., we confidently believe that peace aad harmony wouid - rciga throughout all our liorders. C. That the mainfenane of the Union upon tlie principle of the Federal Constitution should be the controlling object of all who profess loyalty to the Government and in our judgment this purpose can only be accomplished, by the ascentknicT of a Union partv in the Southern States, V!ch shall, by a counter revolution, displace those -who control and d;rcci the present rebellion. That no effort to create or sustain such a party can be 9 iTC C.-sful which is not based upon a dcfin;te set tlement of the quotin at isue between the two section; and we therefore demand that some such settlement be made by additional constitutionol guaranty, cither initiated by act of Congress or through the medium of a National Coureu ion. 7. That the Republican party has fully demonstrated 3 inability to conduct the Government through its present difficulties. . Tint w ar', utterly opposed to the twin JiC'csV, Northen s.-cti':ial'M nnd Southern s

c;s.ion, 9 s "n:ini-at to tlie Constitution and that pened to know the spot WO had walkIreemen, as thev value the boon of civil liberfv ; , , f , , and the peace of "the country, shonll frown in.li eu ConVi of m,Is lhf wrong way, when

-jantly tnom. i J. 1 hat in this national emergency the- Jenioc rac of Indiana, banishing all IW-Imi of itwinn and resent'uont, will recollect only the;r duty to; .1 !. .1 . .1... .1 " 1 . 1 1 ! the whole country; that this war should not be waged in the spirit of conquest or subjugation, nor for the purpose of o erthr.wing or interfering with the rights or in-fit' tions of the States, hut to defend and mati.ta'u: the supremacy of tlie Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality l1 rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these ohject.i are accomplished the war nullit to cease. 10. That we will sustain, with all onr energies, a mar f.r the maintenance of the Condition, and of the integrity of ths Union un-Jer the Cnnxtitutinn; lut wear ojposeil to a war for the emanci: arion of the negToc?, or the suljugation of the Southern itatea. 11. That the purposes avowed and advocated by the Northern disunionists, to liberate and arm the negro slaves, is a disgrace to the ace, calculated to retard the suj-presion of the rehelüon and meets our tmqualigcd condemnation. 1 2. That the total disre-crd of the writ o haben corpus by the authorities over us, rnd the feizure and imprisonment of the citizens of loyal States where the judiciary is in full operation, without warrant or la and without assigning any cause or giving to the party arrested any opportunity of defense, re flagrant liolations of the Constitution and most aUrnrng acts of usurpation of poer, which should receive the stern rebuke of every lover of his country and of every man who prizes the security and blessings ot lifeliberty and property. 1 3. That the liberty of peech and of the press are guaranteed to the people by the Constitution, and uone but a usurper would deprive them of these rights ; they are inestimable to the citizen and formidable to tyrants only. And the attempt which have been made since our present tin f ort unato troubles, to muzzle the press and stifle free discussion, are exercises of despotic power against which freedom revolts and which can not betoleratcd without converting freemen into slaves. 11- That the seizure of Mason and Slidell,on board a neutral lesael, on the high seas, was either in accord t nee with international law. and so legal; or else in violation of such law, ami so illegal. If tlie former, we lamer.t that our nation thrtat ; if the latter, it was the dutv of the Ad ministration at once to have disavowed the act of their ofheer, and instead of incarcerating the captives in Fort Warren, to have iimdiately repaired the wrong by placing them, aa far as practicable, in the same condition in which that officer found them. In either event, the action of the Administration was vacillating and cowardly and degrading to the dignity of a great nation. 15. That the action of the Republican party, s manifested in the partisan character of all appointments of the Administration to civil oftice ; and, in holding party caucuses by the Republican member of Congress for the purpose of irtrcssin" upon the legi-lative action of tttatttody fhe peculiar dogmas of that party, have demonstrated that their professions of "sacrificing party platforms, and party organizations, upon the altar of their country," are but .-o many hypocritical and false pretenses by which they hope to dupe the unwary into their support ;nd we warn all loyal persons, a they love their country, not to be deceived thereby. Jf, That the disclosures made by the investigating committee in Congress of the enormous fraud tint hae ptalked into the army and nary department, implicating the heads of those de partmtnts in a contrivance at, if not an actual participation in a system of corruption, and in vhica our brave soldiers have been defrauded of their proper supplies, d our 0Tcrnmcnt Uiroal ened with bankruptcy, demands thorou di investigation into al! our expenditures, both .State and Nation; .!, and that a speedy and marked oxamplc be made of all such "birda of prey," who, t iking advantage of the iioeescity of our country, have fed and fattened ujxn public plunder. ' 17. Tht the meritorious conduct of the Indian troops, iu every battlefield where victory has perched upon the national banner, has filled the people of this State with the highest gratitude to her gallant sou?, nnd that we send our best wishes to ollieers and men, dispersed throughout the country, and the heartfelt greetings of every Democrat for their further brilliant achievments in the coming contets fo the uiaiutcuanco ot the Coi:jditutiouaud the ?'niou.

WRITTEX FOR THE rXYMOCTH WKKKLT DKMOCRAT.J THE PIGEON ROOST. BT J. r. u It sounds moro like the sounds that greet jour ear when you enter Mrs. Raymond's parlors on the night of one of her grand assemblies, than anything else; but stay, here seems to be a road, at loast it

feels like one under one's feet Let's take it which way?' 'Slop, I have an idea! ' said I. And what is it?' said Wadley. 'Why, let's fed for the north side of a tree. Do what?' Tho north side of a tree, you know, is the roughest. A bright idea, I think,' said Phil. But onr idea was better in theory than in practice: we examined a dozen tree9 ; I've done it in day-time but by fueling we could not discern north from South devil a bit so we took one way hap hazard. On wo went, a mile or more, Wad ley having the lead. 'Wadley,' ßaid 1, 'the roar of the pigeons is receding from us; we have got out of the roost, and have goue wrong; we had better retrace our steps 'I don't oohJ' and. his answer was broken o'J by a loud splash. What is the matter?' 'Oh! I am the Lord knows where drowned. iu a quagmire oh, help! evry step sinks me deeper!' Goodness, man, come back this way, said I, not daring to budge an inch for fear of getting into it myself. Just at that moment, as if by magic, the moon burst out in a little blue spot from the misty canopy of clouds which enshrouded her the tirst time she had made her appearance tho night long, and revealed to us a small rocky heath cohered with haws, crab apples, briers and sedge, with a swampy stream running the rnidcb of it. 1 beheld my friend Wadley standing in it up to his middle, and myself on tho very brink of it. Phil now found his way out without any difficulty, and no damage but the accession of a wet and muddy pair of inexpressibles. I l:ap. a hundred rod in the other direction t i i i : .1 : 1. . ; . . .i . UUiU navu currieu us ngiu into mo camp There wis notliing to do, however, but for us to retrace our steps, which we did, but had hardly diiiwn near to the roar of tho roost, when tho moon left us to shift for ourselves again. Grateful for what she had done, wo groped in silence for some distanco. Wad I a?, said I, aftor a long and tedious travel iu the dark, 'wo surely have gone mora than two miles!' higher live, by my reckoning,' he responded, in a despondent voice. Ah! I see a bright spot in the heavens it is so, the moon h corning out again.' And as I 6poke, the silver glimmering orb burst forth in her bright effulgence, and scudded merrily through the twickering twigs of the high trees. The dark masses of pigeons were piled up in the trees around till scarce a boiifh was risible, and pome trees bent to the very ground with their encumbrance; the thousands that whirled and fluttered through the air in every direction, were now distinctly visible, and presented a singular and wild scene. Angels and ministers o grace defend u cried Wadley in my ear 'yonder's a veiitable ghost, Jack, sure as shootin.' Where?' said I, somewhat hurriedly. Look, under yonder tree that thing! Did you ever see such an object since the day you was 00' Bless me! what can it be?' It was a white, roundish object, of no particular shap j, and very frightful to bo!iold. Phil and I cautiously drew towards it, and we found it to possets some feint resemblance to a human being, apparently asleep or dead. By all that's funny, it's Fred, as I lire, cried Phil, going up and giving it a punch with his gun-butt, that brought him to his feet instanter. Ileh-yol good Mr. Devil, don'l slick your pitchfork into me so strong. Lord! I thought I was dead! Who's here thieves! help! murder! Out, ye cut-purs-es, or Pllhow you what virtue there is in a musket ball,' aod Fred raised his gun to his shoulder. I knocksd it up. Why, Frod, is that the way you treat friends?' Friends! What! boys, is it you? Dear me, I am exceedingly astonished! Devilish ulad to see you. By all the kettles in Lucifer's kitchen, I thought I was a gone sinner, and had given myself up to die hare in the woods. Jtun me through a carding machine, or a cotton gin, but may I never be dragged through a pigeon-roost aj'ain! Why, what's the matter, Fred?' I ask

ed, choked with laughter at his ludicrous appearance and rueful countcnacce. Matter!' he growled angrily, I've spent the night in Tophet, that's all.' Ha! ha! hem, beg pardon, Fred, but what have you done with your nether integuments?' Fred was not an Adonis in shape when he had his Sunday's on; but the figure he now cut was inconceivably comical. He

was literally covered with mud, blood aqjlfeathers, with a dash of green elime where he had fallen into some mud-hole. His coat had not a rag of tail left, and his oilier vestments seemed to be nothing hut rags, while of his trowsers nothing fe mained but the waistband, and a few streamers attached thereto; hig top boots and Kilmarnock nightcap being the oii'y4 integral garments I could observe about him. The ooze and pigeon feathers which covered him, looked as if he had undergone a sentence from Judge Lynch. Ho stepped out ruefully, and cast a dolorous glance at his plight, as he shouldered his musket, which we no discovered was blown to pieces, with little but the stock remaining. Flesh and blood could stand it no longer, and Wadley burst into a par-1 oxysra of laughter. You may laugh, my friends but if you had gone through what I have, you would not have much inclination that wurf All this blessed night hav I traveled this iufernal rood) from one end of it to the other: devil of a soul did I see the whole time, though they were shooting all around me. Whenever I saw a flash from a gua, I made right for it, hallooing with all rav might; but no use, I couldn't find anybody. Tho infernalish hag iidden, witch-possessed race I have had, tearing and sweating through the bushes, crawling through briers and thorns, and falling into mudhole3 and quagmires until I am as sore as if 1 had been dragged over a hemp-hackle. Finally, I found this bed of leaves, occupied by an old sow; I drove her out and took possession, determining to rest mv boi.es hero till morning. In falling over a bush, ray old musquiton went off and bursted to flinders. It is a great wonder I didn't got killod, or at least seriously hurt ; but fortune favored me that time.' Bv this time the moon was shining as bright as day, and after our mirth had somewhat subsided, we found a puddle, where Wadley removed some of tho filth and mud that encumbered him, and we continued our route campward. Half an hour's walk brought us all ihreo to the camp, where wo found no one awake but Jim Davis, who sc?n:3d to b) acting sentry. Bob and Oren were both far journeying in the land o! Nod, and; Jim's eyes did not look half an hour high. While Fred and Phil were relating to him their adventures, 1 made a rigorous attack on the cori9stibles, finding my appetite whetted very keen by my ramble. After devouring an iudiGnite quantity of sand- , wiches, roast potatoes, and porter, 1 finished with a cigar, and took a look around: found all snoring away, each in a different eey, like a concert of bullfrogs in a swamp except Joe, who had finished hia nap, and was martyring a squab, feathers, inside and all, on the end of a slick over the fire. The trees and the fire began to dance and glimmer and spangle iu my eyes, and ai Bob says, the next thing 1 knew 1 did'nt know nothin. It was scarce breaking day, when 1 was aroised by Oren and Wadley to go out and shoot some birds with them; now was the best time, as the pigeons were some of them taking a short nap; and as most of the firing had ceased, there wr.s not so much to distrust them. It was just light enough for us to distinguish tho dark masses of birds; we could now shoot with a better aim, and wo made great havoc among them, bagging nearly three hundred in a very ehort time. 1 say, Jack,' quoth Oren, as it grew a liltta lighter, 'I wish 1 had a looking glass.' What for?' said 1. 1 want to show you your face, vhat with dirt, burnt gunpowder, blood and feathers, 1 don't think Miss Nancy would be tempted to kiss you this morning. 1 beseech you to take a squint at your trowsers in the meantime; a rag merchant would have turned up his dose at them io disgust. Bah ! they are nothing to Phil "Wadley's here ho is in real Arkansas costume r.othing but hia boots and tho waistband of his drawers.' But just see here magnificent l Wo had just rison a littU hillock, when the sun loomed up from his cloud couch, and shown on a scene of splendor truly indiscribable. We had ceased firing some minutes before, nnd all was still as death. The eminence overlooked a vast forestplain, the bright rays of the rising sun beaming in lo vol lines of hightfrom tho blue hazy horizon upon that scene, nnd every tree and every limb and e ory twig

in that forest, almost a3 far as tho eye could reach, covered and beoding down with the graceful and reposing forms of the wild pigeons; their gorgeorouslytinted, gold-burnished breasts glittering in the sunbeams one vast panoply of green and purple gold pread over the whole forest as if by the w .nd of a magician. Word cannot convey ihe superb beauty of thescene. Each tree, and taken in a view the whole landscape, was but one mass of sparkling plumage. An hour after, what a contrast! As the sun mounted higher, battallion after battallion took wing and ied away in evory direction, and the trees, which were before absolutely trodden by the weight of legions of birds that ewarraed in their branches, now presented a scene of desolation. They are crushed, mangled in every direction; some with tbeir trunks snapped off like pipe stems, and hundreds with every branch stripped off. If a hurricane had passed over, it would not have left a more naked and desolate scene behind. Not a living thing to be seen, sara a few poses and wild hogs devouring the dead birdi that lis scattered over the

ground, the victims of the sportsmen or the fall of tress and branches, and a huge goshawk here and trwre, or an eagle, soaring over the scene of carriage. The darkness and tho bushes cause the sportsman to leave half of his birds on the ground, and the wild hogs absolutely get fat on them. As we returned from the roost, we presented even a more unique company than io going; so much so, tbat aunt Sally set the dogs on us when we rode up to the yard gaio. THE END. Expulsion of Senator Bright. Speech of Hon. Jesse I. Itright Upon tlie Charge of I)iIoynIly lo Uic United Mato, antl in Vindication or flic freedom of Opinion stud Speech. In the Senate on Wednesday, the 5th instant, the resolution proposing the cx- j pulsion of Mr. Bright being under con-j sideralion, he made the following letnarks before tho voto was taken in vindication of his devotion to tho Constitutional Union to tho best inteiests of tho Government, and against iho proposed outrage on the freedom cf speech and tho right of voting according to t!i j dictates of conscience and judgment : I shall not attempt to shield myscli from the partisan blows leveled at me with such fury by interposing legal forms and technicalities. Let tho light of day be poured in upon every act of my political lifo propor to bo inquired into in this con neclion, and, as I said on a former occasicn, I repeat now, I challenge investigation. I havo had hitherto no reason to doubt that my political action was approved by the people of tho Stato of Indiana, for thrice has she honored me by election to this bodv, and on each occasion with a unanimity among my political friends, and by majorities of which any man might well feel proud. Nay, more, sir; the journals of tlr.s body, during my long service here, contain the evidence that 1 have shared largely in the confidence of its members and the honors they havohad to coufer, I do not refer to these facts in a spirit of egotism, but as affording the most pointed answer that can be given to such Senators as have questioned my antecedents, and sought to prejudice me in the estimation ol my countrymen. I come now, sir, to the gravamen of the offense charged against me. On the 1st day of March, 1GGI, I wrote the following letter : Washington, March 1, 1CC1. Mr Dear Sir : Allow me to introduce to your acquaintance my friend Thomas B. Lincoln, of Texas. He visits your capitol mainly to dispose of what he re gards a great improvement in fire-arms. I recommend him to your favorable consideration as a gentleman of the first respectability, and reliable ia every respect. Very truly, yours, JESSE D. BRIGHT. To his Excellency, Jefferson Davis. President of tho Confederation of States. It become! important at the threshold of this inquiry to ascertain who Thomas B. Lincoln is, whether ho is a gentleman of the first respectability, and reliable in every respect,' (iu the languago of the introduction,) or is h a man of doubtful character? Vrou!d his past lifo prov6 him to bo an honest or dishonest man? Is he or was ho a disloyal citizen at the datt of my letter, and upon what do I or did I base my opinions? These I deem important inquiries, to be answered before I go further, for in giving such an indorsement as I gave to Mr. Lincoln, I am responsible for the truth of what I said. My acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln commenced about the year 1837. He re moved from the city of Philadelphia to Madison, Indiana, where I then resided, and was practicing my profeesiou, Mr.

Lincoln was both a wholesale and retail merchant and did a very extensive business. During his residence in the place last mentioned, which was between three and four years, I generally attended to his legal business. On winding up his mercantile affairs, which I think was in 1841 or 1842, he removed to Texas, leaving with me the collection of a large amount of outstanding debts. I think it was not until 1851 or 1852 that I had a final settlement with Mr. Lincoln, which resulted in my purchasing from him a considerable amount of real estate, and there being a defect in the titles, I was kept in occasional correspondence with him up to 1854 or 1855. About this time, Mr. Lincoln connected himself with what was known as the Texas land grant, and formed one ot many of a large company that conceived the idea of making a railroad to the Pacific coast. About this time Congress had under consideration the same 6ubjct. This brought Mr. Lincoln to Washington each session thereafter as regularly as Congress met. It so happened that I was one of a special committee of nine raised in the Senate on the occasion to consider and report upon some plan or route of railroad to the Pacifiic. This again brought me in communication with Mr. Licoln. Seldom a week passed that he did not visit me at my houso. I was always glad to see him, and whenever and wherever we met, I recognized and treated him as a friend and a gentleman. I may here add that Thomas B. Lincoln ia well and favorably known in hi native city of Philadelphia, and ia the community in which I live. He is known to many of the citizens of Washington, and Very well known to all those Senators and Representatives who took an active part in the great enterprise I have mentioned. I never heard aught alleged against his hoDesty, integrity or

loyally uutil I heard of his arrest in the city of Cincinnati, in July or August last, on suspicion mere susjricion of being in complicity with the Southern rebellion. There were found in his possession among hin papers two letters written by me; and if he had had his business budget with hm, there would no doubt have been found hundreds of letters from me, running back during the last twenty-three or twenty-four years. Having read ono letter which was found with Mr. Lincoln, I now read tho other: Washington June 27, 1860. Dear Sir : I take pleasure in introducing to you an old and valued friend, Mr. Thomas B. Lincoln. He has a proposition to make to you conn3ctei with a kind of machine he understands you are using in the public improvements under your control. I commend him to you as a reliable gentleman in every sense of the word and bespeak for him your kind consideration Truly yours, JESSE D. BRIGHT. Captain Franklin. Mark you, this letter forms no part of the accusation againat me. It has bcCn certified to hero by the officer who has cus tody of it, for the purpose, I suppose, of showing that I had been in the habit of corresponding with Mr. Lincoln. I am glad it has been done. It enables me, from the fact of different papers, penned at different periods, to show what my opinion of him, long before even the thought of disunion was expressed, The Senator from Maine, Mr. Morrill, in his assault upou me, laid great stress on the cordiality of feeling expressed in ray letter of the 1st of March, both. toward the person io whom it was addressed and toward the person in whose behalf it was written; and volunteered the opinion that it sounded like the languago of a courtier I have! none other than a mere passing acquaintance with that Senator, and his total ignorance of my character is disclosed by venturing to make such an imputation upon it. If he knew me better, ho would have known that whatever be my defects, this was not one of them. With moro sycoplantio smiles, and fewer looks and tones of defiance since this prosecution commenced, I can scarcely doubt that I should have lessened the number of ray prosecutors, and abated the venom of their attacks; but with entiro confidence in my innocence and integrity, all I ask, or have asked is justice. 1 wish now to call the attention of the Senate to tho similitude of language in each of the letters. When tho first was written I was chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Groundsi Captain Franklin, to whom it was addressed, was ia charge of tho Capitol extension, and to somo extent under their direction. This brought me in daily communication with Captain (now General) Franklin. No doubt Mr. Lincoln knew this, and solicited the letter, stating what his objeot was. 1 have been in' the almost daily habit of giving letters of introduction to friends and acquaintances for years past, as a matter of course, and as 1 presume most members of Congress have, particularly

those who may be in simpathy with the j

party in power at the time. In the letter to Captain Franklin, 1 stated what Mr. Lincoln's business was : He has a proposition to make to you connected with a kind of machine he understands you are using in the public improvements under your control.' 1 further said: 1 commend him to you as a reliable gentleman in every sense of the word, and bespeak for him your kind consideration.' In writing such letters, my mind, and I presume that of others, dwells almost entirely on the relation the person asking U bears to me, and 1 have no recollection of but a single case in which 1 ever refused a letter of introduction to a friend or acquaintance. I have given them, a of course, where 1 had confidence in thß character and standing of tho applicant, and generally stated, as he requested, his object in asking for the letter, without even a thought in relation to that object. But it is also asserted that the address of the letter to Mr. Davis as President of the Confederate States, is evidence of disloyalty. My answer is, that 1 had neither the authority nor the intention to- recognize the lawfulness of his claim to the office he held in fact, and I suppose 1 addressed him as a matter of courtesy by the title be claimed, and, in doing this, did no more, as was well said by the Senator from California, Mr. Latham, than was repeated by Senators on this floor in open debate, both before and after the data of my letter. 1 had been for many yeara on terms of friendly personal and political relations with Mr. Davis, and in common with those who knew him, had a high opinion of his character and capacity, and of course felt justified by those but recently severde relations in giving a letter of introduction to him without any reference to the position he claimed; nor did 1 then for a moment believe that civil war could or would be resorted to as a remedy for the settlement of our sectional difHcul-iies. Nay, more; for weeks before, and for days if not weeks after this letter was written, letters and documents wore transmitted by your mails, addressed to Davis by the same title, without objection or giving rise to the idea that such an address was a recognition of his lawful title to the office he claimed or any impeachment of the loyalty of those who directed them or permitted their transmission. One of the Senators from Texas on this floor repeatedly showed documents and letters that he had directed at his desk here to the President of tho Confederate States. Subsequent to this letter for more than a month persons claiming to be commissioners from this now confederacy were residing in this caoital unmolested, and in communication, whether formal or informal is immaterial, with the Secretary of State. In view of all the historical facts, how can any candid, impartial mind come to tho conclusion that on the 1st of March. I knew that there was war existing, or that war was inevitable? Add to this the,

timid and time-serving policy of the late Administration, in frequent consultation with the immediate friends and commissioners of the Southern organization, allowing his political friends and the press of the country to announce and reannounce daily that there would be no war that Fort Sumter would be evacuated and peaceful relations established; and you have another key to the delusion under which thousands and hundreds of thousands of loyal Union men in the South as well as in the North, were laboring. Up to tho day that Fort Sumter fell I believed with the President that wo were friends, not enemies.' I wrote of them and to them; I spoke of them and to them as I ever had; but here, sir, the curtain fell; this was an act of war,- and from the date of tho President's Proclamation we were enemies, not friends, in the belligerent sense of the term. Acts which before tho happening of this event were legitimate and lawful, become now illegal and in some instances treasonable. ' The shipment of provisions, the sale of all kinds of munitions of warthat had been publicly carried cn botween the North and South, and was an every day occurrence t:p to this time, suddenly, and by this act of war, and by virtue of the proclamation of the President, became illegal and treasonable; and after the occurrence of thesa events, I should never havo felt mjself at liberty to address a loiter of introduction to Mr. Davis. No man disputes this; but are you going to say that every man who eugaged in trade, commerce or correspondence with the South prior to this time is disloyal or guilty of treason? Are you prepared to assert this principle of ex post Jacto tyranny? If so, who can fix a limit to olfenders, and to what a farce do you reduce that principle of eternal justice which has in all ages of the world, been tho shield and protection of the citizen? I was askod by one of tho

orable committee whether I would have given such a letter after tho fall of Fort Sumpter. I unhesitatingly answered: ' No, sir; I would hav regarded the request on tho part of an intelligent man, under such circumstances, as an insult.' I will go witn my record made in this Hall in one hand, and the record of those whose voice sends mo from h in the other and I will submit to them tho question of right or wrung. I will go with the plaxform of principles laid down by tho party that I havo acted with through life, and which I referred to yesterday, and in the name of those principle, and in tho. name of the Constitution that I have ever tried to support in letter and in spirit. I will ask a tair anil impartial hiring. This and this only, rs the tribunal with whos judgment I will be conteut. I have ever been opposed lotho principle of coercion. I believed, in the laugutge of the present Sacr&tary of Siiste. used oa the 10th of April last, that this Federal Republican system of ours, of all for m a of government, is most unfitted for such a tabor.' Coe-rcion was war, and in the language of the late Senator from Illinois, war was dUuniou. Earnest in these opinions, I joined others in urgent appeals to the late Administration to withdraw our forces from Fort Sumter, and make our differences the subject of peaceful arbitrament. And, sir, down to the dar this letter U dated, and even down to the 3d of March, the day the late President left the executive mansion, I believed this would bo doue; and I had every reason to think so from the course of those who alone had the power to do it. But when hostilities commenced at Fort Sumter, an entire now feature presented itself. This act, followed by the proclamation of the President, was war, and while myjopinfonsf as to the policy of resorting to coercion, even then, as a remedy in the first place, remained unchnnged; and while I differed entirely with the line of policy pursued by the late a well as the

present Administration ia the eonduct of affairs at Charleston. I never hesitated as to my duty towards my own, government, and that was to sustain it, as I have done, in all that related to its efforts to d-iford the remaining SlatS3 from invasion, and in all its efforts to enforce obedience to the laws of the United States, within constitutional limits, within all the States. One other remark, and I am done. This outrage upon the right of represention of a sovereign State, is the volunteer offering of partisan proscription, and intended as a condemnation of my political opinions, and a consequent of my endorsement of tho platform of principles which has so lately been declared by the great party that I claim to represent, and whose action 1 have avowed my purpose to maintain. Let the country bear witness that no legislative body in Indiana, no conventional action, no appeal from the gallant men of her army have petitioned you to strike this blow; still, I say, let it come. The decree of that remorseless tyrant, Caucus, has been issued, and 1 bare Jmy person to the blow, unawed, 1 trnst, even though coup led with the thteal of banishment made on yesterdaj by tho brave, gallant, chivaliic, polished, classic Senator from Massachusetts. If 1 am to fall, of which 1 entertain no doubt, it will bo with my fane toward my accuse rä, and into the arms of a people that 1 have ever found just and swift to vindicate the right. Oood. The following goon hit was made, by some wag of Columbus, at the innumerable Union ' candidates button-hofeing the members of the Legislature for clerkships, door keepers, et cetera. The following card was struck up over tho city on Saturday evening last : ATTENTION ! -DEFEATED CANDIDATES ! All the defeated candidates for the sevoral Legislative officers will meet at th Rotunda of the State house, on MonJ&y morning, January G. for tho purpose of forming a brigade to be tendered to the President for the three years service. All being good Union men, no declinaliou will be received. Tho Paris Temps, replying to ihe assertion of the blockade being ineffective, recalls the faet that Russian vessels ran the blockade of the Baltic iu 1854 as now happens at Charleston. The Opinione Rationale blames semiofficial papers for their hidden southern sympathy, and says England would become dangerous to France if America were weakened. The Constitutional says Gen. Alraoto is now in Belgium, negotiating to place Archduke Maximilian on tho Mexvcai throne. Almonte will accompany French expedition to Mexico. The Inspector General his condemn I 20,000 uniforms furnished by swindling contractors