Doc. 210. Mr. Saulsbury's resolutions. Offered in the U. S. Senate, Dec. 4, 1861.
Whereas, the people of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee, are in revolt against the Constitutional Government of the United States, and have assumed to secede from the Federal Union, to form an independent Government, under the name of the “Confederate States of America;” andWhereas, the Congress of the United States, approving the sentiments of the President in his annual message, that “the Union must be preserved,” and hence all indispensable means must be employed; and believing that kind and fraternal feeling between the people of all the States is indispensable to the maintenance of a happy and prosperous Union, and being willing to manifest such feeling on their part to them, and that pence may be restored to a distracted country, and the Union and Constitution be preserved and maintained, and inviting the cooperation of the people of the aforesaid States in the accomplishment of this object — it is desirable to each and all — do resolve as follows:--
Resolved, That Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Roger B. Taney, Edward Everett, Geo. M. Dallas, Thomas M. Ewing, Horace Binney, Reverdy Johnson, John J. Crittenden, George E. Pugh and Richard W. Thompson be, and they are hereby, appointed Commissioners on the part of Congress, to confer with a like number of Commissioners, to be appointed by the States aforesaid, for the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution; and that they report the result of said conference of Congress for approval or rejection.
Resolved, That upon the appointment of Commissioners, as hereby invited by said States, and upon the meeting of the joint commission for the purpose of conference as aforesaid, active hostilities shall cease and be suspended; and shall not be renewed unless said commission shall be unable to agree, or in case of an agreement by them, said agreement shall be rejected either by Congress or by the aforesaid States.
Rebel opinions of the resolutions.
Our readers will find in our columns to-day, the preamble and resolutions of Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, offered in the Senate of the United States, proposing to put an end to the revolt, by appointing commissioners to confer with commissioners to be appointed by the Confederate States, “for the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution.” Here is reconstruction proposed, more formidable, perhaps, to the liberties and the lasting peace of the Confederate States, than cannon and bayonets. As the action proposed is by the Congress of the United States, it must be met, we presume, by the action of the Congress of the Confederate States. The Congress of the Confederate States will never, we presume, appoint any commissioners to meet commissioners from the United States, “for the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution.” They represent a confederacy of independent States. As the representatives of an independent people, they can authorize no conference with the United States, on the assumption that they are a portion of the United States. When propositions to treat for peace come to us, as an independent people, we can, with propriety, listen to them. But in any other form, they should be rejected with contempt, since, by our acquiescence, they would convey an acknowledgment of guilt in asserting our independence. But laying such views aside, we do not think that the Confederate States can make a peace with the United States, which will secure to them the frontier States of Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland; and without these States in our Confederacy, any treaty of peace with the United States, surrendering them, would be disgraceful, and, perhaps, ruinous in the future, to the Confederate States. Slavery would speedily be abolished in them, when left a portion of the United States. Every principle of policy and of honor requires that we should fight the war out to the bitter end, before we surrender a single slave State to the brutal fanaticism of the North. We have no fear of the result in the war in which we are engaged. But a policy which war and rapine and murder cannot force upon us, may be fastened upon us by the cunning slime of diplomacy. We have vanquished [449] our enemies in every pitched battle; and now, insulted England and interested Europe, may come to our aid. It is a good time for Yankee diplomacy to crave fraternity, and reconstruct our dependency. Yet we do not believe that these resolutions will, at the present time, pass the Congress of the United States. Matters are not yet ripe for peace on either side.--Charleston Mercury, Dec. 12.
A peace from Yankeedom.
We see by the proceedings of the Federal Congress, that in the Senate on the 4th of Dec. Mr. Saulsbury offered a joint resolution, that Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Roger B. Taney, Edward Everett, George M. Dallas, Thomas M. Ewing, Horace Binney, Reverdy Johnson, John J. Crittenden, Geo. E. Pugh, and Richard W. Thompson, be appointed commissioners on the part of Congress to confer with the commission appointed by the “so-called Confederate States,” “for the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution.”We conceive that this is a pretty bright idea on the part of the Yankees; but we are at a loss to fully appreciate the compliment of their call on us to maintain an instrument (the Constitution) that they have long since smashed into smithers, unless it is that there is a party among them that still believe in the superior statesmanship of our Southern leaders, and they wish to get them to fix it up again for their especial benefit, seeing its destruction has enabled the Autocrat to trample rather severely upon their liberties.
We would recommend to those “Constitution” cobblers the peculiar virtue of “Spalding glue” for their purpose, with the assurance that they will find quite as much virtue in that article as they would likely find in the combined wisdom of all the statesmen in the world, for the repair and preservation of an instrument that has been so badly rent as what was once the “Constitution of the United States.” As for their Union, we would remind them that it is an excellent Union for them, being composed of such despicable God-forsaken scoundrels as were never raked together in one parcel since the world has been a world. It is now a perfect dog-eat-dog conglomeration of negro thieves and pirates; and as they have got rid of the honest people of the South, they are now at liberty to “go it with a rush.”
May be they would like a cessation of hostilities for a time — during the palaver of the commissioners, as another resolution proposes — in order to get an opportunity to accomplish some object they have in view. But possibly our people have had enough of such dodges in the Crittenden Compromise schemes, which were afterwards proved to be but means used to gain time on their part.
If they desire peace, they have but to withdraw their troops from our soil, and let us alone, and until they do this, we should perseveringly scorn any proposition emanating from them.
We wonder if these poor, miserable, degraded, negro-stealing wretches do really think to gammon the people of the South still further? What under Heavens should we want with a union with them? To share the debts caused by their folly? To share alike with them the contempt of the world? For surely we can conceive of nothing else we should gain by any future alliance with them.--Norfolk Day Book, Dec. 9.
