Is it to be supposed that that which Congress would not do to procure this act of emancipation, it will do now that an ordinance of emancipation has been passed? It is preposterous and idle to expect such a thing; and I am very unwilling that Missouri should go, cap in hand, to ask for any such appropriation.

Mr. DRAKE. I take leave to say that, under no possible circumstances, would I vote for such a resolution as this. It contains statements which I consider inconsistent with our knowledge of this State, and with the history of its people. I say that the people of this State did not provide for emancipation because of any pledges made by the National Legislature. The delegates of the people in this Convention have been driven by public sentiment to do this act to-day, and there are men in this Convention who have voted for this act who would not, on any consideration, have done so had not public sentiment driven them to it even against their own convictions and desires; but that public sentiment has never been based for one instant upon any pledge made by the Congress of the United States.

The first resolution declares that it is the just expectation of the people of Missouri that the Congress of the United States will make provision for giving aid to compensate for the inconvenience, public and private, produced by this change of system. I ask, sir, why gentlemen did not couple that with their plan of emancipation, and express in their ordinance that it was based upon the pledge of Congress, and that the just expectation of the people was that Congress would give us money for doing it? You never did it with any such just expectation, and if the last Congress would not give it to you, no other will. There never was any such expectation at the foundation of this act of the Convention.

Again, sir, what justice would there be in asking compensation for the loyal citizens of the State of Missouri, who, under the ordinance adopted, will lose their property; and when that compensation came, provided it did, instead of distributing it solely to the loyal slave owners, your disloyal citizens, now rebels in arms, your bushwhackers and guerrillas, would come up and prove their loyalty, and pocket the greater part of the money which the Congress might appropriate for this purpose? I say, therefore, there is no demand upon us here to ask the nation for compensation for doing what a majority of the people in this State this day demand shall be done without compensa

tion. I do not want the loyal people of Missouri-the true Union people of Missouri-to stand before the world in this position, to go before the loyal people of the nation, and beg them to pay for negroes that are to be set free seven years hence, only to be transmitted into bondmen, many of them for life, and many others for a service of many long years, and who might, under other circumstances, be free.

Mr. HALL of Randolph. Were I a member of Congress, before I would vote to appropriate money to abolish slavery in Missouri, I would prefer to see every slave in the State emancipated without a cent of compensation; and before I would vote for the principle that the Federal Government has a right to interfere with the domestic institutions of this State, I would prefer to forfeit our right to all slave property in the State; and I will not vote for Congress to do that which, if they do, will make the restoration of this Union hopeless, or, if it be restored, will end in a totally different form of government to that which we now have. So far as I possess any influence I shall oppose this proposition. As to the expression that certain members of this Convention have been driven to support the ordinance of emancipation, I would reply that they have not been driven to do so by public sentiment, but they have been driven by circumstances that reflect disgrace npon those who have driven them to it. What has been the condition of things in Missouri for the past eight months, and until within the last two weeks? The military commander has been the exponent of every violation of the law, has fostered and encouraged a spirit of resistance to and the violation of the laws of this State, and has given encouragement to the worst and most lawless characters of this State, who claim it as a merit that they have violated the laws of the country. These men, emboldened by this encouragement, and thinking that they were to be protected and maintained in lawlessness by the military power here, have violated the rights of the people of this State with impunity; while the conservative element of this State has been discarded and disheartened, feeling that if they undertook to resist this lawlessness they might be charged with resisting the power of the Government to which they were attached. We have been driven by the influence that that military commander gave to this spirit of lawlessness in this State to seek alliances that would enable us to put it down. We have been driven, as a measure of

self-defence, not only that respect might be paid to slave property, but to every kind of property, and to the rights of persons; we have been driven by our desire to protect society from enemies of this character. Public sentiment, indeed! calling the feuds of that class public sentiment! To call this bad, bold spirit of mob violence public sentiment, is a disgrace to the name.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE. My colleague (Mr. Gantt) speaks of the resolutions I have introduced as having the effect, if adopted, of placing the State of Missouri in the attitude of going cap in hand to so it compensation from Congress for the emancipation of her slaves. I c rtainly do not desire to place the State of Missouri in the position of a mendicant, nor can these resolutions possibly have that effect. Congress pledged itself to aid us on certain conditions. We have complied with those conditions, and I propose now to ask Congress to perform its part of the contract.

My colleague (Mr. Drake) says the language employed in the resolutions is inaccurate, in stating that the people of Missouri confided in the pledge of Congress. If t resolutions stated that we had emancipated the slaves of Missouri from no other motive than that we confided in the pledge of Congress, his criticism would have been just; but the resolutions contain no such statement. We certainly did confide in the pledge of Congress; we certainly did not consider it an empty promise, never intended to be kept-(was that the gentleman's view of it?)-and though it was far from being the only inducement to our action, it certainly did powerfully stimulate and strengthen the sentiment of the people of the State in

sons, and that many might be compensated, who, under the provisions of the ordinance adopted, will not lose the services of their slaves to call attention to the fact, which, in the heat of his opposition, he has overlooked, that the resolutions, in terms, contemplate compensating those only who shall absolutely lose their slaves, and those only who are loyal; and still farther, they ask for the application of such aid as may be given, under such conditions as Congress may im ose; so that even if there were danger of such abuses as my colleague anticipates, it is within the scope of the resolutions, and perfectly within the power of Congress, to guard against them.

I would be glad to say more on this subject, and I desire particularly to notice the remarks of the gentleman from Randolph (W. A. Hall), but the limit of five minutes will not permit me to say more, nor can I properly ask its extension at this late moment of the session.

If time permitted, I should certainly press the passage of these resolutions, which I deem important, and which I am confident the large majority of this body would sustain. We are, however, within an hour of the time appointed for the final adjournment, and it will be very easy, if those who oppose them desire to do so, to prevent a vote by consuming the interval; and as I am unwilling that the chance of cbtaining aid from Congress should be preju diced by a failure to adopt these resolutions, if pressed for passage, I will, with the permission of the Convention, withdraw them.

The resolutions were accordingly withdrawn.

Mr. McCORMACK. I wish to introduce a reso

rants, and which were accordingly provided, and should have been delivered over to the en

rolled militia; but from an oversight in the General Assembly, in not requiring that the Paymaster should countersign them, they were not in a condition to be used; hence payment has never been made.

Mr. GANTT. I expected to vote against every measure of special legislation on the part of this body, but this seems to form an exception.

The resolution was read three several times and adopted by the Convention.

Mr. LONG. I beg to introduce the following resolution:

"Resolved, That it is for the best interests of this State that Congress should enact such laws as shall be efficient for the removal of all slaves, hereby emancipated, beyond the limits of this State."

Mr. DRAKE. I move to lay the resolution on the table.

Mr. BIRCH. I deny to Congress any jurisdiction whatever over this institution of domestic slavery, and such a view I have always held. I shall not ask Congress to make provision for the paupers that will in all probability be made by this ordinance. I vote aye. Mr. SHEELEY. I certainly will never violate my convictions by asking Congress to do anything of the kind. I vote aye.

Mr. FOSTER. I move that J. J. Delahay be allowed $3 per diem for his services during the session of the Convention, and that the Chairman of Accounts be hereby authorized to audit the same.-Carried.

The hour having arrived for the adjournment of the Convention, the President closed the proceedings with the following remarks:

The PRESIDENT. I beg leave to return my sincere thanks to the members of the Convention for the support and the manifestation of good will which they have given me upon the present occasion. We have labored two years, or more, together in a work supposed to be very important to the people of this Commonwealth. This Convention has labored assiduously and faithfully for the true interest of the people of Missouri; and now, whatever

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE. Under the resolution providing that each member of the Convention should be furnished with three daily papers, most of the members preferred to take the St. Louis papers; notwithstanding this, the editor of the Missouri Daily Times, published in this city, has each day laid upon the desks of the members a copy of his paper, containing a report of the proceedings of this body. This has been an accommodation to the members, inasmuch as it has appeared in advance of the daily papers from St. Louis; and this has been done without any appropriation having been made. Mr. GANTT. And I hope that none will be made. Every member ordered the papers he desired, and three daily papers were quite sufficient.

Mr. BRECKINRIDGE. The paper, I under. stand, has had a reporter here, whose reports on the whole have, I think, been accurate, and the paper has certainly been a great conve

nience to the members. It would be but just for this body to make the trifling appropriation asked to remunerate the publisher for the papers supplied here daily.

Mr. GANTT. Just allow me to read the first leading article from this day's issue. [Reads.] That is a delectable journal to be distributed amongst us; and it is for that we are asked to pay. If any gentleman ordered the Times, the publisher has been paid for it; and if none were ordered, it is a tolerably accurate condemnation of the paper and its sentiments.

we cannot escape the criticism of the historian. Whether we will or not, the actions of this Convention must fill an important page in the history of Missouri and of the United States of America. I believe, gentlemen of the Convention, that the criticism of the historian will be favorable to the motives and the actions of a large majority of the members of this body.

Gentlemen of the Convention, the final vote has disclosed to you that I have acted, in its present action, with the minority in relation to emancipation. My only desire, when I came here, was to secure to every individual on this floor his rights as a member of this body, to give to every one the largest liberty possible consistent with public order.

I have endeavored to do.

This

The result of your labors, whatever that may be, we now give to the people. I hope this ordinance that we have passed will give to the people of the State all we promised them. You have promised them peace, security and protection. If that shall be the re

State of Missouri will more sincerely rejoice sult of your deliberations, no man in this great than myself. I doubt whether this result will follow the action of this Convention for several reasons; one of which, and perhaps the most prominent reason that operated in my mind, was, that we had been elected for a dif ferent purpose, and that we had accomplished fully and faithfully the purpose for which we were elected.

But allow we to say to you, gentlemen of this Convention, that I do not return to my

home for the purpose of opposing the action of this body, or of uniting myself with anarchists, revolutionists, Red Republicans, or any individuals, by whatever name you call them, who propose to uproot the order of civilization itself. I shall give to the ordinance passed by this Convention that moral support which I shall deem necessary to secure the public order of the community in which I reside. And let us all hope and trust that the

action of the Convention upon this great occasion will bring peace, tranquillity, prosperity and happiness to a great people.

Gentlemen of the Convention, I hope I have succeeded in my endeavor, as presiding officer of this body, to give to every gentleman on this floor all the rights which I deemed he was entitled to. I now close the sessions of this Convention, and pronounce it adjourned without date. [Cheers.]

Mr. BIRCH. I regret, Mr. President, that the, gentleman from Cedar should have felt himself called upon to address to us so ungracious an insinuation as the one which fell from him just previous to our adjournment; but, as I happen to be prepared to repel it, it is perhaps as well that the issue should be accepted and decided here-so far at least as the facts in the case may have an influence upon the proposition now pending.

Mr. GRAVELLY. I assure the gentleman from Clinton that, in the remarks alluded to, I had no reference to him whatever.

Mr. BIRCH. Will the gentleman, then, be kind enough to state to whom, or to what class of candidates, such remarks were intended to apply?

Mr. GRAVELLY. To no one in particular, but to the pro-slavery party in general.

Mr. BIRCH. Very well; as I belong "to the pro-slavery party in general," and was one of the Congressional "candidates who did not get votes enough to procure a certificate of election upon," and as I am quite willing that my own case shall stand as a specimen of the manner in which myself and others were prevented from "getting votes enough" to elect us, the gauntlet so unreservedly thrown down by the gentleman will be taken up, and the question at least so disposed of as to relieve "the pro-slavery party in general," and myself in particular, from all similar depreciations in the future.

It so happened, Mr. President, that, at the time of the late guerrilla raid into my county town, there was deposited in the Treasurer's safe such depositions as had been taken, in respect to the manner in which the election canvass had been carried on in my district, and that these depositions were restored to a friend of mine in the manner that other private papers were to other gentlemen. That will, of course explain why the seals have been broken, and why I am able to read them here, before reading them in Washington; and will not, I presume, detract from their authenticity or valid

ity, whether here or there. Why I brought them with me I can scarcely tell, except upon the vague premonition that there might be, in a body of ninety-nine delegates, some one as illinformed or as inconsiderate as the gentleman from Cedar, albeit his general bearing amongst us has been that of an intelligent, courteous and just man.

As such, I have no fears that he will repeat the injustice of which I have so much reason to complain, after he has had an opportunity to listen to, and, if it be his pleasure, to inspect the testimony in this case. Further, sir, (and that is the only legitimate excuse that can be put forward for reading such a mass of testimony,) no just minded man shall hereafter have even an excuse for pretending that such an election as the last one furnished such results as in any respect to guide a majority of us here; but, as I think, the exact reverse.

Mr. SMITH of St. Louis. I rise to a point of order, Mr. President. It will be remembered that I gave way to enable the gentleman from Clinton to make a personal explanation. I object, however, to the reading of such a mass of depositions.

The CHAIR. The gentleman from Clinton has not asked that the papers should be read by the Secretary, whereby they would form part of the records of the Convention. It is his right, however, to read such portion of them himself as he may deem necessary to his explanation or argument, and that is all I understand he proposes to do.

Mr. BIRCH. Certainly, sir; and it need scarce be added that the necessity for reading any portion of this testimony, originally, and still, intended for another forum, cannot be more irksome or distasteful to others than it will be to myself. In such times, however, as unhappily confront and surround us, no man should shrink from the requirements of duty, however unpleasant its performance, or however subjecting him to criticisms which would otherwise be so sedulously avoided. I propose therefore to at least so far refer to the judicial