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DEBATE IN THE SENATE, Faipay, February 15, 1839. Mr. ROANE having concluded his speech, Mr. RIVES rose and requested Mr. Norvece to yield him the floor. He would make an earnest appeal to the courtesy of that gentleman, as he considered it due to himself to reply to what he conceived to be a personal attack by his colleague. Mr. NORVALL replied, certainly he would yield the door, if it was the intention of the Senator to go on with his remarks at once. He had three times already yielded the floor to gentlemen who made the request of him, and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Rives) could not expect him to yield it for tomorrow. Mr. RIVES said it was his intention to reply at once. He confessed that he had never, in the whole course of his life, been so much astonished as he had been at the unprovoked and unjustifiable at tack of his colleague. Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, he could not have been more surprised. Fiis surprise at the extraordinary course which his colleague had thought proper to take, was only equalled by his regret; a regret, excited not by any personal injury inflicted on him, but for the injury inflicted on the reputation which belonged to their common mother, Virginia, for all that was generous of chivalric. Although his colleague and himsel f had differed on important political questions for the last two years, yet they had always been on the ghost cordial and friendly terms; and never did he, Yntil this moment, apprehend any other than the ghost friendly feelings. What was he to think of the manner of the attack made on him, and the tune chosen for it? His colleague had spoken of the friendly and kind feelings he had entertained for him, and ascribed his silence hitherto to motives of delicacy; and yet he had come forward with a preconcerted attack on him for his course for the last two years; an indictment enumerating all his offences against the party for the last two years. Why, he would ask, onke reserve and treasure up all his indignation and excitement to this moment? Was this delicacy? Did not his colleague know that now, at this very moment, in the Capitol of Richmond, his political enemies were consummating the sacrifice begun here? Yes, sir, said Mr. R. now, at this moment that my colleague has chosen to enumerate all the offences which I have com mitted for the last two years, the altar is prepared where I am to be immolated as the victim. His colleague no doubt had intelligence of this fact. Mr. ROANE here interposed, and said that his information received heretofore, and that which he had received to-day, was of a different character. It tell him no reason to doubt of the re-election of his colleague. Mr. RIVES continued. His colleague had se lected the fifteenth day of February, 1839, the day when his political friends at Richmond were, per haps, doing public execution on me! Just as Sam in what he and his party may call the last agonies of political dissolution, but which I look on as the proudest moments of my life—just as I am about to depart to another stage of existence, he rakes up from every forgotten source a long catalogue of po litical siny for the last two years, and presents them to rack my conscience and distract my mind! Is this delicacy? Is this what might be expected from a colleague—a man, too, from the Old Dominont He had heard from several sources that his col league had sent, under his own frank, to various parts of Virginia, many copies of the virulent and outrageous attack made on him by the Senator from Connecticut,Mr. Nutxs, which was so en tirely void of argument or reason that he had dis dained to reply to it. Was this a proof of his deli cacy? He did not complain of this as being beyond the privilege of his colleague, but when Mr. Roane claimed credit for delicacy in the Senate, it is some what remarkable that he was not actuated by the same motive and feeling out of the Senate. His colleague, Mr. R. said, had spoken of his Democracy, which was now, it seemed, the distinc tion which the dominant party arrogated to itself. He had never said that he was a Democratic Re publican. That title was unknown to our glorious fathers; the simple word Republican was their title, and io was his. This Government of ours is a Re public, not a Democracy. Democrat was the title bestowed on Republicans by the revilers of Repub- Nepenism, and was never assumed by the Republi s, at least south of Mason and Dixon’s line. he distinguished ancestor of the gentleman, in whom the State of Virginia took such just pride, had never called himself a Democrat. Mr. ROANE here asked: “To which of my an cestors does the gentleman allude?” Mr. RIVES. To the late Judge Roane. Mr. DANE. You are mistaken, sir. He was a Democrat. He plenned to bsing a Degorcat tor on that floor. He had considered it his duty to send information that he, in his judgment, deeme valuable to his constituents; and when he did this, he did it without distinction of party. When he sent documents to one member of the Legislature, he sent them to all to Whigs as well as Demo crats. His colleague, in the course of his remarks, had taken him to task for speaking of the Demo cracy of the country, and for calling himself a De mocratic Republican, denying that he himself was ever a Democratic Republican, or that the Virgi nia Republicans of ‘93 had ever been known as Democrats. Mr. R. said that his colleague, 10 the nice distinctions which he had drawn, would hardly suppose that he was ignorant of the meaning of the terms Democrat, Federalist, Oligarch, and Aristo crat. Sir, said Mr. R. Uhere never known a man in my life who was willing to acknowledge himself an Aristocrat or an Oligarchist. I well know, sir, the impracticable attempt had never been made to form a perfect Democracy in this great empire. Sir, it could not exist even in this ten miles square; no, sir, we claim not the Democracy of Sparta or Athens; but, sir, I do contend that it was the intention of those who framed and adopted the Constitution, to create a Democratic Republic; ay, sir, a popular Govern ment, a Government of the people, as contradistin guished from one not controlled by the people Sir, I have never yet met with an American citi zen, native or naturalized, who did not claim to be a Republican. Oh, yes, sir! that is a general phrase. It will embrace all of all parties. But who, sir, does not know that when the two oppo site parties first drew to a head under Mr. Jeffer son and Mr. Hamilton, one was styled the Demo cratic Republican party, in opposition to the Federal Republicans, who favored a latitudinous construction of the Federal Constitution, and whose doctrines have ever evinced a distrust of the capacity of the people for self-government. Mr. RIVES said the remarks of his colleague confirmed his impression that his colleague had not followed the promptings of his own heart in this business. The reproaches of his party had urged him on. He believed that when Mr. Roam’s mind had recovered its usual sober tone, he would feel how gratuitous had been the assault upon him. He again alluded to the probability of his soon leaving the Senate. Had the situations of his col league and himself been reversed, he could not have made the attack on such a day, nor could he have sent off an abusive speech against his col league, as had been done, without sending off its antidote—the reply. Mr. ROANE said: One word, Mr. President. I take occasion to assure my colleague that he is utterly and totally mistaken in supposing that I have been promoted or influenced, in the course I have pur sued this evening, by any person whatever. My colleague is perfectly ignorant of me if he sup poses that every member of this Chamber, of all the people on earth, could have instigated me to an act which he did not approve. Sir, I alone, and of my own motion, have done, at my own proper time, and in my own manner, what I have done. Not a human being in this Chamber knew, or, I believe, suspected, that I intended to address the Senate. Sir, whenever I may repent of the course I have taken, as is intimated by my colleague, shall have the frankness and magnanimity to apprize him. I again repeat, that my quarrel with my colleague is not personal on my part, but entire ly political. If that assurance, made by me more than once, is not received, why, sir, I must be con strained to say, that I cannot care for it. Mr. NILES remarked that he was sorry that his poor speech should have been drawn into the con troversy between the two honorable Senators from Virginia. Among the “private griefs” of the Se nator over the way, [Mr. Rives,] and the com plaints he has preferred against his colleague—that of his having sent, under his frank, Mr. N’s speech to his constituents—seems to be regarded as one of the greatest magnitude. The Senator characterized that speech as virulent and abusive—so much so, that he had not, and should not, reply to it. That, Mr. N. said, was a matter which concerned the Se nator, and not himself. He can reply to the speech or not, as he pleases; that is a question for him to decide for himself. But he was surprised to hear that his speech had given the Senator so much un easiness, when it is deemed to possess so little merit as not to be deserving of a reply. And he regretted that his friend [Mr. Roane] should be censured for distributing his speech to his own con stituents. He held himself responsible for his own sins, and did not wish them transferred to his friend from Virginia. The Senator on the other side of the hall [Mr. Rives] seemed to regard his speech as a sort of contraband article, which could not be law fully distributed. Whether the speech was virulent and abusive or not, was a question which he should not undertake to decide; he left that question to the judgment of the Senate, and the intelligence of the SOMBIE pyre tc i i
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Mon, Mar 04, 1839
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