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lives before they will acknowledge the principle which we contend for.

this morning, in order to do away with the necessity of all these votes, and to ascertain if there was a majority here ready to impose upon us such a Platform-I was Gentlemen, in such a situation of things in the Convenwilling, myself, that the majority of the Convention should tion of our great party, it is right that we should part. retire and prepare such a Platform as suited them, and Go your way, and we will go ours. The South leaves you to take a vote upon it, and if that Platform did not give-not like Hagar, driven into the wilderness, friendless ùs those guarantees which we are entitled to under the and alone-but I tell Southern men here, and for them, I Constitution, then we would have been ready to do what tell the North, that, in less than sixty day, you will find we are now doing. The Platform which the majority of a united South standing side by side with us. (Prolonged this Convention has adopted does not give us those guar- and enthusiastic cheering) antees which we are entitled to for the protection of our property in the Territories. We wish to wear no two faces in this contest. We wish to meet the Black Republicans with their abominable doctrines boldly; and if our friends, the Democrats from the Free States, cannot join us and fight with us, we must fight our own battle. We are ready to meet the issue made by the Black Republicans like men, but we shall battle for what we conceive to be the truth, and not for profit. For these reasons, I am authorized by my delegation to announce that they withdraw from the Convention. At the same time, I should state the fact that two of the delegation do not join us in this movement. (Loud cheers) At the same time, I should state that those who sent us here instructed us to vote as a unit, and we contend, therefore, that we are entitled to give the whole vote of the State, and that no one else is entitled to give it or to divide it.

Mr. Mouton made some additional remarks, but owing to the confusion which prevailed in the hall, the reporter was unable to hear them.

We stand firm and immovable, and while we respect you, we must respect ourselves. And, gentlemen, let me say to you of the North now, that the time may come when you will need us more than we need you. I speak to those who represent "the green hills of New England;" I speak to the "imperial center" of the Union. There slumbers in your midst a latent spark-not of political sectionalism, but of social discord-which may yet require the conservative principles of the South to save your region of country from anarchy and confusion. We need not your protection. The power of the Black Republicans is nothing to us. We are safe in our own strength and security, so long as we maintain our rights. Gentlemen, I have detained you too long. I ask, in conclusion, that the few words which are here writtenwords of courtesy, but words of truth so far as my glori ous State is concerned-may be read in your hearing.

Mr. Mathews, of Mississippi, then read the following document.

To the President of the Democratic Convention :

honor to represent the State of Mississippi upon this SIR: As Chairman of the delegation, which has the floor, I desire to be heard by you and by the Convention. sentatives of sister States, to resolve the principles of a In common consultation we have met here, the repregreat party. While maintaining principles, we profess no spirit save that of harmony, conciliation, the success of our party, and the safety of our organization. But to the former the latter must yield-for no organization is valuable without it, and no success is honorable which does not crown it.

We came here simply asking a recognition of the equal rights of our State under the laws and Constitution of our be asserted, and the protection of that property, when common Government; that our right to property should necessary, should be yielded by the Government which claims our allegiance. We had regarded government and protection as correlative ideas, and that so long as the one was maintained the other still endured.

Mr. Glenn, of Mississippi.-Mr. President and gentlemen of this Convention: For the first time, for the only time, for the last time, in the name of the State that I have the honor in part to represent here, I desire to say but a few words to this Convention. I hold in my hand the solemn act of her delegation upon this floor, and I say to you, gentlemen, that it is not a hasty action; that it is not one conceived in passion, or carried out in caprice or disappointment. It is the firm resolve of the great body of the people whom we represent, which was expressed in the Convention that sent us here, and that resolve, that people, and we, their representatives, will maintain at all cost and at all hazards. (Loud cheers.) We came here not to dictate to the representatives of other sovereign States. Since we have been here, our intercourse has been courteous so far as personalities are concerned. We have all sought, and I believe have all been able, to conduct ourselves as gentlemen. But we did not come here to exercise the courtesies of life alone. We came to settle the principles upon which our party must rest and must stand. After a deliberation of many days, it has been anWe came here, gentlemen of nounced to us by a controlling majority of Representathe North, not to ask you to adopt a principle which you tives of nearly one-half the States of this Union, and that could say was opposed to your consciences and to your too, in the most solemn and impressive manner, that our principles. We did not believe it to be so. We came as demand cannot be met and our rights cannot be recog equal members of a common confederacy, simply to ask nized. you to acknowledge our equal rights within that confede- Federal Government is ample to protect all other proWhile it is granted that the capacity of the racy. (Cheers.) Sir, at Cincinnati we adopted a Plat-perty within its jurisdiction, it is claimed to be impotent form on which we all agreed. Now answer me, ye men when called upon to act in favor of a species of property of the North, of the East, of the South, and of the West, recognized in fifteen sovereign States. Within those what was the construction placed upon that Platform in States, even Black Republicans admit it to be guaranteed different sections of the Union? You at the West said it by the Constitution, and to be only assailed by a Higher meant one thing, we of the South said it meant another. Law; without them, they claim the power to prohibit or Either we were right or you were right; we were wrong destroy it. The controling majority of Northern repreor you were wrong. We came here to ask you which was sentatives on this floor, while they deny all power to right and which was wrong. You have maintained your destroy, equally deny all power to protect; and this, they position. You say that you cannot give us an acknow- assure us, is, and must, and shall be the condition of our fedgment of that right, which I tell you here now, in coöperation in the next Presidential election. coming time will be your only safety in your contests with the Black Republicans of Ohio and of the North. (Cheers.)

Why, sir, turn back to the history of your own leading men. There sits a distinguished gentleman, (Hon. Charles E. Stuart, of Michigan,) once a representative of one of the sovereign States of the Union in the Senate, who then voted that Congress had the constitutional power to pass the Wilmot Proviso, and to exclude Slavery from the Territories; and now, when the Supreme Court has said that it has not that power, he comes forward and tells Mississippians that that same Congress is impotent to protect that same species of property. There sits my distinguished friend, the Senator from Ohio, (Mr. Pugh,) who, but a few nights since, told us from that stand that if a Territorial Government totally misused their powers or abused them, Congress could wipe out that Territorial Government altogether. And yet, when we come here and ask him to give us protection in case that Territorial Government robs us of our property and strikes the star which answers to the name of Mississippi from the flag of the Union, so far as the Constitution gives her protection, he tells us, with his hand upon his heart-as Gov. Payne, of Ohio, had before done-that they will part with their

The State which sent us here, announced to us her prinIn this state of affairs, our duty is plain and obvious. she has asked a recognition of her Constitutional rights. ciples. In common with seventeen of her sister States, These have been plainly and explicitly denied to her. We have offered to yield everything except an abandonment of her rights-everything except her honor-and it has availed us nothing.

wishes-as honorable men, regarding her commands-we As the Representatives of Mississippi, knowing her withdraw from the Convention, and, as far as our action is concerned, absolve her from all connection with this body, and all responsibility for its action,

it has existed in its integrity, we desire, collectively as a
To you, sir, as presiding officer of the Convention while
delegation, and individually as men, to tender the highest
assurances of our profound respect and consideration.

gation; George H. Gordon, James Drone, Beverly
Signed: D. C. Glen, Chairman of the Mississippi dele
Mathews, J. T. Simms, Joseph R. Davis, W. S. Wilson,
Isaac Enloe, Charles Edward Hooker, W. H. H. Tison,
Ethelbert Barksdale, W. S. Barry, J. M. Thomson.

Mr. Mathews then announced that a meeting

of all those who sympathized with them in this movement would be held at 8 o'clock this evening, in St. Andrew's Hall.

The Mississippi delegation then withdrew from most sacred interests, in the same spirit of wisdom and the Convention.

SOUTH CAROLINA WITHDRAWS.

The Hon. James Simons, of South Carolina.-Mr. President, I am directed by the delegation from South Carolina respectfully to present the following document. TO THE HON. CALEB CUSHING,

President of the Charleston Convention:

received amongst you, and which we have returned with the kindest feelings of our hearts. We part from you without any unkind feeling. We respect you as gentlemen, but differing, as we do. upon principles vital to our affection which caused Abraham and Lot to pass on, one in one direction and the other in a different one, we bid you a most respectful adieu. (Loud cheers.) One more remark, and I have done. The delegation from the State of Florida has unanimously passed a resolution that ne one is authorized, when we shall retire, to represent Florida in this Convention. I confess, in all frankness, that I deem the resolution wholly unnecessary, because I believe there is too high a sense of honor amongst gen. tlemen here from the North, and the East, and the West, Mr. Eppes, of Florida, then read the following protesta. tion:

TO THE HON. Caleb Cushing,

We, the undersigned Delegates appointed by the Demo-to permit any man to skulk in here to represent Florida. cratic State Convention of South Carolina, beg leave respectfully to state that, according to the principles enunciated in their Platform at Columbia, the power, either of the Federal Government or of its agent, the Territorial Government, to abolish or legislate against property in slaves, by either direct or indirect legislation, is especially denied; and as the Platform adopted by the Convention palpably and intentionally prevents any expression affirming the incapacity of the Territorial Government so to legislate, that they would not be acting in good faith to their principles, or in accordance with the wishes of their constituents, to longer remain in this Convention, and they hereby respectfully announce their withdrawal therefrom.

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Mr. Milton, of Florida.-Mr. President: Representing the State of Florida, it is with feelings of sadness that I present myself before you to bid adieu to the men of talent and men of high and noble feelings from the North and West, who have met us here upon this occasion. But differences have arisen between us which, as honor able men, we cannot adjust. It has been asked, time and again, why we should invite gentlemen from the Northwest, the North and the East, to come and occupy higher ground than we did when we stood together and triumphed on the Cincinnati Platform? Since that time, gentlemen, according to your own report, a mighty power has arisen in your midst, deriving much of its strength and support from the Democrats of the North. I allude to the Black Republican party-a party which promulgates to the country that they have a higher law, a law known only to themselves-I hope not known to you-but superior to the Constitution. And, gentlemen, let me tell you that we came here expecting to be met hand in hand, and heart in heart, and to have formed a line shoulier to shoulder with you to drive back this swelling tide of fanaticism. But, gentlemen, how have we been met by you? I am proud to say that we have been met with high-toned generosity by Oregon and California. (Cheers.) I am proud to say that supporters of our claim for equal rights have boldly presented themselves from the good old State of Pennsylvania. (Cheers.) While we have entertained great respect for your talent and integrity, yet we bid adieu to you of the Northwest without so much feeling of regret, as you have hardened your hearts and stiffened your necks against the rights of the South. (Cheers and laughter.) But, we say to you, gentlemen from Oregon and California, and Pennsylvania and other States, who have come forward with the hand of fellowship, that we part from you with feelings of heartfelt sorrow.

Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania.-And New-Jersey. Mr. Milton.-I did not forget New-Jersey, nor could I forget Massachusetts. My remark was general. Whereever and whenever a gentlemen from the North, the East or the West, has had the manliness to rise up and vindicate our rights, our hearts have been at his command. (Cheers.)

We thank you, gentlemen, for the courtesies we have

President of the Democratic National Convention: The undersigned, Democratic delegates from the State of Florida, enter this their solemn protest against the action of the Convention in voting down the Platform of the majority.

Florida, with her Southern sisters, is entitled to a clear and unambiguous recognition of her rights in the Terri tories, and this being refused by the rejection of the majority report, we protest against receiving the Cincinnati Platform with the interpretation that it favors the doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty in the Territorieswhich doctrine, in the name of the people represented by us, we repudiate.

T. J. Eppes, B. F. Wardlaw, John Milton, J. B. Owens, C. F. Dyke, delegates from Florida.

The delegates from Florida, before retiring, have unanimously adopted the following Resolution:

Resolved, That no person, not a regularly appointed delegate, has a right to cast the vote of the State of Florida in this Convention.

JOHN MILTON, Chairman of Delegation.

TEXAS WITHDRAWS.

said: Mr. President and gentlemen of the ConventionMr. Bryan, of Texas, who was received with loud cheers, Texas, through her delegates on this floor, on the land of Calhoun, where "truth, justice and the Constitution" was proclaimed to the South, says to the South-this day the necessity which calls for our parting with the deleyou stand erect. (Loud cheers.) Whilst we deprecate gates from the other States of this Confederacy, yet it is cated in a Northern College, I there first learned that an event that we, personally, have long looked to. Eduthere was a North and a South; there were two literary Societies, one Northern and the other Southern. In the Churches, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, are North and South. Gentlemen of the North and Northwest, God grant that there may be but one Democratic party! It depends upon your action, when you leave here, whether it shall be so. Give not aid and comfort to the Black Republican hosts; but say to the South," You are our equals in this Confederacy, and your lives, your persons and property, equally with those of the Northern States, are protected by the Constitution of the Federal Union." What is it that we, the Southern Democrats, are asking you to acknowledge? Analyze it and see the meaning; and it is this-that we will not ask quite as much of you as the Black Republicans, and if you only grant what we ask, we can fight them. We blame you not if you really hold these opinions, but declare them openly, and let us separate, as did Abraham and Lot. I have been requested to read this protest on the part of the delegates from Texas, and to ask the courtesy of the Convention that it be spread upon the minutes of its proceedings.

HON. CALEB CUSHING,

President of the Democratic National Convention: The undersigned, delegates from the State of Texas, would respectfully protest against the late action of this Convention, in refusing to adopt the report of the majority of the Committee on Resolutions, which operates as the virtual adoption of principles affirming doctrines in opposition to the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, and in conflict with the Federal Constitution, and especially opposed to the platform of the Democratic party of Texas, which declares:

1st. That the Democratic party of the State of Texas reaffirm and concur in the principles contained in the platform of the National Democratic Convention, held at Cincinnati in June, 1856, as a true expression of political faith and opinion, and herewith reassert and set forth th

principles therein contained, as embracing the only doctrine which can preserve the integrity of the Union and the equal rights of the States, "expressly rejecting any interpretation thereof favoring the doctrine known as Squatter Sovereignty," and that we will continue to adhere to and abide by the principles and doctrines of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798 and 1799 and Mr. Madison's report relative thereto.

2d. That it is the right of every citizen to take his property, of any kind, including slaves, into the common territory belonging equally to all the States of the Confederacy, and to have it protected there under the Federal Constitution. Neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislatare, nor any human power, has any authority, either directly or indirectly, to impair these sacred rights; and they having been affirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, we declare that it is the duty of the Federal Government, the common agent of all the States, to establish such government, and enact such laws for the Territories, and so change the same, from time to time, as may be necessary to insure the protection and preservation of these rights, and prevent every infringement of the same. The affirmation of this principle of the duty of Congress to simply protect the rights of property, is nowise in conflict with the heretofore established and well-organized principles of the Democratic party, that Congress does not possess the power to legislate Slavery into the Territories, or to exclude it therefrom. Recognizing these declarations of principles as instructions to us for our government in the National Convention, and believing that a repudiation of them by all the Northern States, except the noble States of Oregon and California, the whole vote of which is more than doubtful in the ensuing Presidential election, demand from us our unqualified disapproval.

The undersigned do not deem this the place or time to discuss the practical illustration that has been given of the Irrepressible conflict between the Northern and Southern States, that has prevailed in this Convention for the last week.

It is sufficient to say that, if the principles of the Northern Democracy are properly represented by the opinion and action of the majority of the delegates from that section on this floor, we do not hesitate to declare that their principles are not only not ours, but, if adhered to and enforced by them, will destroy this Union.

In consideration of the foregoing facts, we cannot remain in the Convention. We consequently respectfully withdraw, leaving no one authorized to cast the vote of the State of Texas.

Guy M. Bryan, Chairman; F. R. Lubbock, F. S. Stockdale, E. Greer, H. R. Runnells, Wm. B. Ochiltree, M. W. Covey, Wm. H. Parsons, R. Ward, J. F. Crosby.

ARKANSAS RETIRES.

sentatives of the Democracy of Arkansas be instructed to retire from said Convention, and refuse to aid in the selection of any candidate whomsoever by said Convention. 4th. That the unity of the Democratic party and the safety of the South demands the adoption of the two-thirds rule by the Charleston Convention of the Democracy of the United States, and that our delegates to said Convention be required to insist upon and maintain the adoption thereof as an indispensable necessity.

In accordance with the instructions contained in resolution 3d above, one of the undersigned had the honor, on the second day of the session of this Convention, to offer to the consideration of this Convention the following resolution, viz. :

"Resolved, That the Convention will not proceed to nominate a candidate for the Presidency until the Platform shall have been made "

Which said resolution was passed by the Convention with great unanimity. Subsequently, the Committee on Resolutions and Platform, appointed by the Convention, in accordance with the usages and customs of the Democratic party of the United States, agreed upon and reported to this Convention a platform of principles, recognizing the principle contained in the resolutions of the Democracy of Arkansas, above recited, and fully asserting the equal rights of the Southern States in the common Territories of the United States, and the duty of the Federal Government to protect those rights when necessary, according to the usages and customs of the Democracy of the United States, as developed by the practice of said Democracy assembled in Convention on former occasions, and in strict accordance, as is believed by the undersigned, with the compact and agreement made by and between the Democrats of the several States, upon which the Conventions of the Democracy of the United States were agreed first to be founded, and assented to by the several Southern States. The report and determination of the Committee on Platform became and was henceforward the platform of the Democracy of the United States, and this Convention had no duty to perform in relation thereto but to receive, confirm and publish the same, and cause it to be carried into effect wherever in the respective States the Democracy were able to enforce their decrees at the ballot box.

The undersigned are confirmed in this opinion by reference not only to the history of the past, which shows that in all instances the sovereignty of the States, and not the electoral votes of the States, has uniformly been represented in the Committee on Platforms, and that the report of the Committee has invariably been registered as the supreme law of the Democratic party by unanimous consent of the entire Convention, without changing or in any manner altering any part or portion thereof. It is asserted, as a part of our traditional policy, and confidently believed, that the Democracy of tho United States, by a peculiar system of checks and

Mr. Burrow, of Arkansas, read the following balances, formed after the fashion of the Federal Governprotest.

HON. CALEB CUSHING,

ment, were contracted and bound themselves to fully recognize the sovereignty of the States in making the platform, and the population or masses of the States in naming the candidate to be placed on the platform. That many States have been uniformly allowed to vote the full Demo-strength of their electoral college in these Conventions when it was well known that said States never heretofore, and probably would never hereafter give a single electoral vote at the polls to the candidate which they had so large a share in nominating, cannot be accounted for on any other principle than that it was intended only as a recognition of the sovereignty and equality of said States.

President of Charleston Convention: The undersigned, delegates accredited by the cracy of Arkansas to represent said Democracy in the Convention of the Democracy of the United States, assembled on the 23d April, 1860, beg leave to submit the following protest, against certain actions of this Convention, and statement of the causes which, in their opinion, require them to retire from this Convention:

1st. The Convention of the Democracy of the State of Arkansas, convened at Little Rock on the 2d day of April, 1860, passed among other things, the following resolutions, viz.:

1st. Resolved, We the Democracy of Arkansas, through our representatives in Convention assembled, proclaim our confidence in the virtue and intelligence of the people, and unabated faith in the principles of the Democracy.

2d. We re-affirm the political principles enunciated in the Cincinnati platform by the Democracy of the United States in June, 1856, and assert as illustrative thereof, that neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature, whether by direct legislation or by legislation of an indirect and unfriendly character, possesses the power to annul or impair the constitutional rights of any citizen of the United States to take his slave property into the common Territories, and there hold and enjoy the same, and that if experience should at any time prove the Judiciary and executive power do not possess the means to in sure protection to constitutional rights in a Territory-and if the Territorial Government should fail or refuse to provide the necessary remedies for that purpose, it will be the duty of Congress to supply the deficiency.

3d. That the representatives of the Democracy of Arkansas in the Charleston Convention be instructed to insist upon the recognition by said Convention of the purpose hereinbefore declared, prior to balloting for any candidate for the Presidency; and if said Convention refuse to recognize the rights of the South in the Territories of the United States, the repro

Would it be right at this time for the numerical majority to deprive all the Black Republican States represented on this floor of their representation, which by custom they have so long enjoyed, simply because it is now evident that they are or will be unable to vote the Democratic ticket in the next Presidential election?

By common consent we say that a reckless numerical majority should not be thus allowed to tread under foot the vested rights of those States and well established usages and customs of the party.

If thus it be wrong for the numerical majority to deprive the Black Republican States of this long vested right, how much more unjust is it for the numerical majority to deprive all the States of their vested right to make and declare the platform in the usual and customary manner? and when we call to mind that the numerical majority resides chiefly in the Black Republi can States, to whom the South has uniformly accorded so large a privilege, in naming candidates who were alone to be elected by Southern votes, we have much reason to believe that he to whom you gave an inch seems emboldened thereby to demand an ell.

The undersigned beg leave to state that many patriotic States' Right Democrats in the South, have long contended that these Conventions of the Democracy, repre

senting in fact the whole consolidated strength of the Union, acting through party sympathy upon the individual members of society, would ultimate in a despotic, colossal.centralism, possessed of power to override and destroy at its will and pleasure the constitutions and reserved rights of any and all the States. The South, however, has heretofore felt safe because of the checks and balances imposed upon the machinery of the Conventions. The South felt that where she retained an equal power to write the creed of faith, she could trust her Northern sisters, with their immense populations, to name the candidate; and all would alike support the creed and the candidate.

The undersigned, well knowing the hostility of the Northern masses toward the "peculiar institutions" of the South, and calling to mind the relative numbers of the Northern and Southern States, assert with confidence that no Southern State in the Union would ever have consented to surrender, so abjectly and hopelessly, all their fortunes to the numerical majority who have just now voted to set aside the Platform, unless upon the full assurance that the States were entitled by agreement to

make and establish the creed of faith and prescribe the rule of action. This violation of plighted faith on the part of the numerical majority-this violation of the well established usage and custom of the party-drive us to the conclusion that we cannot longer safely trust the fortunes of Slaveholding States to the chances of the numerical majority in a Convention, where all the Black Republicans of the Union, the immense populations of Massachusetts, New-York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and other Northern States, are fully represented, on the one side, against the small populations from the slave States on the other. Had these populations adhered strictly to the usages and customs of the party, longer association might have been practicable; but annihilation is staring us in the face, and we are admonished of our duty to stand upon our reserved rights.

We declare, therefore, that we believe our mission to this Convention at an end:

1st. Because the numerical majority have usurped the prerogatives of the States in setting aside the Platform made by the States, and have thus unsettled the basis of this Convention, and thereby permanently disorganized its constitution. Its decrees, therefore, become null and void.

2d. Because we were positively instructed by the Democracy of Arkansas to insist on the recognition of the equal rights of the South in the common Territories, and protection to those rights by the Federal Government, prior to any nomination of a candidate; and as this Convention has refused to recognize the principle required by the State of Arkansas, in her popular Convention first, and twice subsequently re-asserted by Arkansas, together with all her Southern sisters, in the report of a Platform to this Convention; and as we cannot serve two masters, we are determined first to serve the Lord our God. We cannot ballot for any candidate whatsoever.

3d. In retiring, we deny to any person, or persons, any right whatever to cast hereafter, in this Convention, either our vote or the vote of Arkansas on any proposition which may, or can, possibly come up for consideration. The Delegates of Arkansas cannot take any part in placing a sound candidate on an unsound platform, because it would disgrace any sound Southern man who would consent to stand on such a platform; and, as a Squatter Sovereignty Platform has been adopted, we believe good faith and honor requires that the Chief of Squatter Sovereignty should be placed on it. We wish no part or lot in such misfortune, nor do we believe that we can safely linger under the shade of the upas tree, this day planted certainly.

P. JORDAN,

B. BURROW, VAN H. MANNING. Mr. Burrow stated, after reading the paper, that the gentlemen who had signed represented both wings of the State-all its public men, its hopes, it character, and its fortunes.

Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas, as Chairman of the Arkansas delegation, desired to say a single word to go along with the paper which had been read. It was his desire that that portion of the Arkansas delegation who had concluded to leave the Convention should have paused until the delegation could have had a consultation. Why did he hesitate? It was because he conceived that the stability of the Union itself was involved in the action taken here by the Southern representatives.

He had been taught from childhood to believe that if the Tnion was to be preserved at all, it was to be preserved

by the Democratic party as a unit. (Cheers.) He wished to consult with other Southern men as to the best course to be pursued-(cheers)—reserving to himself the right to decide the question, which he would do in a few hours, His heart and all the feelings of his nature were with those Southern men who had seen proper to leave the Convention; but, at the same time, he hesitated between his per. sonal feelings and his duty to his own people. If he could get a good sound Southern man for President, he would be willing to take him on this platform. (Cheers.)

The Georgia delegation asked leave to retire for consultation, which was granted.

Messrs. Bayard and Whiteley, two of the six delegates from Delaware, retired from the Con. vention and joined the seceders.

Mr. Saulsbury, (U. S. Senator,) of Delaware, stated his reason for not retiring with his col leagues, and the Convention adjourned.

On Tuesday, May 1st, the President stated the regular order of business to be the motions to reconsider, and the motions to lay the motions to reconsider on the table, by which the various resolutions constituting the Platform were adopted. Pending the determination of these questions, yesterday evening, the chairman of several of the delegations rose to questions of privilege, under which their delegations retired from the hall. When the Convention adjourned the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Merrick) was upon the floor.

GEORGIA RETIRES.

Mr. Benning of Georgia.-Mr. President: On yesterday afternoon the delegation from Georgia obtained the leave of the Convention to retire for the purpose of consulting as to the course they would pursue in consequence of the action taken by the Convention in the previous part of the day. They retired, and they have since been engaged in consultation. They have considered the questions involved, with as much maturity and care as they could bestow upon them, and they have come to a conclusion as to the course they ought to pursue. That conclusion is contained in two resolutions which I hold in my hand, and which I will now read to the Convention.

morning, our Chairman be requested to state to the President Resolved, That, upon the opening of the Convention this that the Georgia delegation, after mature deliberation, have felt it be their duty, under existing circumstances, not to par ticipate further in the deliberations of the Convention, and that, therefore, the delegation withdraw.

Resolved, That all who acquiesce in the foregoing resolution sign the same, and request the Convention to enter it on their records.

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This paper is signed by twenty-six out of the thirty-three or thirty-four de'egates in that Convention from the State of Georgia.

I have now, Mr. President, discharged the duty which has been intrusted to me by my delegation.

The majority of the Georgia delegation then retired from the hall.

Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas.-I do not desire to detain this Convention for a moment. On yesterday evening I stated to the Convention that I should come here this morning and tell them what was my conclusion, and what was the conclusion of the portion of the delegation from the State of Arkansas which then thought proper to re main in the Convention. We are now ready to take that step which our judgment dictates to be right. In accord. ance with our duty hère, we wanted time to pause and

consider calmly with our sister Southern States, in rela- | tories, by inaction, unfriendly legislation or otherwise, should tion to the proper course to be pursued. We have calmly and with deliberation considered the matter, and we believe it to be an imperative duty which we owe to the South, and we are ready to take our course.

Now, sir, I desire to appeal to Virginia, the mother of States, and the mother of Democracy, and to ask them whether the principle contained in the majority report of this Convention, signed by seventeen States, is right or is wrong? Did you indorse it, or did you not?

Mr. Smith, of Wisconsin, raised the question of order, that the gentleman had no right to make sectional appeals

in this Convention.

Mr. Johnson.-I desire to do no such thing. I do not understand the principles of the majority report to be sectional. I understand them to be national. But, Mr. President, I only desire, in behalf of a portion of the delegates, to say that we came here with a view to stand by the principles of our people and of the Union, and when we have found the Convention acting in violation of those principles, we feel ourselves compelled to retire from the Hall. I will only remark in conclusion, that the Vice-President from my State has been charged with presenting a protest on the part of a portion of our declaration. Mr. Terry, of Arkansas, then read the following paper to the Convention:

To the HON. CALEB CUSHING, President:

The undersigned, Delegates from Arkansas, ask permission to make the following statement: We have, thus far, abstained from taking any active part in the measures which were consummated on yesterday, in this Convention, by the withdrawal, in whole or in part, of several Southern States. We have counseled our Southern friends to patience and forbearance; and, while we were conscious of causes sufficient to induce them to this step, yet we still hoped some more auspicious event would transpire that would avert its necessity. Nothing has occurred to palliate these causes. Hence we cannot hesitate in our course, and therefore ask permission to withdraw and surrender to our State the high trust reposed in us. To you, sir, who have with so much ability presided over our deliberations, and meted out justice with an even hand, we part with sorrow. Hoping that the cloud which now hangs over our beloved country may be dispelled, and her counsels directed by some statesman like yourself-able, honest, just and true.

FRANCIS TERRY, Vice-President.
J. P. JOHNSON, Ch'n of Delegation.
F. W. HOADLEY, Secretary.
CHARLESTON, May 1st, 1860.
The Tennessee Delegation asked and obtained
leave to retire for consultation.

The Delegation from Virginia, and portions of the Delegations from Kentucky, North Carolina and Maryland, had leave to retire for consultation.

Mr. Flournoy, of Arkansas.-May I be indulged in one remark? My voice is "Never give up the ship "-(applause) though the fearful storm rages around us though she may have lost some spars and masts-though she may have some cracked ribs. Sir, for myself, I will be one of that gallant crew who, though the storm rages, though the spars and masts are gone, though ribs be broken -I will, until the noble vessel be swallowed up by the devouring waves, continue to unite with them in the reiterated cry of "Live, live the Republic!" (Great applause.) Mr. President, I am a Southern man. Yes, sir, I have been reared amidst the institution. All I have is the product of slave labor. I believe the institution a patriarchal one, and beneficial alike to master and slave. The bread which supports my own wife and tender babe is the product of slave labor. I trust, then, that, like Cæsar's wife, am above suspicion."

I 66

endanger the tenure of such property, or discriminate against it by withholding that protection given to other species of property in the Territories, it is the duty of the General Government to interpose, by the active exertion of its constitutional power, to secure the rights of the slaveholder.

The principles enunciated in the foregoing resolution are guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States, and their unequivocal recognition by the Democracy of the Union we regard as essential, not only to the integrity of the party, but to the safety of the States whose in both of the series of resolutions presented to the Coninterests are directly involved. They have been embodied vention by a majority of the States of the Union, and have been rejected by a numerical vote of the delegates. The Convention has, by this vote, refused to recognize the fundamental principles of the Democracy of the State in obedience to a high sense of duty, to withdraw from we have the honor to represent, and we feel constrained, its deliberations, and unanimously to enter our solemp protest against its action.

We ask that the communication may be spread upon the minutes of the Convention, and beg leave to express our appreciation of,the justice and dignity which have characterized your action as its presiding officer.

[Signed,]

A. MOUTON,
JOHN TARLETON,
RICHARD TAYLOR,
EMILE LASERE,

F. H. HATCH,

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leave to annex the following statement, viz.
The undersigned, in explanation of their position, beg

the platform of principles, as adopted by this Convention,
Whilst we took the same view with our colleagues, that
was not what was expected by Louisiana, and desired by
ourselves, as sufficient to guard the rights of that State,
and of the whole South, under the Constitution, are now
unwilling precipitately to retire from the Convention,
until all hope of accommodation shall have been ex-
hausted, and until the last moment had arrived, at
which, in justice to our own honor, and the interest and
dignity of our own State, we would be forced to retire. We,
therefore, were opposed to the retirement of the delega-
tion at the time it was made; but believing that the
other members of the delegation were actuated by the
same high motives which governed our own opinions, and
desiring our State to present a firm, undivided front, we
being in the minority of the delegation, were willing to
yield, and did yield, our opinions to the judgment of the
majority.
J. A. MCHATTON,
CHARLES JONES,

CHARLESTON, S. C,, May 1, 1860.

A VOICE FROM GEORGIA. Mr. Gaulden, of Georgia, addressed the Convention, giving his reasons for not retiring with his colleagues, as follows:

you a few moments ago, I have been confined to my MR. PRESIDENT, and Fellow DEMOCRATS: As I stated to room by severe indisposition, but, learning of the commotion and the intense excitement which were existing upon the questions before this body, I felt it to be my duty, feeble as I was, to drag myself out to the meeting of my delegation, and when there I was surprised to find a large majority of that delegation voting to secede at once from this body. I disagree with those gentleSouth upon any of the great questions which interest men. I regret to disagree with my brethren from the our common country. I am a Southern_States' Rights man; I am an African Slave-trader. I am one of those Southern men who believe that Slavery is right, morally, religiously, socially, and politically. (Applause.) I believe that the institution of Slavery has done more for this country, more for civilization, than all other interests put together. I believe if it were in the power of this country to strike down the institution of Slavery, it would put civilization back 200 years. Holding, then, this position, that Slavery is right in the point of view I ment our whole rights in this regard. I believe that the have stated, I would demand of the General GovernGeneral Government by the Constitution never had any right to legislate upon this subject. I believe that our Government was a confederation of States for certain specified objects with limited powers; that the domestic relations of each State are to be and should be left to Resolved, That the Territories of the United States belong to themselves; that this eternal Slavery question has been the several States as their common property, and not to indi- the bone of contention between the North and South, vidual citizens thereof, that the Federal Constitution recognizes property in slaves; and as such, the owner thereof is entitled to which if kept in the halls of Congress must break up this carry his s' es into any Territory in the United States; to hold Government. I am one of those who believe in nonhem thert roperty; and in case the people of the Terri-intervention, either in the States or the Territories

LOUISIANA WITHDRAWS.

TO THE HON. CALEB CUSHING,

President of the Democratic Convention:
SIR: The undersigned delegates from the State of
Louisiana, in withdrawing from the Convention, beg leave
to make the following statement of facts:

On the 5th day of March, 1860, the Democracy of Louisiana assembled in State Convention at Baton Rouge, and unanimously adopted the following declaration of their principles:

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