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Show ) 326 HlJA V 1~ L~Y AO L'l'A'L'I ON. lid of his deHk, nn(l his nppar nt <1 Hir to rend something to the llous , ns he hel<.lu book (rccognir. tl to be thnt of the rules) in hi: haud. Obtaining· quiet, HO n: to cnahlo himself to be heard, he read the rule referred. to lJy Mr. M •Kay; and said, LhaL a~ objc<:tion had now for the first timo been mud • und r th:1L rul• Lo the g nL1vmnn's l'\'IIIHing his speech, the Chait· dc• ci <lt'd thn,(, he e< ul<l not do HO without the leave of the l[ouHe. Mr. Slade ailempt •d t.o p;o on; tho Speaker directed him to take his Rent 1111til tho que .. tion or len.ve shouhl be put 'I, hen, Mr. ln<.le still lweping his feeL, nskctl len v to proc·ced ns in ordrr, saying he would not tliscuHR slavpry in Vircrini:t. On that qnestion Mr. Allen, of Vermont, ask <l th ·yeaH aucl nayR. ~{r. H.cnchcr, of North Cnrol i 11:1, moved an adjournment. Mr. Adams, :-tnd many others, dcrllnn<lc<l the yens and nays on this motion, which were onlcrccl, and resulted in 106 yens and 63 nay -some fifty or t=Jixty lllCruucrf-) l1aving wilhdrawn. This opposition to o.djonrntn<'nt waH one of lho wot-.·t features of that unhappy clay's worl·-the only cfTcct of keeping the llonsc tog Lhcr being; to increase irritation, mH] multiply the chances for· nn onthr •ale }i,rom the beginning Southcm mcmu ·rs had he n in favor of it, and essnycd to accompliRh it, but were prevented by the tenacity with which Mr. Slade kept pos cssion of tho floor: and now, at last, when it was timo to adjourn uny wo.y-whcu the House wa.s in a condition in which no good could be expected, and. great harm might be apprehended, there were sixt.y-Lhrcc mcmbcrs-ueing nearly one-third of the Ilonsc-wi!Iing io continue it in se sion. The liousc then stood adjourned ; and as the adjournment was being pronounced, Mr. Cumpbcll, of Soulh Curolinu, stood upon a chair, and. calling for the attention of members, said : " lie ltau been appoi 11 ted as one of the Southern delegation, to anuonnco thai all tho!:io gentlemen who represented SL.A.VJi:HY AGl'l'ATIO~. 327 slavcholding SLates, were invited to att ncl the meeting now being held in the district cornlllitlce r om." Members from the slaveholuing Stales l~rtcl repaired in large numbers to the room in the bascrnrnt, where they were invited to meet. Various pnssions ngitut <1 themsome violent. Extreme propositions were sugge~lcd, of which Mr. Rhett, of South Carolina, in a Iotter to his coHHtiLucnts, gave a full accouut of h iH own-thu,• : 1 1 In u private and friendly letter to the Bc1itor of the Charleston Mercury, nmorwsL oth r events accompanying tho memorable secession of the Southern m rnl>ers from the Hall of the IIonse of Rcprcscntn.tivcs, I staLed Lo hirn, that I had prepared two rc ·ol utions, dmwn as umcnclmeuts to the motion of the member from Vermont, whilst he wnH ui ·cussing tho institution of slavery in the South declariug, that the Coustitution l1nving fail <1 to protect the South in tho peaceable posB SHion and enjoyment of their righls and peen liar insti tntions, it was expedient that the Union should be dissolvetl; and the other, appointing u committee of two members from each StaLe, to report upon the best means of pcacc11bly dissolving it I They were intended as amendments to a motion to rc~'r with in st ru ctions to report a uill abolishing slavery in the District of olumhin.. I expect u them to share the fate, which iu ev itably awaited the original motion, so soou as tho floor could have been obtained, vir.., to be lnid upon the table. My design in presenting them, was to place before CongrcHs uncl the people, what in my opinion, was the true i ·sue upon this great and vital question; and to point out the conrse of policy by which it Rhould be met by the Southern StaLes." llnt extreruc counsels did not prevail. 'fhcre were members present, who well consic1crccl Lhnt, although the provocation was grcnt, nnd the number voting for such o. firebrand motion was deplornbly largo , yet it wns hnt li LLlo more than one-fourth of tho Uoust·, and <lecidedly less than ono-ltulf |