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Show 822 STJAVERY AGI'l,ATION. brave ancl. wise men despised, bnL he would warn him in the lancruage of a olemn sense of cl.nly, thai if there was a spirit nron. eel. iu the north in rcln~i?n .to this ~uhjecL, that spirit would encounter another sptnt ll1 the sonth, full ns stubborn. lle would tell them, that, when this que. Lion was forced upon the people of the sonth, they would Le ready to take up the gauntlet. lie concluded by urging on the gentlcmn.n from Vermont to ponder well on his course before he ventured to proceed. Mr. Slade continued his remarks, when Mr. Dawson, of Georgia, a.'ke<l him for the floor, thai he migLL move an adjournment-evidently lo carry oif the storm which he saw ns111g. Mr. Slade refused to yichl it; so ihe motion to ucljonrn could not be made. Mr. Slade conlinned, and was proceeding to answer his own inqnir·y, put to himself-. What wa · slave'l'y ~ when Mr. Dawson again asked for the floor to make his motion of adjournment. M1·. Slade refused it. A visible commotion began to pervade the IIouse-mcmbcrs rising, clustering together, an<l i!tlking with animation. Mr. Slade continued, and wns about reading a judicial opinion in one of tho southern Slates, which defined a slave to be a chatlol, when :Mr. Wise called him to order for speaking beside tho question-the question being npon tho abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and Mr. Slade's remarks goiug to its legal character, as properLy, in a SLate. The Speaker, Mr. J olm White, of Kentucky, sustained the call, saying it was not in order to discuss the ~;ubjcct of Rlavory in any of the SLates. Mr. Slade denied that be was doing so, and said be was merely qnoting a Southern judicial decision, as he might quote a legal opinion delivered in Great Britain. Mr. Robertson, of Virgi nia, moved that tho Jiouse ad_, ourn. r:rhe Speaker prononncocl the motion (and correctly) out of order, as the member from Vermont was in SLAVERY AGJTA'PT O~. 323 possession of the floor and atllll'cssincr the llouse. IIo would, howevrr, . nggrHt to the memh<'l· from Vermont, who could not. bni ohs<'rve thr siaL of the House, to confin e him. If strictly to the snhjeet of hiH motion. Mr. Sl:ulc went on, at great length, when Mr. Pclriki11, of P enn. ylvan ia, allocl him to order; but tho Chair did 11 ot snslain the call. Mr. Slaclo went on, qnoting from tho Dccla raLion of Inuependence, and the ConsLiLuLions of lhe several Stales, and had got io that or Virginia, when Mr. Wise called him to order for rcn.ding papers without tho leave of the IIouHo. The Speaker decided, that no paper, objected to, could be read without the leave of the llonse. Mr. vVise then said : 'fhat the gentleman had wantonly discussed the ab~tract qne lion of slavery, going baef{ to tho very fir. t day of the creation, instead of slavery ns it existed in tho Distri ct, and the powers and duLies of Congress in relation to it. ITo wns now examining the tale Constitutions, to show, that as iL existed in the SLates, iL was against them, and against the laws of God and mau. This was out of order. Mr. Slade explainrcl , n nd ~trgued in vindication of his course, and was about to road a memorial of Dr. Franklin, and an opinion of Mr. Macl ison on the subject of slavery, when the reading was objected lo by Mr. Griffin, of South Carolina; and the Speaker deciued they could not be read without the permission of tho llousc. Mr. Slade, without asking the permission of the IIouse, which be knew would not be granted, assumed to understand the prohibition as extending only to himself personally, said-" Then I send them to lhc clerk: let him read them." The Speaker decided that this was equally against the rnlo. Then Mr. 0 riffin withurew tho objection, and Mr. Slade proceeded to read the papers, and to comment upon them as he went on, and was about to go back to the State of |