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SPJGECn OP MR. BADGER, OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE SENATE, Tnm.niT. December 11. 1851. On the Joint Resolution rtUtiv to Loui, . AosstiiA. Mr. 8i.OQCR. When the Congress or i he United States is called upon to award a higlt honor an honor, according to the honorable Senator from FUmdaiMr. iauory,j wno has just taken his seal, higher than lr.umpns wbich Rome, in her palmiest days, ever a- warded to her conquering sons it is cer- tainlv but reasonable to expect mat tnei.r grounds should be clear and manifest upon c nii xhi he iCOUtej the idea of apply which such a demand is made. Io tno past 4 Phu0oj.- to this investigation. Scout kiatory of this country we have naaoui one the -dea of gppiTing philological criticism, txample of such an honor having been a- lhe IU,e h wbtcn we ascertain ihe meaning warded br the Conzressof the United Oiaies. I nrian a in tho nuptiinn of the internre- And surely, without troubling ourselves with " - . J . I toy investigation of what is supposed to be the mury doctrine of precedent, we nave a right to expect that gentlemen wno aiic mis at our bands shall assign the reasons why we should now. for the second time, offer the contemplated honor to the individual who is named in this resolution. Gentlemen have felt ibat there was an obligation upon them to produce ihe reasons of this prrceed- ing. My friend from Illinois, Mr. Lwugias,j who deemed it strange and unreasonable ibat this resolution should provoke the least discussion ; that gentle roan himself, who aeeroed to suppose mat any aiscussion oi could be accounted for only by the suj.posi- lion that this Senate would always dicus any proposition even he, with the sentence of censure upon all previous discussion upon his lips, went forward in the pursuit of that which he condemns in others, and occupied the Senate with a speech to which I listen ed, of course, with pleasure, ss 1 always do I to whatever falls from that distinguished eentleman which occupied no inconsider able portion of yesterday's sitting. He de livered aspeech,f which I will say it brought no newopic oe lore me American oen.it.. sV... ...k.tM.kS at ftfjH n naisr k irrii I . . . i r 1 upua iu uujcuw 7 -'5- ment, it produced no new statement, it was made in reply to no new antagonist wno nan appeared in me " r.e,,er tion lOr IUC lUUHII, UIIU, ut Him umc, wi arguments I will not say which had been as well exm-eased imo the arena of such criticism as that I dare not venture but which had certainly been well and forcibly expressed Sy others. Now, sir, knowing, as -I do. that that honorable Senator, when he speaks iu this Chamber, always speaks to this body, that he ieeks to enlighten and to guide our opinions, and tnat be ha no one guide our opinions, ana usi us u u nor objects and purposes before bim, I have felt by these remarks of his the strongest possible conviction fixed upon my mind that the friends or this resolution -tnougni u ne cessary to assign some reasons for its adoption. And 1 must say, that when I listened to thai honorable Senator, and when I listened to some other Senators my friend from Mich igan, Mr. Cass. ia particular I have felt another conviction fastened upon my mind that while ther were doubly impressed with the extreme necessity of producing reasons, they found it no easy task to discov er anv to produce. Mr. President. I wish to sav. in the com mencement of what I have to offer to the Senate upon this subject, that it discussion ' has been produced here on this resolution, it iaaot to be charged to those ot us who op- pose its adoption When the honorable Sen- . a tor from new zone, Lmr oewaro.j in m- charge of the high duty which he thought was imposed upon mm, tnougnt proper io introduction with a long, elaborate, and soul. stirring appeal, which was calculated to a ' rouse our feelings, to excite our passions, and - for the momoot to suspend the calm exercise of our judgments When, after this storm ' of passion had subsided, we were at length allowed to exercise our own ludgments, un- impeded by the mystic visions of gradeur and terror and glory, wun woicn impassion -ed eloquence had surrounded us when we were able once more to resume the exercise of a calm understanding, and to take, in the language of my friend from Wisconsin, Mr. Walker, a dispassionate view of this sub- ject, was it to be expected that, entertaining ' . . r .u u different opinions from others, we could, in justice to ourselves and what we believe to be the true interest of the country, fail to assign our reasons to the Senate ? Were we not called upon, by considerations of bigh respect for the honorable and distingu- isbed Senator from whom this resolution proceeded, as well as for the honorable and distinguished gentlemen who supported ihis . resolution with their eloquence and their arguments, were we not bound, independ- ent of all other considerations, by due respect for them, to say why we could not go with them when it is always a matter of such deep fell reluctance to part from them ? Mr. President, I think it is out of placet tay that it is a waste of time io subject this resolution to discussion. It is a question which ought to be di-cussed; its intrinsic ' 'merits demand it. The cucumstances which surround it in this Chamber and beyond these walls enforce the necessity and the propriety of it ; a&d if we may drop from the high and solemn lopica which have been gathered around the reception of Louis Kossuth and .his associates in captivity, which have been so brilliantly spread before s etching the heavens, spangling the firmament, and I know not what other magnificent and start- ling figures and look at some of the mun- cane operations wnico are immediately De- fore us in the course of our political future toon to be history, when we consider cer- ' fain disposals of. certain eminent political officei which in a short time are to be made by the American people, we find an addi . tional reason, why, if we can allow ourselves t . to auoeiao irom me lorrcni oi excuea leei- ' mgs into which we have been plunged, we ! abould present before the American people f .what we think is the calm and dispassionate and deliberate common-sense view of ihe auojeci dcivhb u""'""" m orable Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. ;.; Sumner, who addressed the Senate a few days ago on mis auojeci, mai mis is a case . which requires statement rather man argu- ment ; and I would add to his proposition, that it requires argument rather than decla- ; matron, and proof of the propriety of adopt- 1 ti AsNnnA vtttP lhn I will nrhf mmv i I Bomeaninr, ("for nothing that is spoken on . IUX lUia - mmj t . v n iss nnanw a si ebci uu tas v sussi -x. ucuauii,e ui ; foreign Powers, and the large and expansive Now. besides the meaning of it aa appa ! .''declarations of American power and pro- rent from ita lerma, do we nut all know y wets, srbrch we have beard, and of oar ca . V' , lacuj content! wim a world in arm. - . . Let at look at this question as it is presented v ions o pon sis tninouc menu. - it n.i 11 iir ; Aal have said, gehUemen nave admitted (as it plain, 'whether admitted or nop thai they are to assign somsTreaaons whjr this reioluUn anoaia be aaopiea. ine rcsoiu- uoa proposes to bid, ta the name ol toe a meric&n people, Louis Kossuth welcome to i our shore. Several reatotis have been as signed why we should adopt this course. I proceed to offer some remarks upon mem. It is said, id the first place, mat dj toe joint resolution i adopted at the last .session of WUOglCia, we una iilcu iug iuiii wi j c which requires us, in point of consistency tD honor, to follow it up with what is now pro,!. That deny. know n0 method b which we CM MCerUja whtt we did at 1he . . ie,i0Q of Coaeress, and to what, we miy conge- ourselves as pro- ri M m consequence of it, than by int at the laneuaee of the resolution knnMKU iv.nH r,n,n firhirn (Mr. utioDof un,rUage ? Why, m v honorable 1BWWM VI lailHBgV J J friend mut hfcVe ,inguiar idea of the officc mJ purpose Qf philology. He seems iQ have roade miAT mUtake in reference to that acience which was made by a very ... - ..m. hi rath- nM ventleman of ajMlceuilhregardtotheicience 0f arithmetic, or numbers, who became ex- offended when waggishly told by a mza iui al the breakfast table with anting to t plate containing three bis- c Mn yQU ctaaot len how many biscuits there are in that plate whhout count- inetbero.' .Vhat 1 sir," says be, "do you fora fool, that I cannot if 11 that . . biacuita in that olate wi.h ui couniing them?'' He rejected the idea that computation and arithmetic were necessary to ascertain numbers, if ihe number of par ticulars were small. I know tnat my hon orable friend did not mean 'hat; but why did he use that high term ? Why did he go into this Anglic ted Greek word, of which many of our constituents at home k-iow Bolh . . a. . ii - fil ing, aod wno wouia naiurauy imazine, wnu out an explanation, that those of us who are maA ,k. r'nnn kh hmmrht .nme "I'pvovM iv .nn .v-.wU -- ft tn barbarous machinery of . interpretation to bear brought, perhap. fromrgonl0 of tho8e European despotisms, wd toU unknown to our country ? Why, we cannot ascertain the meaning of anything which depends upon Words, without the ap . plication of the rules or phi'oiogy to it. Bui did my friend mean to imply that there was any disposition to what is called hypercrittcism ; that is, to bung to the con struction ot this resolution a reluctant dis position to understand its meaning, nd a disposition to cavil with it? W by, if he did. as was justly said by the honorable Senator T r T- I .1 :. . ff0m rMr Berrien, there is not (he ,btdow of a foundation for the sugges- tion. Yet I may be permitted to say, that although I would not feel mysell justified in applying to an ordinary resolution or act of Congress any particular strictures of inter pretation; i hough 1 1 am not disposed to apply it to this, there woiid be nothing very un reasonable i such a process, when we re collect from whom the joint resolution pro ceeded. It camefrom my honorable friend from Mississippi. Mr. Foote," known to us all for his extreme exactness in .the use of language, and, therefore, it may we'l stand out as an exception from the general legisla tion of this bodv, and we have a right to treat it with more closeness of examination, 1qJ more ieven(y 0f criticism than a reiolu- tlon proceeding from ano,her person. We lU kjow ,htt 8the bonorable Senior has a ,ice in whal he write,lor eerv word; and fae wU1 excue me for ,ayiDg, th,t we also know that he has a word for every place. , ; impOMibe for Ul, cording to my judg- understand the English language, as it is used North and South, that there can be any mistake about the understanding of Congress at the time the resolution was adop ted. It says: jJ) Whereas trwpeSpleof the United States sincere It symi athize with the Hungarian esiles, Koa- . -.l. i i: : . , i r..n .l. Mnimmu conducl of the Tarh Gwrn. raen, in recf.;Ting nd irenUnj these noble exiles wi,h kindness and hospitality; and it it be ;he wish of these exiles io emigrate to the Um:ed States, and the will of the Sultan to permit them to leare hi dominions Therefore, B?& tfReP?- MttZL'lt . S"? .ATrt? n jrren antmbled, rhal lhe Pretident oflhe Uoited ,aM lnd he hereby lo ,uthorize the employment of ome one of the public vessels which may now be cruising in the Mediterranean to receive and convey to the United States the id Louia Kossuth and Lis associates ia eaptivi- (7 The preamble of that resolution asserts in the first place, a fact, and then it a'leges a contingency; upon which contingency, and upon which alone, the particular direction of the resolution is founded nd is to take effect. The lact affirmed is the sympathy of the American people for those exiles, and their estimate of Up noble conduct of the Turkish Government in giving ihem a refuge. The contingency is, w lie' her or i.ot these exiles desire to emigrate to the Uuited Slates. If they desire io emisrs emigrate, the President is requested to authorize the use of one of our ships crusing upon the Mediterranean sea to bring them to the United States. And if they diJ not mean to emigrate, it was not the intention of Congress that the President should furnish them w'uh a na ional shin. I presume that, without anv particular dex- terity in this dark, barbarous, Greek-derived science of philologv, we have a pretty toler- able understanding in thia country of what is meant by an emigrant and emigration. If an English or a French gentleman comes over to this country to visit it; to look at its railroads, its steamboats, its harbors; to coc- template its government and the condition of its people, we do not call him an emi- grant When we speak of emigrant ships we think we have a clear and distinct mean- ing attached io the term. An emigrant ia t man who leaves urope; who comes to our shores with a viewoi making our coun- ry his home; wha comes to settle amidst us and become one of our people; and io enjoy the privileges and protection which our laws g1 nim; and uiumatelv, in due time, and iicipaie equally in all the municipal puvileg. es conferred by the Constitution upon the citizen. Then to whom did this resolution apply? It applied to Kossuth and his com I panions in captivity, desiring to emigrate to this country and to make it their hnm It was intended to afford them facilities in a I W : 1 . L . I I uuuub HUU. IK Of at r uiii loev ml ITU I nnm domiciled here. That is the plain, animate- s sranin mininw rx n m wav - 1 that that it the way in which we understood I it ? We took it for granted the outbreak j ta Hungary having been crushed byline power oi me uzar added to that of the LEm peror the country being restored to lis riginal condition of subjection, bat stripped of . ' rr l . .' t." - its privileges that Kossuth, languishing jn a Turkish prison, was desirous to come to this country, and enjoy with us a common free. pom, partake of the protect ion of our taws, and do what be could not do in Europe ive a peaceful and happy life, and die a Christian and quiet death. To this state of things it applied, and this was all. It was not a resolution directly for the benefit of Kossuth, the late trover nor of Hungary, by way of doing him an honor in the character which be bad then lately sustained. It was not a resolution that bears upon its face the slightest alluion to the fact that, for the time he bad been possessed of and exercised sov ereign power in the direction of this contest. It was addressed to Louis Kossuth as an ex ile in captivity, seeking to escape from the inauspicious condition of European coercion, to place himself, as a resident and a denizen, upori our shores. No man can successfully dny this. There was a reason why Con- eress should have desired the President to tj an sport Kossuth and bis associates in cap tivity here in a public ship, which has nev er heretofore occurred in the case of any dth er person desiring to emigrate. We all know that the Emperor of Austria considered his entertainment in Turkey an offence to him. We all know he demanded that Kossuth should be expelled from Turkey by the au thority of ihe Sultan. We all know that he sought to seize him nd bring bim within hi jurisdiction and autnoruy, tosuojeci mm io such punishment as he might deem suita ble to the occasion. It was, therefore, for that reason, "important that when the Sul tan gave permission to Kossuth and hit asso ciates to leave his domininions, if they de sired to emigrate to the United States, we should put tbera under the protection of our flag, which would effectually prevent them from being seized by ihe power of Austria. This being the state of the case, I desire to know upon what authority geutlemen say. that by that resolution we have invited Kos suth to our shores have made him the guest of the nation ? Is there a word in that reso lution expressive of invitation ? Is there a word in it that declares that the people of the United States desire that he should come to our shores as a guest? The difficulty in terposed by the word it" was to be solved before this public ship was to be placed at his disposal, or used for his service, aod there is not a word in the resolution which inti mates that the United States cared whether or not he decided to come. It announced nothing but this . This man was in captivi ty ; we understood he wanted to come lo our country. We knew that in the existing state of things, if be left Turkey without be ing put aboard an American ship, he might not be permitted to exercise his free wish to come. Theiefore we tendered him the op portunity to come under the national flag of this cour try. That is the whole of it. He was no invited guest of the nation not a whit more an invited guest of the nation than the humblest emigrant that leaves the shores of Europe aod finds himself in the port of New York. If me fact of placing mat ship at his control, r rather of charging that ship with the duty of bnnging Kossuth and bis companions io our shores; if the fact that be was brought to our shores in that ship would have constituted him the guest of the nation, he did not come in that capacity. He left that vessel at Gibraltar, and made an excursion to England. He left his astoci- a'es to come under our flag without him, and he came here afterwards in a private packet. How, then, is he to be distinguished in the particular to which I am referring from anv other emigrant who seeks our shores? He can in no way be distinguished. Other men who come here are more humble. They may not have achieved the name which he has acquired. They may not leave a tran sient impression in the little, circle which surrounds ibem, and then be forgotten, while his name may remain and be perpetuated by history to succeeding generations; but so far as the claims of an emigrant may extend so far as a generous desire to give our hos pitality to those who come so far as a wish to offer a refuge to the persecuted, the op pressed, the unhappy, extend, Louis Kos suth stands no particle higher than the mean est and humblest down-trodden individual of Europe who ever reached our shores. In deed, so far as claims to our sympathy are concerned, surely io a generous mind there are particular teasons why this sympathy should be opened and shown forth more to wards the owly and the humble. I say, then, that there being nothing in the origin al resolution but a simple proposition to bring io this country one who was supposed to be desirous of emigrating here, there is no more reason why we should pass a resolution of welcome towards him than towards those thousands of humble individuals who come here not under a particular resolution, but under general invitation held forth. by our Constitution and our laws to the oppressed, the poor, and the humble of every state and clime. The resolution of the last Conzress, then. does not pledge us to this step; but if it did, 1 ask, how is it possible to resist the conclu sion that the amendment offered by my hon orable friend from Georgia Mr. Berrien ought to be attached to the pending reso lution ? and that the honorable Senator from New York, when he drew it, should have in serted in it the name not the individual names but the general name, descriptive of all those persons wno are embraced in the original act of Congress which gave rise to mose proceedings, l be resolution of the last Congress makes no distinction among them. The President is requested to furnish to them, all, aa Hungarian exiles in captivi ty, a passage to this country "to Kossuth and bis associates in captivity." What a strange spectacle, then, do we exhibit, when our friends on the other side of the Chamber resolutely refuse to permit the associates of Jvossutn to be incorporated in the resolution of welcome to Kossuth. Is it to be construed as a degradation to Kossuth to be put along side in this resolution of those his associates ? If the association be not offensive if he was willing so keep company with- them, to be prisoner with them, to receive their affection ate ministrations their and affectionate sym pathies, my opinion is, that, if he has the soul of a man in his bosom, he will resent the l deaof having compliments paid lohira alone did we offer to doit When, during the war of 1812, and during the recent war avith Mexico, one of our commanders gained a great victory, ana ixmgresa expressed the sense of the nation upon the subject, were the thanka of Congress expressed toward the commander in chief, and the officers and soldiers who served under him omitted and forgotten? No, sir: the thanks ofConness were always bestowed upon the commander in chief, aod, through him, to the officers ana soldiers who served ander him, and by wig sua j - , . , . and assistance the victory bad been achieved. . Has it not been always so ir.l 1. : 1 . We msv vote medals to the, generals : we mjry sometimes give additional pay to the aol difefV; but the thanks of Congress, the ex pression of the sense of the country in be half of those who have served faithlully, and added another leaf to the laurels which crown her brow, have always been voted to all, in whatever situation, who have participated in the gallant deed. And yet here are Mr. Kossuth's associate's, not, I suppose, servants men, I suppoie, his equal in the sense in which we understand equality. I presume they are men whom he takes by the hand, whom he does not keep al a distance, com pelling them to approach him in the attitude of servile dependence. Yet when Congress is asked to bring Kossuth and these very as sociates here, the first thing alter that, and after they are brought, is. that a resolution is offered by the Senator from New York, Mr. Seward, to welcome Kossuth, and turn our bicks upon his associa es. Sir, if any reason, in the worldgcan be assigned for the resolu tion, it follows as a necessary and indispen sible coro lary from it, that the amendment should be also adopted. I do not under stand this thing. It is not consistent with my notions, and what I believe to be Amer ican notions, of equality. We have sent a public ship,7 or we have authorized the usin? of a public ship, to hring Kossuth and some twenty or thirty other Hungarian, who have all tougbt for their country, who have shared a common captivity with him. When we we propose to include these men in the resolution of welcome, it is opposed as interfering with the preeminent dignity of the chief. Is that the American idea of e- Quality ? I do not understand a very great deal about this contest. Some of my honorable friends hr who are much better acauainted with the case than I am, have regarded it as a sort of attempt to uphold the Magyar or Ma guire, as some of us call it superiority of race. Even ;f that is so, I presume these associates ot &.ossutn are neither Croats nor Slavonians, but belong to the privileged race, as well as himseir. 1 do not suppose that Kossuth will feel his dignity insulted if we cboofce to say to bim, We are glad to see you, and are glad also to see the men you have brought with you. Mr Dodge, of Iowa. I would ask my friend from North Carolina (Mr. Badger) if he will vote for the resolution in case the amendment he has so much at heart should prevail 1 Mr. Badger. The question need not have been asked by the honorable senator, be cause I bad answered it already. Allow me to assure the Senator (hat he places me in no difficulty by asking questions of this kind. I have said, ami 1 repeat, i am opposed to the whole resolution, with or without the amendment. Therefore the Senator did not ask the question in order to be informed. For what purpose he did ask it, be is best able to determine- . a Mr, otner reasons nave been assigned in the course of this discussion. It has been said that we were committed to adopt some such precedent hs ihis, because it was of Ex ecutive recommendation. I think sir, some of the House who consider ourselves pretty good Whigs, were rather twitted by some of our friends on th- other side, because we were opposing what they said the President recommended. Permit me to remark, it is no Whig doctrine, that a Whig is bound to support, with or without reason, whatever a Whig President may recommend. If that doctrine obtains among our friends on the other side with regard to a democratic Pres ident, it may be necessary they should urge some special excuse, for departing from it in any particular case, while such departure might, without such excuse, be considered a ground of censure, and an intima ion that they had stepped off the Democratic Plat form. But we acknowledge no such Doc trine, and therefore it would be a sufficient answer to say that even if it were the Pres ident's recommendation, we do not agree in its propriety, and therefore cannot support it. Bu! the fact is, the President of the U nited Slates has recommended no such thing ? Mr. Foote, of Mississippi. Will my friend allow me a moment of explanation J Mr. Badger. Certainly. Mr. Foote. If I was understood as stating that the President of the United Slates recommended this resolution; I was certainly grosslr misunder stood. 1 stated the simple facts to be, as I shall explain them on this occasion. I wish it lo be understood distinctly, that I said this before, that I should never hate moved, or thought of moving in this business, but that I eceived an unexpec ted, kind, aod very cotnplitnentsry written appli cut ion Irom the Secretary of State of the United States, req nesting an interview upon this subject; which interview was immediately held. In the course ol that ioterview he brought to my atten tion, in advance of lhe President's message being received in ibis body, the fact that the President would make substantially the recommends' ion which is to be found in the message. He req seat ed me especially, and in a manner marked wkh particular earnestness, to introduce, at the earliest possible moment after the commencement of tfee session, a joint resolution ' for the purpose of raising a joint committee of the two Houses of Congress, to decide, in accordance with the re commendation of ihe President contained in bis message, upon the most expedient mode of af fording a national reception to Governor Kos Bulh. He went further, as I may now state. I dislike io go into these particulars; but really, the allusion of the honorable gentleman makes it necessary for me to do it He requested me having a very high respect, as we all have, for that knowledge of parliamentary precedents which sUiiffyishes se highly the Secretary of this body lo go lo him immediately. I went to his house without delay, at the instance of the Secretary of Slate, for the purpose of ascertaining how, in some wsy consistent With Senatorial usage, such a joint resolution could be introduced and passed, if such a thing should turn out to be prac ticable, without the necessity of previous notice. 1 learned from the Secretary tluU the mod of proceeding thus intimated by the Secretary of 13s. a . - Sa n a. A .... owie, wss not practicable. Tbererore 1 did pro ceed to give notice, as Ihe Senate recollects. I will slate further, in explanation of my con duct, that I should not have mentioned the name of the Secretary of State at all except upon bis express authorization. It appears to me that if a joint committee was rawed, lhe Secretary should himself deliver the address to the Governor of Hungary. I spoke to bim to thai effect ; which be promptly declined, from an unwillingness to do anything which might look like compromilting our neutral relations. i If I bad knowa at firt that there would have been so much discussion about this delicate sub ject, aa to the responsibility which the Adminis tration have aaaumed, or intended lo assume, 1 would have been more circumstantial in the first instance- But really I could not anticipate such a course of proceeding. It is true, and the Secre tary of State will fear me witness of the fact, that ia the course of my interview with bim, he went so far into panic ultra aa to refer to. the former re ception of the Maiquis de LafayeUe, as affording a proper precedent So thai idea did not origin ate with this aide of the Chamber. . He suggested it to me as the proper precedent, and said that in bis opinion the best mode would be to bring In Komdk, without any particular ceremony, to each House, and have bim introduced to the President of thia body and lo the Speaker or the other House. wniRc wwuh w uaue. in some formal mode, by the presiding officer f each wuh iwuun araressea.aoouia oe made, in some : . Slate? and concurring with him, I adopted lhe course which I liave pursued. ! v I , L I wish all to understand, that owing w nc urit eate charade of tliis affair, I resolved not lo enr. 1 st in it at all uale-s I could be authorised by the Secretary of State lo say that it was at his irb slance that 1 acted, snd thai he sanctioned I the proceeding. I hope that in all I have said, no one wjl understand me as dating censure on any person. I have been very desirous or receiving Kossuth in a manner credi able to the nation, crt -di I able to our, national feeling, and in a manner required by the almost unanimous voice of th people. Knowing the feelings of some members f the Administration, I was anxious to give the ger tlemen oo the other side of the House a fair op portunity of participating in the eclat oflhe pro. ceediogs, and if they have declined it I think the r have made a great mistake, and that it has bee i one of the most serious political blunders the r have ever committed. Mr. Badger. I would ask my friend from Mis sissippi, whether, alter having introduced this r solution, at the iostance of the Secretary of Stan, he, withdrew it without any conference with tint gentleman? Mr. Foots, of Mississippi. I withdrew the r solution certa nly, without any conference wily him. I withdrew it, because I did think honoraj ble gentlemen had not conferred as they might have done with the powers that be. I did considej that I was rather ungraciously treated by somf' honorable gentlemen on the other side of thej House, who seemed to misunderstand my position, and nt to afford me that liberal support which tuey ought to have done, when the propositios was brought forward under such auspices. withdrew the resolution for the additional reason that 1 saw very plainly, that if Governor Kossuth was received on the day when it was originally expected he would be received in New York, it was not at all likely, from the opposition experij enced iiere, provided a similar opposition was pre; sen ted in the other House, that we should be able to act in tune to receive this distinguished iran-? ger in the mode contemplated. I stated these rea son at the time I proposed to Withdraw the reso lution. I did it, as I stated thtn, without the least feeling of unkinJaess or disrespect toward any humtn being In the world; but with feelinga of the most profound mortification, that gentlemen! had not acted up to what 1 had supppsed would be their courseof conduct. i Mr. Badger. I gave the opportunity to the gen ' tleman from Mississippi with great pleasure to make ihese statements; because, although he has already spoken several times with reference tof this particular point, some misapprehensions have prevailed which this opportunity has enabled hiuo to rectify. But at the time be interposed I was not teferring particularly lo the introduction of bis resolution, under the sanction of the Secretary of State ; 1 was alluding to a remark made by the honorable Senator .frm Michigan, Mr. Cass, that this was a measure recommended by the Ex ecutive of the United States in his annual mes sage. So far as that is concerned, it seems to me that no two things can be more clearly and dis tinctly separate than what is contained on this subject in the President's message and this reso lution. The President had been desired by Con gress to cause these Hungarian patriots to be brought here in a public ship. He bad, in com pliance with that request, caused them to be brought in the ship; and ibey were daily expected at the time the President's message was written. He could say nothing less than he has said He has simply communicated to Congress the fact that these captives had been brought here accor ding to their request, and he desired them lo do what they thought proper under the circumstances. The President does not intimate that be wished one disposition or another to be made of tbem, or of the subject. Of course he waa bound, as Presi dent, tu inform us in bis annual message what he had done in accordance with our desire, and to ak us lo make such further disposition of the subject as we thought right.. Again: and now I refer to what my friend from Mississippi has said. It was the desire of the Secretary of Slate that this resolution should be introduced. As regards his application lo the Senator from Mississippi for that pupose, the in troduction of the subject and the withdrawal of lhe resolution, we must keep dates in view in or der lo give a proper influence to ibese various transactions. The President's message was pre. pared and printed, as we all know, before 'he meeting of Congress. It was in the town in which I live, befire 1 left there for the seat of Govern ment. Before it was sent to either House of Congress it wss in the possession oYthe postmas ter, ready to be delivered when he should receive a telegraphic dispatch authorizing him to do so. Everything, therefore, in thja President's message, was prepared, written and printed before the ar rival of this gentleman in this country. The re solution, offered by my friend irom Mississippi, was, if I recollect aright, introduced on the very 6rstdayof the session. It was withdrawn on ihe Thursday succeeding, being the fourth day of the session, and Kossuth did not arrive in this country until the day afterwards until Friday. We must bear in mind that Kossuth had been expected to come to tnis country as an emigrant. It was in that character that a public ship was em ployed to bring him here. It was in that charac ter he was expected to arrive. It was with ref erence to that the President's message referred to him. It wss with reference to the same thing lhe resolution wasproped io be introduced by Ihe Secretary of State, and that the resolution was introduced. That state of things continued until ihe resolution was withdrawn. Never, until Kos suth landed upon our ahores, did we have ai.y authentic declaration from him of the pupose for which he came here. We may have drawn our conjectures from what hessid in his hasty visit to England, but we had no authoritative expression ol bis purpose in coming, and what he expected to accomplish, until after he landed in this country. Mr. Foote, ot Mississippi. In justice to the Secretary of Sta e, and to the Administration, I must say that lhe object of his visit was net spo ken of in the interview which I had with Mr. Webster. The receptiou referred to and recom mended by Mr. Webster was baaed upon our re solution of last session, and he suggested to me the propriety of my moving in the matter, on ac count of my being, as he knew, the author of the original resolution. I feel bound to say, that if i c. . e . uj . i uc orcrcMtrT vi oiaie una suppoeea mai any ex pectation wasoteriaoed by Governor Ko-suih that sn armed intervention was to take place on the part of the United States in European affairs, 1 think he would bave been one of the last meni in the world to have requested me to offer any resolution on the subject. I do not think now that anything of the sort is contemplateJ in any quarter. i Mr. Badger. I am obliged to my friend from Mis sissippi tor this explicit statement, which he baa made with his usual candor. It seems, then, that so far as the action of the Administration is con cerned, tle President and ibe Secretary of State bo h referred to a supposed emigrant coming a mong us for the pupose oi settling here, and ma king this country his domicile. Mr. Foots.. If the gentleman andersiood me as saying that the application was made lo me to introduce my resolution thia session with a view to providing for. the reception of Kossuth as an emigrant, he misunderstood me. I stated no such thing. If the gentleman will refer to the British papers, he will Hnd that Governor Kossuth, stated in many speeches in England, thai be waa coming io the United States merely as a visitor in behalf of his country, and not as an emigrant- We ascertained mon hs ago that our original ex- pectaiions upon luissuojeci oao not been founded upon actual facts. Mr. Batckr. I understood all that before, What I meant to say was this : Not that the Sec retary of Stale had spokeu to ihe Senator from Mississippi to offer this resolution U receive an intended emigrant not at all. It waa the reso lution or Congress under which the Prestdeotwas directed to bring him here which fixed the char acter and what be now expected. Tnai resolution wu.cu.jii.icu uia coining as an emigrant. What ever be might have said in England. h.H M authoritative exposition from him. before he land ed here, that he was to act in any other charac- , mereiore, tbese proceedings look place, I say thai it ta clear upon the record that ibey referred u an expected emigrant. As soon as Kossuth lands upon our shores, lie assures ua tnat we were mistaken, and that he does not come fT.ina. That ma tl Mn nf the Secretary 9. toee- H H II fill lUIHIU a tnizen of the country f but he i here as a visitor not for the porposef cnrios.r jorim- provement.bntupcmaH'MraM"0. 1 here to sgitaie among the people ot this ountrj, and to endeavor, : solar as ne can, to av ikena mong them a spirit which may prompi i iterven lion m lhe future contest that 4s expected iween Austria and Hungary intervention In raer so prevent the Czar from interfering. 1 w whole character of the case is changed. We ffl viiint KrMuuth. if we invited Jiimat all,! com here for purposes personal to;biiriself. I Vte invH il him m mm hora ms an emigrant sndlBve mongsv? He says, 1 come in no such jrkracier. fir n nnrn',..a narannal ta BlVself '. I COISe U00T1 a political mission, to place myself in jal char acter beiore the people or- ints country, pnsMu dnea thm to eive me nledses) that thev WiB make anv intervention on tne part of Russia In heaf fain nf Huntrarv. ineffectual. There has bien.no sanction criven bv the Executive ;DepWnt?6f this Government, in any of ita bran tie.-J te a resolution proposing to welcome: this fen ie man in any such character. It is One .thing I i welcome him as a distinguished foreigner, comi frn ex lie to settle among ns, and it is anoi aerfand a wprv riiffUrent ihincr tu welcome httn 8SB DolitiCal agitator among our countrymen, W liateW else may be said, it is no diminution of the igl Char acter this gentleman occupies for intelligent and high standing to say, that M is in exceeding! bad taste, in my judgment,, for a foreigner, vib has just set bis fool on our soil, woo comes jMre to invoke our sympathies, to become a propagandist of his opinions to endeavor to influence Unpeo ple to the adoption of measures which he ,may think beneficial lo the cause of Hungary, wfcout regard either lo the law or tne policy ol our Lrdv eminent; and lo hint, pot obscurely, that, that ever may be the action of Congress, he w lap peal io the freemen of the Uoited States, & our sovereigns. . ? ' . .Now, when emigrants come to thia const j to seek refuge from abroad; when tbef ajflbe to settle amoog us, and to mingle with oar eop!e, to enjoy the privileges of our institutions, Oadd energy to the industrial pursuit of ourctintry, so thai we may all together enjoy the bit ;sings of civil liberty, and that they may become per petual strength to the country, we mtgt well bid them welcome. And wjien emigrants come io this country, as sometimes they do, w o are able to minister to our assistance, antf ti shed glory upon our country in different and fn high er spbereawho are able to direct the tfcaj er of our armies in the field,, and to add gracf aa , wis dom io our legislative counsels, 1 shall e er be ready, as; if my friend from Illinois sir. S lieldsj will permit me lo say, I have ia reject i ) bim already done, to place them near to-ay hi art. However it may not bo in union win theitemp er of the times, I say I thank no fore en emissary to come here and assume k instruciuar Seople with regard lo our duties at home or abrSad. Whether it is a member of theBruisa Parliament who endeavors to provoke sectional discord, and if possible to snake tne fabrie of this Union to pieces, or whether it is a Hungarian exile, how- vor eminent who comes nere io persuade ns either to make an empty boast and niter a un meaning threat, and thus expose usio ine derision nf mankind, or else to mix us op in the turmoils of European politics aod cause us to expend the blood and treasure of our free citizens iu disputes with which they have no Concern, and from which they can derive no btnefii, terminate as they may, makes in this respect no difference to me-. 1 can agree to welcome neither the one nor the other. ' It may beTsTr; that 1-bave not got the idea of ptogres winch is peculiar to the times. My hocorable friend from Mew Jersey, Mr. S.ock lon, j in speaking of that policy of non interven tion which we received from" Washington, said that what was proper then might not be proper now, and he asks, is adhering to that policy, pro greas 1 1 think u is. A man tusy advance, though be does Lot change the road in which he travels. Tu make progress it js not necessary tnat a man should be perplexed and bewildered with repeat ed changes of direc ion, and perpetual y retracing his steps, and beating but new and denous paths in which to tread. 1 want progress iujoid princi ples towards the full development of cur institu tions to the consolidation of our libjrty. Pro gress upon old principles to make us and lokeep Us Americanized forever. fTnat is tie progress which 1 wish. Nor can I consider it eatirely bannJess in a person to come and inflame ihe peopU of the U nited States, or particular j onions ot the United States, hastily to commit t emselves tj measures like this. It js not only agiinst the sealed policy but it is against t be stat ui law of ibis country. Our law lorbidsarmed inter renuon in al its forms, by citizens or others from tl e shores otjl he Unites' States in the affairs of otl er nations jrith whom we are at peace. j Mr. Foote, of Misaissipf . I belie the sedi tion Uw has been re pea I e I. ' Mr. Badger. It might erhaps be fortunate for 60me, in certain events, ti it the sediaon law nas been repealed. I am no affected bt any refer ence io the sedition law. There is a sedition Ibat does not depend upon th it statute, and akhsugh tbal sedition law has tx en repealed, the repeal has not made sedition bo orable, I say thai it is tioi entirely innocent for uy man lo endeavor t inflame particular portit jsf the people fibs country, in favor of this i leasu re which Kossui desires to recommend. Why is it not, so? I waa about lo state why wbea the anticipate ? genius ot the Senator f am Mississippi at out t sprang far ahead of me, nd be saw in bis mint eye that bugbear ot the emocracy the ediu i law. We have a siatui which forbids all arnu 1 interventio n from this ountry in the affairs f any nation with which we are at peace. Th t statute forbids the sending forth, or setting oi feot, of any such exped uon, and it necessari r condemns all preparatory steps by which such i result is to be produced. If they do not fall wit in the provisions of the statute, so as to be pu ishable by law, they certainly arid indubitably a i morally criminal in their character. What dees this gentleman want tbese fellow . citizens of ours lo commit themselves to? Wl r to this: that this country shall furnish the mat . rial aod means to prevent the Emperor of Rm via fiom interfering in the future contest betwec i Hungary and Auatria. What means? Pa.pt r resolutions, printed, protests, or protests writiei upon parchment with the seal of the Unit;! States attached flow much do we suppect they will sway the mind of lite Czar? No, su , the moment we take that ground tte raometi ; we occupy the position he desires, (I do not si what gentlemen here, contemplate, ) we wi i bave, in my judgement, placed ourselves in sull i a position that we most advance in the event p ' a future conflict and the interposition of RossS which 1 suppose ia just as certain as the futur conflict itself, or we must inglorkra&ly reiirc We moat either abandon ihe policy of ihe coon try and involve ourselves in distant and futur i quarrels, or which no iian can foresee the issue orafier having threatened we most ignobly re treat. I am wilting W welcome foreigners wh come to our shore for just and laudable and use ful purposes, but I ani not willing to welcome h my vote any man wbd comes here to endeavor i4 commit the citizens ojjthis country to any inter veuuou id wreign iraisacaoQa, Jn saying this 1 do not mean io cast reproach on Kossuth, for I can understand, the utbusiastie: temper and the character of the man. I tan understand bow be has been led, on hrs first iandimr in tbe Uniil States, to believe thti our people were ready to pour by thousands add hundreds of thousands, to join his standards. . t is nstural. He is wrapt up in Hungary. Ht is devoted to Hungary .- "v an j.j.ungary, sou o is prepared to me fur Hungary. We fan understand his natural feehng on this acouuau We can undersand him strong desire to solicit aid far his country; but when so called upon to vote for a resolution and welcome to far shores one who has openly and publicly made this announcement pf his pnr4 poses-one who tsts made the most powerful ioi I. . u : . r i . p i" me ssiaui ms auuiiors everywhere, 1 cannot help seeing fhat ihe inevitable inierpre- lauou ui ue proceeding must do tnat we receive nrm in thai character; that we endorse him as poUtical rmssfonary.i 1 take it that, bv doins? that 1 we would welcome kirn here as one who is to re4 ceive assurances of armed inter veafioa to preveoU iXlJBTTS IMS" r ViM States, bich reads as rweeo Hungary aid Aastna, I do .not thins? follows; - that such. a course is cotiistent with what I owe to my own eoontryv ' one i would hold my. self ready to adopt apy neasnre which I believed to be just, reasonable, farjand honorable towards this unfeflonaie exil, cannot, by giving my tfoosenl to this resolution aiJ to mislead him into believing that be will receive any such aid from Agsin, Mr. President it hag been said that we owe this testimonj to Kossuth as the great impersonation of the pmcipie of free government. It has not been my furtioe, though 1 do not uro. fea any large knowledge on this subject, to bave found io tbe past bietry of Kossuth any evi dence tbaf be occoplef such a position. I have watched with Interest be struggle between A us iria snd Hungary, and fell a sincere and anxious desire that Huogarj ittould succeed in vindica ting her independence I Was satisfied, from the examination Iwas abt to givethe subject, that the Emperor of Aast;in had violated the funda mental conditions) apbrlwhich, for centuries, the originally independent Kingdom of Hungary had beer attached to !e Austrian Crown, and felt ondei the control of ibo HoUseof Hapsbuig. It was Bothtoa'i&'iol&bVuiytepublKa insti tutions, according iio cir understanding of the term. I have no videi orany such purpose. It wa a war for nattoott independence a war justifiable on the part jfRungary, because tbe fundamental conditions fcunion had been viola ted. nd hpina that liolation was obstinately persevered in and, ore, wnetner xiongary bad - intended lo es despotic or free gov ment for" herself. 1 Id have heartily wisbe& r?j for her success in the ti uflicf. It was the cause of national indepeud ce, not of republican institutions, which K uth urged. I doubt very much whether, in the ftiola strusrzle. the idea-ev- er entered Into his mini of a broadcast sowing of liberal principles and equil rights .among, hi countrymen. He wkpes te establish ai inde pendent , State and Miion tinder tbe supaemacy ofthe Magyar race; living the Sclavoniaas and other inferior castes ti occupy the posaiie that they hsd before occupied when the kingdom was connected with Austria. That 1 think is what be wished! It is a j mistake, tbesefore, it seems to soe, to suppose! that Kosswtain his struggles io Europe, was the embodiment of the principle of American freedom freedom as we understand it. A country may be abso lutely independent, and yet thoroughly despotic. Such is. Russia. A country may be absolute ly independent, and entirely sristocratira! or absolutely independent and thoroughly Demo- craiical. The intermi regulations, by weich Ibe public authority is distributed and the-lights of citizens are secured, are totally distract from the position which in extesnal relatitMut makes the state or sovereignty jnuepenueou i a willing to admit that Kossuth represents a high principle the principle of national, indepen dence, but not that of republicanism. When ' this subject is carefully considered,- L think it wilt be touod that tne whole ot it resolves itself into ibis: thai Kossuth was expected-or invited ' here as an emigrant he came as a-poUthal em issary; and the question is, whether there is anything in our past history in our present condition, in oar present purposes oi our fu ture prospects,; which should induce us to pass a resolution ot this kind in favor of. one coming amongst us in that character and- under' such circumstances. It has bees said that his proceedings in Hun gary were Lke those out of which sprang our own Declaration of Independence, and oar State constitutions our demands, originally small, growing larger as we advanced in strength. .This, I think, is a mistake. Our fathers did not increase -their demands on the British Government from time to time. They- preferred a claim at once for all Ihe rights of Englishmen ihe rights which their ancestors enjoyed in England and brought here. They demanded no more. Al though my friend from New Jersey Mr. Stock ton seemed to suppose that Englishmen, as such, have bo rights, our revolutionary fathers claimed before the Declaration ot Independence no rights but toe rights of Englishmen. It was an inva sion of their birth-right as English subjects of which they complained For years they solicited tne Crown and Parliameut to maintain or" restore to tbem their ancieui rights, and when tbese soli citations had proved ineffectual, then, as a last resort, ibey flew to arms and declared themselves independent. They scarcely waned an hour after that declaration before the several States formed coostitu lions for themselves; and what do ibey embody in them 1 The principle of English free dom such as the habeat corpus, and the trial by jury ; the liberty of speech and of tbe press; and when tuey came to Irame their own- declarations of rights, where did they resort t.r the materials out of which they were to be framed ? Did they not resort lo that very England ? Assuredly they did. Tbey struck off the ex'.ernsl form ot mon archy, and they provided by republican forms for tbe security of their rights ihe civil rights which they had enjoyed as Englishmen, but which, in consequence of ibe changes ot time, had become insecure or threatened by their connection with that country. They did not begin by making small demands, and hypocritically reserving to themselves until iney acquired more strength tbe whole of what tbey required. All tbey asked at all, they asked at first. Tbey asked tbe rights of Englishmen, as ihey understood tbem as tbey bad enjoyed them as long as hupe of success re mained, and when that hope was over, tbey de clared themselves independent, and provided, by republican constitutions, security for themselves. This is what they did. There is. therefore, so far as I can see, nothing in our history, or the history and present position of Kossuth, which should induce us to pass this resolution. But if we do pass it, I am totally un able to perceive why gentlemen should object to the amendment which my friend from Georgia proposes, to include tbe associates of Kossuth io ibe samo welcome with himselt. If we are to welcome the one, why not welcome the other? Is it because the associates of Kossuth have made no political speeches thai we will leave them out) Shall he be selected for thisbonor because, instead of landing on our shores quietly, as tbey have done, and enjoying our hospitably, be has occu pied bis time in inflammatory addresses to the people? Is this a reason why he should be sing led out from bis fellows in captivity, and have alone this distinguished honor? Whatever wo do for tne one, in ihe way ot honor and compli ment, let us do for all. In my judgment, the A merican Congress would act wisely to do no such thing as is proposed by this resolution in respect to any ofthe parlies; but if to one, then surely to tall alike. ' I a T ... . w r 1. . . t . aar. rresiaeni, i wisn not to oe misunderstood about this matter. I would be far from offering any indignity to tbe distinguished man who has come upon oor shores. Far, very far be it from roe to do so. He who is : the victim of oppres sion, he who has fallen in a contest nobJy oiain tained for the maintenance of national indepen dence, and seeks our shores, I would always re ceive with tbe roost cordial feelings; He mar forfeit them by 'his subsequent conduct; he may forfeit them by showing Ibat he bipgs a restless spirit with him, which is incompatible with the security of any State ; but my first impressions must always be deeidedly'and; heartily in his favor. In making these remarks, I have merely given my reasons for decSning to vote for the passage of lhe resolution; and for deeming it emmeatly proper, if i I passes ,t aU, that' the a- mendmeot proposed by the honorable Senator from Georgia should be attached to ft, . , Whatet er mky be the state of public opinion at present excited, strongly and naturally excited, aa the people jnow are a calmer moment wul ewlong arrive. ? And if tak resolution shall be adopted,! believe that at no distant day the wboW American people will onemtand the character and tendency, and eoriaerjencea of thia resolntion -wiflnoersundmat,iniee4reumsanoeB which od prtU me there . a great deal more implied tban empiy compliment orhonofarygratulaiioai .great deal more than wi ' caa.do in consistency with our past history, an4wim a just regard for our own Interest and future Pce and welfare.! v J99JWri I wish to call the attention of the Senate, sod of the Senator from Worth Caroljoa Mr. Badger especially, to what Know be is aa lamiliaf with as any other man in existenen tn am nr - j .'.u. r- i i " .- .
The Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 3, 1852, edition 1
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