USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 34
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A third speech by Mr. Belser, in pamphlet form, was delivered on the 11th of February, 1845, on the Bill to admit Iowa and Florida into the Union as States. The practice of the Govern- ment had been to admit States by pairs, one of 'Northern and the other of Southern type, so as to preserve the equilibrium of power in Congress, one-half non-slaveholding, and the other half slave-
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holding, which equilibrium was preserved in the thirty States existing in 1850, prior to the admission of California, since which time the Northern element has preponderated in the Senate.
The people of Florida, after holding a Convention of delegates authorized by Congress, had framed a constitution, and with a memorial had submitted it for approval, with a view to admission as a State of the Union. Against this application on the part of Florida, four principal objections of Northern origin seemed to have been urged in the debates of Congress.
1. That, according to the last Census, she had not the requisite amount of population to entitle her to admission.
2. That she constitutes no part of the Government of the United States which was embraced in the original thirteen States, or in the treaty of peace which closed the Revolution.
3. That Congress has the discretionary power to admit or not admit her as a new State, and that the Constitution presented by her recognizes slavery in a country not included in the compromises of the Federal Constitution.
4. That, aside from these and other objections, it is inexpedient thus early to change her Territorial form of Government, because of its deleterious influence on other sections.
It would occupy more space than can be afforded, consistent with the objects of this work, to give even a synopsis of the views of Mr. Belser, in refutation of the Northern argument against the admission of Florida, the whole of which argument was prompted from intense hatred of the Southern institution. The resort to authorities and precedents by Mr. Belser was further proof of his great industry to sustain the side of the question he advocated. He quoted from speeches made in Congress on the bill admitting Missouri as a State in 1820, and referred to the prediction of Mr. Quincy, of Massachusetts, that the admission of Louisiana virtu- ally dissolved the Union, and to similar remarks by Mr. King, of New York, when the Missouri question was pending before Con- gress.
Mr. Vinton, of Ohio, though liberal in some of his views, (which Mr. Belser acknowledged) had imputed to the Southern States a selfish policy, looking to their own aggrandizement on all questions of power, and as an instance he referred to the cession made to the United States, by Virginia, of all her North-west territory, out of which had sprung the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and the Territory of Wisconsin. In the articles of cession by Virginia in 1787, the restriction, of which Northern complaint is made-" There shall be formed in the said territory, not less than three, nor more than five States"-prevented the West, as free States, from multiplying their number as popula- tion and other circumstances might require for the prosperity and
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influence of that section. Having answered the objections urged against the admission of Florida, and given his reasons in its favor, Mr. BELSER closed his speech in the following language:
This Republic is consecrated by kindred blood, kindred affection, and by the. same ties it will be perpetuated. Instead of gentlemen conjuring up spectres of disunion, let them inculcate more patriotic principles. Above all, let them nerve their hearts against that unrelenting disposition which, with religion in one hand and philanthropy in the other, dresses itself out in the garland of piety, and rides triumphant over the sovereignty of the States. In the purest days of the Roman Republic, her Curtius was willing to leap into the flaming gulf, which the oracle had assured him could be closed in no other way. And have we no Curtius among us to stay these elements of discord and misrule which have been let loose in our midst ?
The time was when a jealousy existed between the North and the South. It was then confined to the original States. That period has gone by, and hereafter it will be with the monopolist and the agriculturist-between power and privilege. The growth of the West had astonished the lords of the loom, and struck terror into the millionaires. The influence of both of these classes had recently become paralyzed : another census, and it will be gone forever. The rivers of the North may serve a little longer to fill the vision of the traveler, but they will not vie with the majestic streams on the western side of our mountains. The centre of this Republic is destined to be in that vast region which is westward of the Mis- sissippi and its tributaries, and the organization of new political societies will accel- erate that end. These are the two reasons why gentlemen here are opposing the admission of new States, and the formation of new Territorial Governments on our western and southwestern borders. The idea that such an opposition is to prostrate agriculture, is chimerical. The pioneers of the wilderness will have their full' participation in the administration of this Government, and New Or- leans must yet become the London of America.
If any one doubts the future superiority of the West, let him take a retrospect into the past. Let him view her rise and progress in the scale of greatness, and then place his compass on the map of this continent, and he will no longer be de- ceived. Her mark to aspire is written with the pencil of light. The spirit of liberty is in that quarter-the bird of Jove is soaring afar; and truly has it been observed :
"His throne is on the mountain top; His fields the boundless air ; And hoary peaks, that proudly prop The skies, his dwellings are.
He rises, like a thing of light, Amid the noontide blaze ; The midway is clear and bright- It cannot dim his gaze."
A few more remarks, and he was done with the subject. He thought it prob- ably it was the last speech he should ever make on that floor. The session was drawing to a close, and he did not expect to return. He yielded to no man in his love for the Union, as it came from the hands of those who accomplished the Rev- olution. Their spirits were now hovering around us, anxiously awaiting the sound of that trump which shall announce the emancipation of mankind, the re- generation of the world. He was pleased to hear his friend (Mr. Vinton) say that the West was the connecting link between the North and the South. Such a sentiment was highly patriotic, and well worthy the source from whence it came. But he would tell the honorable gentleman that there was but one way in which the West could perform the part of an umpire, and that was to be just to both parties. The South had always been ready to make sacrifices for the common benefit. Her sons are generous. They learned the lesson of freedom from those
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who once stood erect amid the fires of persecution and the blood of martyrs. They could never be made slaves, nor permit their rights of property to be inter- fered with. The principle which protected them was to be found in the compact, and it was too sacred to be disturbed.
These extracts will suffice to place Mr. Belser on high ground as a debater, and to give a proper view of the several measures under discussion. He probed things to the bottom, and when he pretended to argue at all, he took no refuge behind empty gener- alities, which signified nothing in fact, and a little of everything by construction. He planted himself upon the record, and gave forth his utterances with sincerity.
His course in Congress rendered him still more popular at home, and he was thereafter a man of mark and influence. He declined a reelection and applied himself more closely to his profession.
When Gen. Taylor was spoken of for the Presidency in 1847, Mr. Belser was among the few leading Democrats of Alabama who espoused his claims. The first meeting held at any capitol of the States was that on the 8th of January, 1848, at Mont- gomery, over which Mr. Belser presided, which was largely attended. A number of gentlemen of Alabama addressed the meeting, and the "war-horse of Troup," the Hon. Julius C. Al- ford, of Georgia, was called for, and responded in his usual earnest style. The influence of Mr. Belser in the canvass did more than any other agency in securing so large a vote for Gen. Taylor in the State. From that time his connection with the Democratic party ceased, and his political alliances were with the Whig party and with the Know-Nothings. Although he indulged no bitter- ness toward his old political friends, but continued his social rela- tions with them, they were made to encounter defeat in many counties through the weight of his name. In evidence of this fact, it may be stated that in 1849 and 1851 the Whigs had the control of the Senate, and to elect a Whig President of that body was an event which had not occurred in a long time. It is not saying more than the premises will justify, when the opinion is expressed, that the course of Mr. Belser in 1848 cut him off from the first honors of the State; for no man at that period had so strong a hold upon the confidence and affections of the masses of the people. The writer knew him well, and had many conversa- tions with him in regard to this political step, and never doubted the purity of his convictions and his sense of duty to the South.
In 1853, Mr. Belser was elected a member of the House, and again in 1855, at both which sessions he devoted his enlightened mind and energies to the interest of the State, in devising and perfecting schemes for the development of her vast resources. He was wedded to a system of Internal Improvement, and to the various projects now concentrating railroads to Montgomery; and
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connecting North and South-Alabama. The session of 1855 ended his public career, and he died suddenly in 1858, in the meridian of life and usefulness.
Mr. Belser had but limited opportunities for education, in early life; but he was sufficiently acquainted with books to acquire a fondness for reading, and with a good amount of common sense, he built successfully on this foundation, as his speeches in Congress, at the bar, and on the stump, fully prove. The State may well be proud of such a Representative and such a citizen.
In person, he was considered by many as of rough exterior, and by no means comely. True, he was not a handsome man, but he was by no means repulsive. His face was entirely redeemed by an intellectual expression. Among the people, he was a giant in the political canvass, swaying the multitude at his pleasure. But it was as a man whose heart was filled with the warmest and most generous impulses, that he was most sought and admired. In the substantial qualities of a kind, indulgent, and charitable gentle- man, very few, if any, excelled him. He was constant and sin- cere in his friendships, and seemed incapable of doing an inten- tional wrong to his fellows, but willing to do favors to all. This facility of temper, no doubt, operated to his injury in many cases, yet he never complained. Considering his social nature, he was rather inclined to be taciturn and thoughtful. He filled a large space in public estimation, and his death was regarded as a ca- lamity to the city of Montgomery, where he had long resided, and to the State,
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CHAPTER XX.
Session of 1843-Judicial Elections-Personal Sketches.
The members of the Legislature elected in August, 1843, assembled at the Capitol in Tuskaloosa, on Monday, 2d of De- cember.
The Senate was organized by the election, unanimously, of N. Terry, President; William J. Couch, of Coosa, Secretary; Geo. B. Clitherall, Assistant Secretary, and A. R. Thomas, Doorkeeper.
In the House, A. B. Moore was unanimously elected Speaker. The other officers elected were Joseph Phelan, Principal Clerk; A. B. Clitherall, Assistant Clerk; Wilson C. Bibb, Engrossing Clerk, and James H. Owen, Doorkeeper.
There was wanting in the elections of 1843 that absorbing in- terest on the part of the people which governed the elections of 1842, whereby a very unusual amount of character and ability was secured in the Legislature, as preceding chapters have shown. Still, the elections of the present year were to some extent a resemblance of the former in the character and efficiency of the members returned, both in the Senate and House of Representa- tives, evidence of which will appear in the proceedings. Mr. Terry, the President of the Senate, had much experience in legis- lation; and as a presiding officer, Mr. Moore, Speaker of the House, also had considerable experience as a member, and at once entered upon the duties of the chair with easy dispatch of public business.
The annual message of the Governor was communicated to both Houses on Tuesday, by the Secretary of State. It was altogether of a business character, without any allusion to Federal policy, or to any political issues. The following synopsis is submitted for the information of the reader:
1. In reply to proposals by the Governor, for printing and bind- ing 3,000 copies of the Digest of the Laws of Alabama, prepared by the Hon. C. C. Clay, the contract had been awarded to M. D. J. Slade, the lowest bidder, at $7 14 per page, and the books de- livered." J. Withers Clay, Esq., had been appointed to superin- tend the printing, in place of the Hon. C. C. Clay, who declined that labor.
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2. Pursuant to act of February 13, 1843, for the final settle- ment of the affairs of the Planters' and Merchants' Bank of Mo- bile, an injunction in the nature of la quo warranto, had been filed by the Solicitor of the Mobile Circuit, and the charter of the Bank declared forfeited, from which no appeal had been taken.
3. Two Commissioners for each Branch Bank of the State had been appointed to examine and value the real estate belonging to each. Partial returns had been made, and portions of the estate brought to sale. In some instances, the sale had been deferred to a more auspicious season in the market.
4. Under the joint resolutions of February 14, 1843, authoriz- ing the Governor to institute actions at law against the President and Directors of the State Bank and Branches, to recover money illegally expended by them, within the last six years, Commis- sioners had been appointed to examine the Expense Account of the Banks, and report the result of their investigations. That duty had been performed, and, in some instances, suits had been brought, where the excuse was not satisfactory. The reports of the Commissioners on the subject were transmitted with the message.
5. Measures had been taken for the extension to the 1st June, 1850, of the State bonds payable in 1844, reserving the right further to extend their payment, if it should be the pleasure of the State hereafter to do so.
6. The President and Directors of the State Bank, in presence of the Governor and the Secretary of State, as directed by law, had destroyed, during the year, by burning, bills of the different Branches, amounting to $5,036,697, and blank impressions to the amount of $7,013,428; and bills of the State Bank had also been destroyed, in like manner, amounting to $609,416.
7. For the additional labor devolved upon the President and Directors of the State Bank, on the winding up of the Branches, in superintending the payment of interest on State bonds, and for receiving, registering and destroying the redeemed circulation of the four Branches, an increase of compensation is recommended; and also that the number of Directors be reduced to four.
8. The bad and doubtful debts due the Banks in the several counties, having been placed in the hands of attorneys for collec- tion, the labor of the Directors has been thereby diminished, so as to justify, on the score of economy, the reduction of the num- ber in the Branch Banks. The Governor recommends that the Cashier be made ex-officio a Director, who, with the President and one Director, will form a body entirely sufficient to manage the business of each Branch.
9. To comply with the act of Congress, of August 16, 1842, requiring authenticated copies of papers which have been lost or
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destroyed, relating to the claims of the State for moneys expended during the Indian hostilities, to be received as evidence, demands the further attention of a special agent. Our delegation in Con- gress had done all in their power to adjust these claims. The Governor recommended that a reasonable per cent. be allowed such agent on sums that he might collect from the General Gov- ernment.
10. Relative to the claims of Sheriffs against the State for the support of prisoners, for which about $10,000 was appropriated at the last session, he recommends, as the most equitable mode, that the counties in which the offense is committed, provide a special fund, out of which these claims should be paid, under the control of the County Judge and Commissioners, with power to decide on their correctness, and order their payment.
11. He again directs attention to the law regulating the salary of the Adjutant and Inspector General, as too vague and indefi- nite in the amount of compensation he shall receive.
12. The sum of $1,192.00, out of the $1,500.00 appropriated at the last session, had been expended for re-covering the Capitol. The whole roof had been re-covered anew, except the cupola, and that was inspected by competent workman, who concurred in the opinion that it was sound, and required only some slight repairs, which had been made.
13. The law as to returns of elections of members of Congress requires amendment. Sheriffs frequently fail to make returns of elections important to the people, thus defeating the popular will. The Solicitors of the Circuit, and the Grand Juries should be required to look into all such irregularities, and where there is no reasonable excuse, prosecutions should be instituted.
14. The first installment, amounting to $119,207.61, of the two per cent. fund, had been by the Cashier of the State Bank invested in United States Treasury notes bearing an interest of six per cent.
15. Pursuant to a joint resolution of the Legislature, Congress had passed an act, authorizing the different Land Offices to receive the bills of the State Bank and Branches in payment of preemp- tion rights, which will form the second installment of the two per cent. fund, which will probably be larger than the first. Out of this fund, $120,000 of the money is to be loaned to the Mont- gomery and West Point Railroad Company. The Company, through their President, Charles T. Pollard, Esq., had intimated an unwillingness to accept the loan on the terms specified in the act, and proposed some modifications, as will be seen in the letter of the President accompanying the message.
16. The opinion is expressed that the amount on deposit in the Banks, arising from the sale of 16th Sections, is a trust fund held 22
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by the State, the principal of which should not be touched, and the interest alone applied to Education. He is opposed to pay- ing over the amount, in currency, to the commissioners of the townships, and suggests that a certificate of stock be issued to each township, renewable at the pleasure of the State, the inter- est on which to be appropriated annually to the purposes of edu- cation.
17. In yielding his assent at the last session to the bills placing the Branch Banks in liquidation, the Governor did so with some degree of reluctance, from an apprehension that so sudden a change in our financial policy would have an injurious effect. But experience had removed that fear, and the people have approved the acts.
18. The operations of our banking system are pronounced by the Governor to be deceptive in theory and delusive in practice, as all forms of Bank credits must necessarily be. When a bad currency is displaced, a better one will fill the vacuum, so that gold and silver will come in from foreign exchanges, until the level of currency and prices is fully established, of which Louis- iana and Mississippi already furnish examples.
19. As an effectual way of closing up the Banks, the plates on which the bills were printed, should be destroyed, an omission in the act of the last Legislature requiring the bills to be burned.
20. State bonds due in 1842, 1844, and 1865, amounting in the aggregate to $219,000, have been paid by the Huntsville branch, and are now to be disposed of as the Legislature may direct. The Governor recommends that they be destroyed by the President and Directors of the State Bank.
21. The tax imposed by the last General Assembly for the sup- port of the Government, has been cheerfully submitted to by the people. The mode of assessing the tax on land, without classifi- cation, has not been generally approved, and should be modified to meet the wishes of the people.
22. The public faith must be protected. Honor and interest demand it at any sacrifice of a temporary convenience. The Gov- ernor says "in parting with a portion of our property in discharg- ing a public debt, we are only going to the expense of preserving a principle, which renders the remainder more secure, and there- fore more valuable."
23. With our usual punctuality, the interest on our State has been paid for 1843, and ample means are in the banks to pay the interest due in 1844. [The Bank reports show it to be $471,- 507.80.] The Governor recommends that a sufficient fund be raised by taxation to provide, permanently, for all payments of interest in the future.
24. At great expense to the State at every session the General
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Assembly is called upon for a vast quantity of special legislation, such as constituting married women free traders, as femes sole; in- corporating small towns and villages; commercial, manufacturing and mining companies; special tax laws; establishing toll-gates and ferries; besides many other subjects purely local and special in their character-all of which might be transferred, by a general act, to the Courts of Chancery, to the Circuit Courts, and to the County Courts, in classes to suit the exigency.
25. The University, under its present able faculty, is receiving, as it merits, a liberal patronage from the public, as a nursery of the talents of young men who are destined to fill important sta- tions in society. Provision by law is recommended to relieve the institution of the large drain upon it, in the form of interest to the State Bank.
26. The Constitution requiring the census of Alabama to be taken, in 1844, provision by law is recommended for that purpose.
27. Two certain lots in Mobile, belonging to the Branch Bank, as a part of its real estate, have been excluded from sale, at the request of the Medical Society of Mobile, who intend to memori- alize the Legislature to make a donation of these lots to the So- ciety, for the purpose of founding a Medical College. As the lots were not likely to depreciate in value from the postponement, the Governor was willing to leave the way open to their final dis- position by the General Assembly.
28. Among the vacancies which had occurred in judicial offices since the last adjournment, was that caused by the resignation of the Hon. Henry Goldthwaite, Judge of the Supreme Court; of two Judges of the Circuit Court, one Solicitor, the Quarter-Master- General, and the Judges of the County Courts of eight counties.
29. The Governor says that, on the 6th of October, he made the annual visit, as required by law, to the Penitentiary, and ex- amined the prison and convicts, with that scrutiny which the act required him to perform, and which duty seemed to demand. The result of the examination satisfied him, that neatness and order pervaded the institution, and that a proper discipline ap- peared to characterize its operations.
30. The annual report of the Inspectors, submitted with the message, suggests some alterations in the Penal Code, which seem to be salutary, in the administration of criminal justice.
The message was read and laid on the table, and in the House 3,000 copies ordered to be printed.
A joint Committee of Arrangements, having prepared for the ceremony, Gov. FITZPATRICK was inaugurated for a second term, on Friday, December 8, in presence of both Houses, and of a large audience in the lobby and gallery, including a rich display of beauty and fashion by the fair sex.
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This may be noted as a quiet, short session, the Legislature de- voting itself mainly to such amendments as the experience of the year suggested, under the measures of the last session relating to the Banks and the revenue. The subject of apportionment of the members of the General Assembly, and the White and Mixed basis, was brought forward early in the session, by Mr. Marion D. K. Taylor, one of the Representatives from Butler. It is proper to remark that, in the elections of 1843, the issue of the basis of apportionment made at the last session, was raised in many counties in which candidates called "Mixed Basis" Democrats were in the field, and which counties were otherwise Whig, and, in some in- stances, they were elected. Mr. Taylor was a Democrat, in favor of the mixed basis. His resolutions are the following:
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