1.1. SECRET SESSION
FIRST DAY

The Convention went into secret session at a few minutes past 10 o'clock, A. M.; and, after a few unimportant preliminaries, the following resolution, offered by Mr. R. Y. CONRAD, of Frederick, and amended by Mr. WYSOR, of Pulaski, was adopted:

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to inform the Governor of the Commonwealth that this Convention is now in secret session, and to request him to communicate to it, from time to time, such information as may be, in his opinion, important for it to have.

The following committee was appointed under that resolution:

Messrs. R. Y. CONRAD, BENJ. F. WYSOR and WM. H. MACFARLAND.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution, hoping that it will lead to no discussion:

Resolved, That the President of this Convention be directed to invite and earnestly request the attendance of the Governors of the border slave States, to wit: North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas, at this place, at their earliest convenience, for the purpose of conference and consultation in regard to the present condition of the country.

I desire to say that I offer that resolution with a belief that this Convention will, to-day or to-morrow, or in some short time, pass an ordinance of secession. I think it is highly important that we should have this consultation with these gentlemen.

It will take some time to get these gentlemen here. I do not want to wait until they get here, and I therefore move to lay the resolution on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. TYLER, of Charles City-I beg leave to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Governor of the Commonwealth be requested to communicate to this body any official despatches which he may have received from Washington, calling upon Virginia for any quota of troops, under the President's recent proclamation.

The resolution was adopted.

I will ask what disposition has been made of the reports of the Commissioners to Washington?

No disposition has been made of them.

I move that they be now taken up and considered.

Agreed to. [Mr. WM. B. PRESTON, one of the Commissioners who went to Washington, then addressed the Convention for some hours. His speech is yet in his hands for revision, and will be published as soon as sent to the "Enquirer" office.]1This speech by Mr. Preston has not been found in the Enquirer.

I desire, as far as possible, like the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] to confine myself to clearly ascertained facts; but it will be impossible for me to avoid giving, to some extent, the impressions that I derive from the conversation with the President of the United States, and from facts that came to our knowledge within the City of Washington.

The President requested that his conversation would not be reported, and, as a matter of course, I shall not undertake to say what he said, inasmuch as I might mistake his language. But, I presume, it will be perfectly legitimate to state the impression which that conversation made upon me. The reason that he assigned for desiring that it should not be reported, as I understand, was that it might be misreported; and I shall not undertake, therefore, to state what he said. But I deem it my duty to-this-Convention, to state the impressions that conversation made upon me.

Mr. President, I believe, from all that I have heard, and can understand, that we are in the beginning of the greatest war that has ever been waged upon this continent. That war will be conducted with the entire force of the Federal Government, and will, unquestionably, in the start, command the entire support of the Northern people. I believe, sir, that a warlike policy has been in part impressed upon the popular sentiment of the North; and, from what I now observe in the public press, I see no ground to hope that, at least, in the beginning of that war, there will be any serious division among them. I conferred yesterday with a gentleman who had just come from the North-west, and with other gentlemen just from the city of New York, and they all told me that where they travelled there, there was but one opinion, and that in favor of war.

Now, sir, what is the object of that war? It is ostensibly defensive-merely to re-possess certain forts and arsenals which have been seized by the Confederate States, and to collect the revenue. But can it be a defensive war? Can it be to re-possess Fort Sumter and the other forts seized by the Confederate States? Can you for a moment believe that they will be allowed to recover these back? There is no chance of it; .Page5 and then will not a discretion be given to the commanders of the United States forces which will necessarily induce them to follow up the contest and to disperse the defending army? If so, there is an aggressive war at once. You may as well attempt to circumscribe a fire in a prairie as to attempt to confine a war to the neighborhood of the forts intended to be re-possessed. We see by the President's proclamation that 75,000 men are to be called into action, and as we have every reason to believe that it is the wish of the administration that at least one-third of that number should be concentrated upon the frontier of Virginia and at the City of Washington, my own opinion is, that unless this State views this just now as a military question, and unless she considers military preparations as of the first and primary importance, we will be a subjugated people. As for a position of neutrality in this shock of arms, if any were base enough to desire it, he could not attain it. Why, you are called upon already to furnish your quota of men! You are now furnishing your contingent of money to pay that army. You do not occupy a neutral position now; and you have got sons who are required by their military oath and allegiance to serve in that army, and who, unless you call them back to you, will serve in that army and commit themselves to the policy of the administration. There is only one course which would ensure neutrality. If they would permit you to separate yourselves from the United States without connecting yourselves with the other States, you might stand idle, and dishonorably witness this war upon your own frontiers. But as long as you are connected with one side or the other, you must be a party to the war. There is no alternative; you have got to fight-and the question is, which side will you fight with? If, in place of girding your loins for battle, you go into council with irresolute, divided, unprepared States, you will put a clog upon your military preparations which will render them wholly inefficient. In my humble judgment the very first step which the safety of this State imperiously requires is, to release herself from all constitutional obligations to the people and to the government who are preparing to coerce her sister States of the South. As a military question, waiving all political considerations, looking solely to that which will enable us to maintain our liberties, I believe that the very first step in the preparation must be to relieve ourselves from all further constitutional obligations to that government, and to call home from its service all of our sons who are willing to abide by you.

There are two things, Mr. President, which are to be done quickly, and to some extent secretly. I shall not attempt here to suggest the .Page6 plan of a campaign. I am a civilian; but we may all form opinions as to the general preparations necessary. In the first place, here is a dock-yard which it would be important for us immediately to possess. I took occasion to walk through it on Thursday, while in Norfolk, and to converse with the officer in charge of it, and to find out what they were doing. I ascertained that there are stored there 30,000 barrels of gunpowder, besides several hundred guns of heavy calibre. If you seize all that immense dock-yard, with all its ship timber, its vessels in the streams, your armament is complete. You have got what you most need; an ample supply of powder, vessels in stocks and materials for a navy force. If you stand idly by-even now they are stripping it of everything and moving it off-all that material will be employed to subjugate instead of defend you. Last winter, while acting on the Military Commission of the State, of which I am a member, I called at the War Department and got them to show me a list of the arms within the State belonging to the United States. I found that there were at Harper's Ferry 48,000 Minie muskets and a much larger number of smooth bore muskets. It would be an easy matter to prevent the removal of those by breaking up the railroad track of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road and the question now is whether you will give up these arms to the enemy or keep them yourselves.

There is another great object to be looked to. The plan of operation on the other side has to be formed upon your frontier; and it is absolutely necessary, without delay, to form your plan of action and to see that you do not bring into the field undisciplined, unorganized battalions against disciplined and organized battalions. Now, sir, neither of these objects can be properly attained without the agency and control of experienced and regular officers, and these you cannot get so long as you are connected with that government, and they are in its service. We saw many of them at Washington. Our room was a perfect anteroom for sailors and soldiers for an entire day. We were called upon by many connected with the military and naval service. We had many confidential conversations with gentlemen in both these departments of the public service; and the impression was that so long as the State remained in the Union they would remain in the United States service; but the moment she went out, their services would be at her control. I understood that some committed themselves on the other side, and were now prepared to make war upon the State of their birth.

These, sir, were men of rank, and chiefly connected with the navy. Let this war go on while you are in the Union, and you will lose .Page7 the services of many brave and experienced officers; you will lose all opportunity of organizing and disciplining your own troops while organization and instruction is going on on the other side; so that those 75,000 militia men will be made efficient soldiers by the time you have done your counsels, and then you will have to commence your preparations when, perhaps, it may be too late.

Mr. President, I don't see how it is possible for us to maintain our independence in the face of that power, unless we at once and without a delay of twenty-four hours, commence immediate preparation. Shall we do this by going to Kentucky, which has not appropriated a dollar to raise an armed soldier? By going to Tennessee, which does not consider the cause of sufficient importance to assemble a convention in reference to it? By going to Missouri, which is almost on the side of the enemy? By going to Maryland, where a Henry Winter Davis is elected while the South is battling for equality? Shall we best vindicate our liberty and independence by counselling with irresolute, divided and distracted States? or by throwing ourselves at once into the arms of the only organized government which is ready to do battle with us and for us? I don't object to conference with the border States. I think it respectful; I think it proper; but I do most earnestly protest-and I desire to put that protest on record, and to stand acquitted of all responsibility in the matter-against delaying the action of Virginia until these States can be brought to concur with us. I believe that you will get their concurrence sooner by going out, and by sending commissioners to them to explain to them that the emergency was so great that you could not wait to consult with them. I believe you will get their co-operation sooner by that course than you will by assembling in Convention and discussing the question, whether you will fight on one side or the other, or fight at all? That question is settled. You have got to fight; and the further question is settled as to which side you have got to fight on; and the next question is, whether you will act promptly and efficiently?

There is another question? While you are restraining, counseling and admonishing your own people, and distracting them, you are preparing to pay the costs of both sides of this war. Why, sir, loans will be immediately engaged by the United States Government, and they will have no difficulty in obtaining what they need. I believe they can now command, in the fervor of public feeling at the North, all the money necessary, and it will require some forty or fifty millions to maintain that force for a year in the field; and your share of that will be over half or perhaps three quarters of a million a year. By .Page8 this delay you are placing yourselves in a position where you will be called upon to pay on both sides. Even in a pecuniary point of view, it is the interest of the State at once to place herself by the side of her Southern sisters, and make common cause with them. As to the proposed conference with the border States, I take it, that we do not need advice now. We need help, we need bayonets, not counsel, in the extremity in which we now find ourselves. I have great respect for the opinions of the statesmen from Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri; but I don't want to stop to hear them talk when a campaign is formed and arranged for the invasion of the Commonwealth, on one side of our border.

Let us get ready, not as a member of the Northern Confederacy; but let us detach ourselves from that Union, and throw the responsibility of the military operations upon the government of the Northern Confederacy, which will also have to bear the expense of the war. Let us do that speedily, and at the same time counsel with our friends; but do not let us defer these most indispensable preparations to hear the opinions of any man.

Sir, the destiny of Virginia is committed now to our hands. We are sent here to advise the people. Don't let us distract the people by submitting to them alternate propositions. We are sent here to tell them what we think they ought to do, not to throw upon them the decision of a military or other question which ought to be considered here with closed doors. Whether the State would be benefited by cooperation or separate action, we are the people to decide. We know the grounds upon which to decide. We have the information, and they look to us for advice; and, in my judgment, we should be wanting in our duty to them, if we failed to indicate to them the line of policy which, in our judgment, they ought to pursue.

Having said this much, it only remains for me to say, so far as my future action is concerned, I mean to forget, as far as I can, all differences upon this floor. I do not mean to go back and fix the blame upon anybody. I wish to consider that there is no blame to attach to any one; that we will be responsible only for the future. Let the responsibility of the past go, and let us take a fair start. Let us have no criminations or recriminations. I do entreat gentlemen, in this most perilous hour, to take no step which they may hereafter repent of-to take no step which will distract and divide the people, or which will weaken the moral or material power of the Commonwealth. Let us, if we can, unite our counsels, and, without personal asperity, without crimination seek to work out the salvation of this common .Page9 mother of us all. Let us forget all sectional animosities, all party differences, all past criminations, and come to the consideration of these questions with an ardent desire to conciliate, to harmonize, and to achieve for this Commonwealth that safety which she leaves to us to secure for her. I shall, therefore, whilst I have most decided views upon this question of secession, listen with respect to all opposing counsels; and if my judgment can be brought to concur in any other line of policy, it will give me the greatest pleasure to acknowledge that my reason has been convinced, and to join my humble efforts to those of gentlemen who differ from me.

I had not expected to open my lips during the remainder of this session; but, in consequence of what has been said by the gentlemen who were associated with me in my mission to Washington, and in consequence of what seems to me to be an understanding that each member of that Commission shall give the benefit of his observations on that mission, I feel bound to say a few words.

And first, sir, I take occasion to express the pleasure which I feel at the harmony which existed among the members of that Commission, during the mission. When we were appointed, we were represented as belonging to different parties upon this floor. I was represented as belonging to the extreme Union party. My friend who sits before me [Mr. PRESTON] was represented as belonging to the middle party; and my other friend, who sits across the way [Mr. RANDOLPH] was represented as belonging to the ultra Southern party. But I am happy to say that there was no division of sentiment between us, in reference to anything that occurred during our mission.

I do not think it necessary to repeat what has been said by those gentlemen in regard to what occurred in our interview with the President. We had not only an official interview, in which we received an official answer, but we had also a conversation of considerable length, which was intended to be somewhat explanatory of the written communication.

The President said to us that he desired that the conversation should not be treated as a part of the communication, and as such reported to the Convention. He stated, at the same time, that it was from no indisposition that it should be known, but from an apprehension he entertained that it would not be correctly reported, and that any irregular communication was liable to misconception. There was an implied understanding between us that we would not detail that .Page10 conversation, and, of course, my colleagues have refrained from so doing.

I think the President observed that what transpired there was under confidence between gentlemen.

The gentleman reminds me that he expressly said, that what was said in the interview referred to was under confidence between gentlemen. I know that the obligation existed. I speak of it as an obligation which I do not mean to violate.

But I may be permitted to say that I did not conceive that a good portion of that conversation should go without an answer. In the interview, if my colleagues will remember, upon my own responsibility, disclaiming any authority from them, and professing to speak for myself alone, I gave to him very plainly my views of his conduct and of his administration. I feel, sir, that there is no obligation of secrecy upon me to withhold from the Convention what I said. That is my secret; that is subject to my control; and, while it may not be of much interest, yet, as it may shed some little light upon the character of the interview, I will state, as fully as I can, what my remarks to him were.

I stated to him, that while I could readily perceive his sense of obligation to enforce the law, and could give him credit for sincerity in his attempt to enforce it, yet that I must be permitted to say to him, that I thought he had fallen into a great error. I instanced, in the first place, the revenue law, and stated that he ought to remember that while he was under an obligation to enforce the law, the law itself provided agencies and instrumentalities by which they were to be enforced; and that it was as much his obligation to pursue the mode pointed out by the law, as it was to execute the law itself. These agencies, I said, were part and parcel of the law, and he was bound to respect them; and I remarked that whenever he undertook to depart from the mode which the law pointed out for its own enforcement, he was no longer enforcing the law, but usurping power not conferred upon him by law, and that did not exist. I stated much on the subject of the collection of duties, and at length came to where, as regards the lighter duties, the Collector is authorized to make all the machinery necessary for the collection of the revenue. I then stated to him that, as this machinery did not exist, his authority ceased with it. He could only execute the laws through this agency, and when this agency no longer existed he had no right to substitute others than those which the law itself provided. I then referred to the case of the Courts. I remarked to him that the power to use the military authority of the.Page11 country was in all cases subordinate to the civil power; that it could only be used as ancillary or subsidiary to the civil power; and that as soon as the Courts ceased to exist, and the civil authority was withdrawn from the seceded States, he had no authority to employ the military power for the enforcement of the laws, and that any attempt to do so by him would be a violation of the law, instead of an enforcement of it.

I then referred to the forts. I stated to him that I cherished the hope that he would find it consistent with his sense of duty to withdraw his troops, at least from those forts which were, strictly speaking, local; that he might find it consistent with his sense of official obligation to withdraw the troops from Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens, and any other local forts which had no great national functions to perform; but which were intended for the defence of the particular locality in which they were situated. It seems, sir, that I was making the same discrimination, by accident, in regard to the forts, which was made in this Convention. I drew a distinction between the forts which I understand to be national and those that were local. I referred to Fort Sumter and the Tortugas, and stated that whilst the latter might be regarded as national in their purposes, as fulfilling national functions which interested New York and Massachusetts even more than Florida, yet, that when it came to these local forts, I could conceive that there was no public necessity for his retaining them. I said to him that upon this subject his power was plenary; that, as Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, he had power to dispose of these forces as to him seemed most expedient. I referred to the fact that it was an every-day occurrence to evacuate forts which it was no longer expedient to hold, and I had cherished the hope that he would find that it was no longer expedient to hold Fort Sumter or Fort Pickens, because they were no longer necessary for purposes of local defence; at least for the present. I stated that he might have withdrawn the troops from these forts without any renunciation of the jurisdiction of the United States over them; but that he might have made a public proclamation of his purpose in withdrawing the troops; that it was in the interests of peace, and that he would make an appeal to the people of the country to adjust these distracting issues which now are upon us. I stated to him that his predecessors had admitted that these questions were too grave and important to be dealt with by the Executive or Legislative authority of the country; that the only power competent to deal with them was either a Convention or Congress of the United.Page12 States, through the Legislatures. At this point he interrupted me by saying that he made that appeal. I thanked him for referring to the fact, and assented to the truth of it, that he had, in his Inaugural Address, proceeded to make that appeal to the people of the United States; but I reminded him that he made that appeal after the Congress of the United States had adjourned. I reminded him of the fact that the Congress of the United States was the only agency through which a response could be obtained to that appeal. I here stated that it had been my expectation and hope, that in fulfilling the policy enunciated in his Inaugural, he would have felt called upon to convoke Congress to carry out the policy which he indicated in his Inaugural; but I called his attention to the fact, that instead of enforcing the policy indicated by that Inaugural, in carrying out this appeal after having addressed the appeal to an arbiter of his own selection, before that arbiter had gone upon the judgment seat, he prejudged the result of the appeal by his course. I felt it due to myself to make these remarks to the President, which were, as near as I can recollect, without any premeditation or previous preparation.

Now, I desire to say a few words more. I confess, sir, that, like my friends who were associated with me, I regard the President's answer as in the highest degree unsatisfactory. I regard it, while courteous in form, as almost hostile in intent. But I must confess further, that I was utterly unprepared for the developments which have taken place since. All the inferences which my mind could draw from the interview were directly at variance with these subsequent developments. While his policy was decidedly expressed, yet I understood him, from our official communications-and the general impressions left on my mind, favored that idea-as intending nothing like a general war, nothing in the shape of a general system of hostilities. I understood his whole efforts to be limited to the special purpose of re-occupying the forts. While he said in his communication to us that he would, after the attack upon Fort Sumter, feel himself at liberty to recapture, if he could, that and other public property seized by the seceded States, he did not indicate any determination of purpose to do so. While he indicated that he might be at liberty to discontinue the mails, yet he did not indicate any purpose to do so. The inference that I drew was, that there was no such purpose as seemed to have existed; and while I cannot refer to anything which would justify me in imputing a want of candor, either to the Executive or to any of his advisers, yet I must confess that I was so entirely taken by surprise by the appearance of the.Page13 proclamation, that I did not for a moment believe that it was authentic. I believed that it was a sensation document, gotten up by some mischievous persons; and such was my confidence of that fact, that as soon as I read the document yesterday, I repaired to my room, prepared a despatch to the Secretary of State, to ask him whether it was genuine or fabricated. I received a response from him late last night that it was genuine-a response which I was prepared to receive, of course, from the news which we learned through the mail. Like my colleagues, I therefore think, in view of this communication of the President to the Convention, through this Committee, and in view of the proclamation of the President of the United States to the whole people, that there is no hope of an amicable arrangement with the Administration. I have cherished, sir, a most ardent hope that matters would be solved peaceably. If there be any man upon this floor who has cherished a more ardent, a more decided, a more, I must say, religious and sincere love for this Union than any other, I claim to be that man. Seventy-nine years ago, the people of Augusta deputed my father to this city as a member of the Convention to ratify and adopt the Constitution which formed this Union. After a lapse of three-quarters of a century, the same county, the descendants of the same constituency, have deputed me here to uphold and sustain it. I have, therefore, sir, a traditionary attachment to the Union. I will stand by it, sir, as long as I can stand by it consistently with the honor and the interests of Virginia. I must confess that my hopes in the perpetuation of the Union, as it now stands, have been greatly weakened, if they have not been entirely destroyed.

It seems proper, then, for us to decide in this emergency what we, as Virginians, are to do. There are three lines of policy that lay before us: One is to remain in the Union as we are, and to lend our forces and our arms to the subjugation of our Southern sisters. I believe, sir, that there is no man upon this floor who is prepared to stand here in that attitude. There is no man who desires to retain his connection with the present Union, without these guarantees of protection, and without the adoption of that satisfactory line of policy which would be consistent with the interest and the honor of the Commonwealth. Sir, if we remain as we are we abandon, in my judgment, all hope of obtaining any such guarantees; we abandon all hope of security, and we lend ourselves to the purposes of a dominant, sectional majority. I am not, then, sir, for adopting that line of policy.

But there are two others. One is to secede immediately, and the .Page14 other is to ask the co-operation of our sister States which have not yet seceded. I propose to make a few remarks upon this subject, all unprepared as I am, and all unexpected as the discussion is to me. And, sir, I wish to present them in a plain, practical point of view. I am a plain, practical man, who endeavors to look at things in a plain, practical, common sense point of view. Now let us see what would be the effect if an Ordinance of Secession is adopted at this time.

Here is a war waging. Here is an immense preparation made on the part of the United States Government for carrying on that war. The present seat of that war is at a remote part of the Union. It is now confined to the region about the city of Charleston and the city of Pensacola. These are the points where the war is now seated. What would be the effect of the immediate secession of Virginia? It would be to transfer the seat of war from the Gulf of Mexico, and from the extreme Southern part of our Atlantic coast, to the bosom of Virginia. Yes, sir, your county [Loudoun] that county situated upon the old highway, North and South; the county of Jefferson and the county of Berkeley, would be the Flanders in this war. I could not conceive of any greater favor that you could confer upon this Black Republican administration than to secede now. It is attended with great cost and with great danger, to place every gun and every man at that remote point of our territory. The climate is insalubrious; the warm season is advancing, and if the war is prosecuted there, you may expect pestilence to be a more valuable ally than your armies. You may well expect that the miasma arising from the swamps of Florida, and the swamps that surround Charleston, would sweep out of existence more of the invaders than the arms of the Commonwealth and the Confederate States. All the provisions for the support of the Northern armies would have to be transported thousands of miles, at great expense; and it is under great difficulties that they could be supplied at all. But, sir, by Virginia's seceding you transfer the seat of war to this fertile and salubrious country. You transfer it to a country that furnishes every supply that is necessary for the support of the troops; to a climate that is entirely salubrious to the Northern troops who would be engaged in prosecuting the war. Yes, sir, you bring it home to your own fair cities and families. You go into this war without any aid from any quarter. We have no alliance with the Confederate States, nor our sister border States not yet seceded, and Virginia would stand alone between the Federal Government and the Confederate States of the South. She would be the battle ground. Her fields .Page15 would be laid waste, and her citizens would become the victims of the conflict.

And, sir, what is our state of preparation? Where is our ordnance? Where is our musketry? Where are our rifles? Where, in fact, are any of the munitions of war, which are indispensable for our security? Sir, you may talk about courage, and you may talk about chivalry; but I say it is not true courage and true chivalry to rush into such an unequal contest as that. I say, in my judgment it would be folly and fool-hardiness in the extreme. What is the condition of our Treasury? Let me tell you, sir; because it has been my melancholy duty to make myself familiar with it, being a member of the Senate of Virginia, and having occasion to examine the financial condition of the State. I tell you, you are bankrupt. In order to raise the money to buy a few arms, you were obliged to resort to the miserable expedient of attempting to issue one million of treasury notes. There is no money in your treasury; your credit is gone; your bonds are selling now, as some gentleman remarked, at some sixty dollars. Even the munitions which are to be bought under the operation of this treasury note bill, have not yet been supplied. Intimations have been given that the Governor has made a contract, and that there is some misunderstanding in regard to a portion of it. But, sir, all must concur that we are not in a condition to go to war, and I say that it is the part of common prudence, common sense and humanity, that we should not engage in war until we shall have prepared ourselves for the conflict.

My friend over the way, from the city of Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] has suggested the idea of the capture of the Navy Yard at Gosport, and of the Armory at Harper's Ferry. Let me call his attention, and that of the Convention, to the relations which we now bear to the Federal Government.

An ordinance of secession does not terminate our relations with the Federal Government. An ordinance passed by this body is not a dissolution of the ties which bind us to the Union. It goes forth simply as matter of advice to the people; and, without the ratification of the people, it is not worth the paper on which it is written. What, then, are we to do? Are we acting under the obligation of an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as I venture to say almost every man in this body is? I ask gentlemen, under these circumstances, if they are prepared, in view of the obligation of that oath, to make, as it were, a flagrant and unprovoked war upon the Government of the United States by seizing upon these public arsenals? Sir, this property is left there in our charge, I may say, and .Page16 I do not see how we can, consistent with our confederate obligations, seize upon the property which lies within our borders, under the implied confidence, at least, that it will be secure in our midst.

It is not my purpose to detain the Convention with any elaborate views of all the considerations which would forbid the idea of immediate secession. Sir, let us look to other consequences which must result. In my opinion, secession is not only war, but it is emancipation; it is bankruptcy; it is repudiation; it is wide-spread ruin to our people; nay, sir, it must be more. It may result not only in a dissolution of the Union, but it may result in another dissolution, which, to me, would be more painful, even, than the overthrow of the Union itself. It may result in a dissolution of the bonds which bind together the different great slopes of this State.

We all know that communities are governed by their interests. We all know that there are certain laws of attraction which are laws of nature, which are not controllable, and which lead to the formation of commercial relations that are more binding than political relations. Here we have our State divided into two great mountain shoots-one sloping to the Atlantic, and the other to the Ohio. We find the trade and the social relations of that mountain slope intertwined and associated with the great West. We find almost all their relations connected with the non-slaveholding States of the great West. These people, then, will be called upon to sever connections of the most intimate character-connections which affect vitally every interest which they have-connections which are indispensable to their enjoyment, their social happiness and prosperity. We may count upon the patriotism of that region. I do not want to question it, sir. But when this thing has gone on; when this merciless and desolating war shall have progressed for some length of time; when taxes shall have become intolerable and burthensome, you may rely upon it that the people will begin to look into the cause of the war; and, looking to the relations which they bear to this cause, they will be led, I fear, ultimately, to conclude that their interest in the war is secondary to other interests which they have connected with their material prosperity.

But, sir, as wise, sagacious statesmen, we should not lose sight of these facts, and that before we take this fearful step-for fearful it is, sir, in every aspect in which we can view it-we should pause and ponder well.

But, sir, there is another aspect of the case. We have already held out to our sister States that have not yet seceded, the idea that we .Page17 intended to co-operate with them. We have passed, in Committee of the Whole, which embodies this whole Convention, by a large majority, an invitation to these States to co-operate with us in this trying emergency. Three of these States have already responded to that call. They have either appointed or taken steps for the appointment of delegates to meet delegates from this Convention in consultation, at Frankfort, on the 27th of next month. Now, sir, in what attitude would we stand-how would we be regarded, if, in violation of our previous action and of our invitation to them, we should now precipitately rush ourselves out of the Union without consulting them? Did we not all complain of the action of South Carolina, in going out of the Union without consultation with any of her sister States? Did we not complain that she should go out of the Union without consultation with the other Southern States and change their relations both with her and the General Government? I think there were few, if any who did not believe that South Carolina acted rashly, unwisely and improperly. Now, sir, I for one am not for following the example of South Carolina; but even if South Carolina did not stand in the same relation to the other States in which we stand to the sister States that have not seceded, here is our invitation gone forth, the invitation accepted by three or four of those States, and when the day arrives, they will find that they have been treated with the most marked disrespect, and that without that conference we have undertaken to assume a new line of policy which changes their relations as well as ours to the General Government.

Will the gentleman permit me to interrupt him?

The gentleman is speaking of an invitation from Virginia to the Border States. I should be glad to hear from the gentleman, what source was it that that invitation came from.

I have stated already that it was an invitation extended through the Committee of the Whole.

I ask the gentleman if the action of the Committee of the Whole is the action of the Convention?

Certainly not. I don't profess that it was a perfect invitation, but spoke of it as a qualified invitation-an invitation which was so well understood and so well recognized that it met with a response from three or four of our sister States. I discriminate between a quasi invitation; but still an invitation conveying fully the sense of the Convention, and an invitation having the formal approval of the Convention. The invitation having passed in Committee of the .Page18 whole by a large majority, it might readily be supposed that it would meet with the sanction of the body which was composed of the same material that composed the committee.

Let us look at the attitude in which we would stand. Here is Virginia surrounded on three sides by States that have not seceded, and on the other side bounded by the Atlantic ocean. How would we stand if North Carolina, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee refused to secede? I think sir, that it is due to these States that we should consult them; that it is the part of prudence that we should consult them before we take any final action. And upon the ordinary dictates of prudence, if a nation is going to war, does it not always seek such alliances as it may obtain-alliances offensive and defensive? When we were struggling for our independence did we not seek an alliance with France to aid us in our struggle for liberty? And I want to know if Virginia now, with a million of inhabitants, is to go into this unequal contest rashly and precipitately, when here are our allies around us who, by paying proper respect to them, would co-operate with us, as we have every reason to believe, in this great future struggle, if it shall come? But, if we have this conference, if these other States should come into line with us, if we show an unbroken front, then I cherish the hope that the North, according to the argument which has been urged by our friends, the secessionists, will see that it is a hopeless task to attempt to subjugate these eight States, in addition to the seven seceded States; and that, instead of the bloody war which we now expect, we might have a peaceable adjustment of our difficulties.

Sir, I am in favor of making this appeal. I am opposed to passing any ordinance of immediate secession. I am in favor of addressing this invitation to our sister States to meet us in Conference at Frankfort on the 27th of next month. I want to have a full and fair interchange of opinion in secret session with them there, and I want to ascertain what they intend to do. I want to ascertain when they are ready to act. I want to tender the olive branch, not to the administration-because, as I said, I am hopeless of any good from that quarter; but I believe that the relations of business interests and those social ties which connect the Border States, on either side, will exercise the most potent influence on either side of the dividing line; and I would be willing to tender to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, such amendments to the Constitution, or such a new Constitution as we are willing to live under. I would invite their aid and concurrence. I would invite them to join us under a new Constitution, framed with such guarantees as would give to us.Page19 effectual security for all our rights. I would invite them to disconnect themselves from the extreme North and North-west, and, unlike some of my friends, my information leads me to believe that such an appeal would be responded to by these States.

Sir, fanaticism is a great evil, and I would avoid contact with it as I would a plague; but business relations, private interests, social ties, the ties of brotherhood, the ties of intermarriage and of communication, in every form and shape in which they can take place, must, to a great extent, counterbalance this odious fanaticism; and in severing those political ties, I would seek to withdraw these States from their allegiance to the Federal government-I would seek to induce them to become part and parcel of our new government. I would seek to have a tier of friendly States between the slaveholding States and the States of the extreme North and North-west. By pursuing this policy we would, I believe, ultimately effect a reconstruction of the Union upon such terms as we would dictate. We could compel the young States to come into our terms or to remain outside of this great Central Confederacy. We would establish such a government here in the great heart of this Continent as that our Southern sisters would quickly unite with us ; because under its flag they would feel there would be security from every foe, external and internal.

Sir, let us look at some of the primary effects of immediate secession: Why, sir, under the intimations thrown out by the President, this country might in one week after the passage of the Ordinance of Secession, be in the condition of a man whose arms are paralyzed. Your mails might be broken up, and all communication stopped, thus completely clogging all commercial operations with the great seat of commerce with which we hold the most important commercial relations. Sir, pass this Ordinance of Secession now, and you incur another hazard. You incur the hazard that the people themselves, not quite as sensitive to the highest notions of chivalry as the members of this Convention, but looking with a more unimpassioned view at the practical results, the interruptions to business, the burthensome taxation, the onerous military service, all the privations of every description which they are to suffer, might be induced to vote down the Ordinance of Secession. And where would you then stand? The gentleman before me [Mr. MORTON] says forcible revolution would follow. Revolution against whom? Against any body and every body. Well, sir, that is very vague and indefinite. I must confess I cannot comprehend it. I know the gentleman would not be willing to turn his sword against his brother, who, cherishing a feeling of attachment .Page20 to his country, might entertain a different notion of what is best for its interest. The gentleman says let them try. I know he is speaking under excitement. I know there is no feeling in his heart that would induce him to turn his sword against a brother. I do not question the gentleman's patriotism; but Providence has created man with different qualities. Providence has ordained these diversities of intellectual structure for many purposes. It enables man to look from different stand points. It enables man to see subjects in different aspects; and it is by comparison of different views that we are enabled to get at a full knowledge of the entire subject. I occupy that position here. The subject presents itself in one light to my eye on one side, while on the opposite side it presents itself in an entirely different light; yet we are equally honest in our views, and it is only by comparison of each that we finally learn to comprehend the whole subject.

I claim to be actuated by my own views of what is right, of what is just, patriotic and expedient, under all the circumstances of the case, looking at it in every aspect in which I can view it, but holding myself open to conviction-for I am not one of those who are in the habit of adopting opinions from which they cannot be moved. It is said that men of sense change their opinions, but fools never do-I claim at least that amount of intellect which does make me, when the light of reason is shed upon a subject and new information' is thrown upon me, cheerfully yield to its influence and change my opinion but, as I was saying, under all the circumstances of the case, and looking at it in every aspect in which I can view it, it seems to me that the proper course for this Convention to pursue would be to meet our sister border States in conference and consult with them on that great question which we are here considering, in order thereby to secure concert of action. This I believe to be the true policy.

I have thus given my views on this great measure. I choose to dictate to nobody, and will submit to no dictation from anybody. I will listen with candor and fairness to the views of every gentleman, that may be presented, and will endeavor, when we come to the closing scene of this great drama, to do what my judgment shall dictate as the best for the interest of our State and country.

Will the gentleman permit me to ask him a question?

Certainly.

The gentleman, I understood, in referring to the first proposition which he laid down, repudiated the idea of continuing in this Union.

Yes, sir.

The gentleman has not told us what would be his course in the event of the rejection or the abortion of the Border Conference. Suppose the Conference should fail, what position would he then have Virginia occupy?

I might answer the gentleman in the language of the Scripture : "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof ;" but I will say that his conclusions are so remote, so nearly relate to an impossibility, as scarcely to need any discussion. If we treat our sister States with ordinary respect, I can hardly look to such a contingency, or deem any measure necessary to provide for that contingency.

I beg leave to lay before the Convention the following communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth.

I did not intend to have said a word, but to listen to older and wiser heads than my own. But I cannot stand here and listen to the speech of the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. STUART], without making some remarks.

What do we find him saying to us? We find him counseling us now not only to take our own position at our leisure, but to inaugurate a .Page22 system of conference with the border States, whilst this Government, to which he says he will not submit, is now surrounding us with forces which are to subdue us in this Union. Is that what the gentleman desires? He says no. And now while they are chaining, haltering and pressing him down to that submission which he predicts, he wants to inaugurate a system of border State conference, and then to go with a proposition to these people at the North, asking them to permit us to live with them in peace. I tell you that such a policy is enough to make a patriot's heart sicken within him. I feel it; my people feel it, and the people of the whole State feel it, and they will hold responsible every man here to-day for any longer delay in taking the steps necessary to place Virginia in a position of independence. I am myself under serious obligation to obey the laws of the United States. Am I to be kept in a position in which the obligations under that oath shall continue to rest? And this is the position of every man in office in Virginia. The State should at once be placed in an attitude to relieve its citizens from this predicament. These are practical questions; you have got to meet them. Will you submit or will you resist this oppression? If you resist it, how long will it be before you undertake the task? I tell you, as certain as there is a God in Heaven, that, unless we act now and act promptly, we are a degraded and disgraced people; and I would rather die a soldier's death than stand here and see this great old Commonwealth disgraced by my action. I have been a Union man, but, my God, I never have been a submissionist. Here are these 120 gentlemen who voted a few days ago against coercion. Has not coercion commenced already, and are they not now bound in honor to make good the pledge which they have recorded? Let them go home to their constituents and ask them whether they will sustain them or not. They are upon the record and we mean to hold them to it.

I felt that it was due to myself that I should say this much. I don't mean to detain this Convention. I believe we ought to act, and to keep our actions secret. We ought to prepare now, and get possession of every available means within this State that will be worth anything to us in this contest. If we fail to do so, we will find that they will be used against us. Are you Virginians? You Western Virginians, prepared to submit to the system of oppression which is about being inaugurated by your enemies at Washington? I feel an abiding hope that you will not submit; but that you will take your stand by the side of your fellow citizens in Eastern Virginia. There is no reason why we should divide. We feel a deep interest in you, and can you.Page23 take any course, or aid in the inauguration of any policy which would dishonor and disgrace us? I trust not. For one, I shall raise my voice here against any such policy, and, so help me God, I hope that the people of Virginia will hold us all responsible for our action here. Gentlemen talk about their constituents; I have a Union constituency who elected me by a majority of one thousand, and I believe now that there are not ten Union men in that county to-day. I tell you there is no time to parley now. The time for action has come, and I trust the Convention will act fully up to the crisis.

I beg leave to submit a communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth for the consideration of the Convention.

I will state, sir, for the information of the Convention, that the gentleman whose name is appended to that despatch, is one of the most respectable and respected citizens of Norfolk.

The communication and the accompanying despatch were laid upon the table.

1.2. SECOND DAY

The Convention met at 10 o'clock, pursuant to adjournment.

After some discussion in reference to the mode by which part of yesterday's proceedings got into the columns of one of the Richmond papers-

Mr. CONRAD, of Frederick, offered the following resolution :

Resolved, That each member of this Convention should feel himself in honor bound not to disclose any portion of what may occur in secret session, until the injunction of secrecy shall be removed.

Mr. WISE offered the following by way of substitute, which was accepted by Mr. CONRAD, and unanimously adopted :

Resolved, That the order to go into secret session, bound, and still binds, the honor of each member carefully to keep secret what is said or done in such session.

Mr. COX, of Chesterfield, then offered the following resolution, which was adopted :

Resolved, That two door-keepers be sworn, whose duty it shall be to keep the rotunda and stairways clear.

The oath of secrecy was then administered to W. J. Leake, second door-keeper, and J. G. Moss, third door-keeper.

The Sergeant-at-Arms and first door-keeper were previously sworn.

The Chair has received a communication from the Governor, to be laid before the Convention, which the Secretary will read.

The Secretary then read the following reply of the Governor to the requisition for Virginia's quota of troops, made by the President of the United States through the Secretary of War:

In order to avoid misconception in regard to the supply of gun powder, I beg leave to add to the statement which I made yesterday, that the army commissioners purchased 30,000 pounds of powder, which was deemed a sufficient supply for a train of artillery of 12 or 15,000; that they had purchased 12,000 pounds of musket powder, which was deemed altogether insufficient. They would have purchased more had the funds been available at the time. Indeed, there was a difficulty in obtaining the powder even if all the means necessary to purchase it were at hand.

It is known that there are two great powder establishments in the country-those of Dupont and Hazard. Both of them have agents in this city, who usually keep a supply on hand sufficient at least for ordinary purposes; but I suppose their present supply will be altogether inadequate to the demand which the coming emergency will create. I learned this morning from a conversation with the agent for Dupont that the supply had been suffered to diminish very materially, and that there was not now under his control more than 300 kegs of powder, and he offered to place that under the control of the Governor. He stated that the present state of things in the South has caused the usual supply of powder to be cut off, so that we cannot expect to receive a great deal from that source. I have not been able to see Hazard's agent, but usually the supply of that agent is far less than that furnished to Dupont's agent, the manufactory being in Connecticut. This being the case, the State will have to take under her control all the powder now available, and supply herself from other sources.

The pending question now is, shall the main question be put, being the substitute offered by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] .

I had thrown myself .Page77 some time ago upon the indulgance of this body, while I offered some remarks on the subject of uniform taxation, which was a subject of a somewhat local character. I had hoped that at some stage of our deliberations, I should have had an opportunity to have addressed my brother members upon the state and condition of the country; but, sir, under the operation of the previous question, I am deprived of that opportunity. I desire now, in the few minutes left me, to state to this Convention and the country my position now, and the motives and impulses which have animated me during the session of this body.

Mr. President, I have been a Democrat, and still claim to be one. In the last Presidential election I acted in connection with that portion of the Democracy which had voted for John C. Breckinridge for President, fully endorsing, as I now do, the platform upon which he ran.

In order to reply to some sentiments which have been thrown out in this body by some members who have differed in political opinions with me, I desire, in support of my position, motives and sentiments, to refer to some sentiments uttered by Mr. Breckinridge in a speech delivered by him in the Hall of the House of Representatives in Kentucky on the 21st of December, 1859. I shall read but two passages.

In speaking of the Black Republican party, or rather their political platform as he then understood it to be, he used this language:

This, sir, was the language held by Mr. Breckinridge in the last published speech which he delivered prior to his nomination; and when I supported him, I did not think that I was making myself a party to the dissolution of this Union. I am satisfied, sir, that all of that party in my section of the State who supported Mr. Breckinridge were governed by higher and more patriotic motives in giving him their support, than that of dissolving this Union.

I have never been a disunionist. I have been in favor of perpetuating forever, if possible, the Constitution and our Union as it was transmitted to us by our fathers. I believe the Constitution has .Page78 been violated. I believe that the compromises of the Constitution have, in many instances, been trampled under foot; yet I had hoped that notwithstanding all this, a better state of feeling might be brought about, and the Union and the Constitution preserved and transmitted to the remotest posterity.

It was for these reasons that I had engaged in this body, with my whole heart and my whole soul, to endeavor, with my colleagues here, to bring about a restoration of the country to a condition of peace, harmony and mutual good will among both sections. But, sir, at this moment I see-I say it with the deepest sorrow-that it is a foregone conclusion on the part of a majority of the members of this body, that this Union is to be dissolved, and dissolved forever. Virginia has thus far stood firm, under the hope that reconciliation might be effected, notwithstanding that seven Southern States had already separated themselves from the Union. This hope, I regret to say, was not fulfilled, and the terrible consequence, it appears, is now upon us.

What am I to do? I cannot now argue this question. I desire, however, to state my position, and shall do so as briefly and explicitly as I can.

I know-I feel this day that the same patriotic spirit burns in my bosom that animates the heart of every member on this floor; yet, in the North-western portion of Virginia, from which I come, dissatisfaction will be produced by the passage of this ordinance, because of their isolated and defenceless condition-the result of the policy pursued towards that section by past legislation. While the bounty of the Commonwealth has been poured out upon every other section of the State, that section has been neglected ; and, sir, so much so that we have not the means of communication with your city, or the commercial ports of Virginia. We cannot get to this capitol without coming through the State of Maryland, having no other means of travel to this point than the Baltimore and Ohio rail road. My people have no trade whatever with any other point except the cities of Pittsburgh and of Baltimore, and in that state of things, I apprehend that, with the disruption of interests which will follow the act of secession, deep and bitter dissatisfaction will prevail among them upon the consummation of this act of dissolution.

Now, sir, I have been in favor of a Border State Conference. Why, sir? Because if Virginia moved and Maryland would not, the mountains and hills which, until within the last few years, have shut us out from the world, would again encircle us, and the only outlet which we have had would be effectually blocked up. We would be shut out from.Page79 every market, and our condition would be no better than was that of the primitive settlers of that vast North-western region.

In looking at the newspapers this morning, desirous to see the answers of the various Governors throughout the country to the requisition of the Secretary of War for troops, I find that the Governor of the State of Maryland has responded favorably to the demand made upon him by that official, and has further stated officially that Maryland determines to continue in the Union.

Now, what is the position in which we will be placed if Maryland is to adhere to the Union? We will be locked up in the mountains until you choose to let us out. Universal bankruptcy will spread all over my country. I sympathize with you, but the injury which will result from this mode of vindication to which you propose resorting will be ruin to my people. No man upon this floor has a more Southern constituency, in all their feelings, than I have; but they must consult their interests, and I, as their representative, must see that their interests suffer no detriment here, so far as lies in my power to prevent it.

What are we to do if Maryland takes this position and refuses to go out? Why, Mr. President, as has been remarked here before, we have Pennsylvania immediately upon our Northern border, and Ohio upon the West. In my county we have but one armed company, and a gallant company it is. We have men enough-men, too, of noble and patriotic hearts; but we need arms-and the question is, how are arms and munitions of war to be transported from the City of Richmond, or any other point in the east to that county? They cannot be sent there by any ordinary means of transportation; and the only other means of transportation is too slow and too expensive to offer any hope of efficient relief.

You will thus perceive that our predicament, in the event of the passage of the ordinance of secession, will be a peculiarly embarrassing one; and not the least of the evils which will be entailed upon us by this course of action, will be, as I very much apprehend, the manumission of every slave in our midst by the enemy.

I am a Virginian in every aspiration, and feeling, and sentiment. I stood by you at all times in defending your rights. I would like to do so now. I would like to see a united Virginia, and to that end I should have been pleased to see you pay some attention to our interests; for it is only in that way that you can reconcile our people to the sufferings and disadvantages to be entailed by dissolution. Why not now adopt some measure upon which we can all unite? Will you save us .Page80 by adopting the border State Conference proposition, or hand us over to a heartless enemy by passing the ordinance of secession? So far as I am concerned, I am in favor of protecting every right. My people are not cowardly. Those who think so, may be disappointed if they only go among them, or attempt to invade a single right of Virginia.

I believe there is not one of them that would not stand by her, and fully verify by their acts the noble motto of the Old Dominion-"Sic Semper Tyrannis." Let those people have a fair chance, and you will find them true to your interest and your honor.

While I make this appeal, I cannot help believing that it is a foregone conclusion that the ordinance of secession will be passed this day. Be it so. I have stated to you my position and the position of my people. I believe that co-operation could be had with the State of Maryland, that Virginia could carry her with her if she only took the proper steps, and united herself and the other border States into conference. If Maryland does not come, nothing but ruin awaits us. But, sir, if a sacrifice is to be made let it be made, and let us be the victims.

I would only say to my brother members here that when the question shall have been decided I will go to my people and communicate with and console them as best I can. I trust in that God who has ever been so kind, and whose guardianship our country has ever enjoyed, to stand by them to the last.

Mr. President—

I wish to give notice that I will object to any further violation of the rule as to time.

My friend from Princess Anne need not give that notice so far as I am concerned.

I do not refer to the gentleman in particular.

Representing one of the large counties of this Commonwealth, lying immediately upon the Pennsylvania line, with nothing but a wooden fence between my people and the Western portion of Pennsylvania, I desire simply to present to my fellow members here the condition of my people.

On the North side of Mason and Dixon's line, in that section lies an area about the same size of my county, called Fayette. That county has a population of about 40,000, while my county has a population of but 14,000. Back of western Pennsylvania lies western New York and northern Ohio. If you will turn to your table you will see that these sections include the largest population, perhaps, to the square mile of any other part of the free States. In addition to this, they have .Page81 the advantage of an armory at Pittsburg, which is one of the largest and best belonging to the Federal Government. They are well supplied with all the munitions of war, and, with such advantages and a population so vastly exceeding that on our side of the line, you may well imagine what our condition will be in the event of a war.

My county contains some of the descendants of the men of the Revolution, and of the descendants of the men who fought in the last war; probably more than any other two counties in the State. Following upon the last war, and immediately at the close of the Revolution, when that county was opened to settlement and the poor soldiers discharged from service, they sought a home there, carrying with them their trusty rifles. These rifles are still in the hands of their descendants, as well as some specimens of the Continental money.

During the last war-I mean the war of 1812-the men of Monongalia and of Preston not only came to the Eastern shore for the defence of Virginia, but went to the lakes and fought there in defence of your rights. They were prominent in all the battles along these frontiers; and I think it is but just to their descendants to day that some regard should be had to their interests in the action which this Convention may take at this time. They did not expect me to say anything about their bravery. Sir, they disregard any conflict that may come upon them; but they are aware of the vast difference in numbers and equipments which exists between them and the enemy. They know that the very moment the dogs of war are let loose that we are to be assailed from North of Mason and Dixon's line-that we are in fact to be overrun.

Sir, we will defend our homes, and our wives and children to the very last. Our old rifles will be called into requisition and all the use we can make of them will be made. If we are driven back, we will fall into the gorges of the mountains and battle to protect ourselves. I trust in God for our success. While thus engaged in our own defences you cannot expect aid of men from us. We have more to encounter than you have. You have Maryland between you and the free States, which contains a population very differently disposed towards you from what the population on our border is towards us. We have North of us a people who have very little scruples in assailing us and running off our slaves. But let them go; we can spare them. I care nothing about the sacrifice of property; if we can only save our families, and occupy our homes, when war ceases, it is as much as we can expect. If we have a soldier to spare, you can have him. If it is necessary to carry the old revolutionary rifle, we will come here .Page82 with it; but I am satisfied we will have as much as we can do to defend ourselves.

If it is the pleasure of the Convention to pass the Ordinance of secession and let loose upon us the Northern horde, do it quickly, that we may make haste to our homes. I am told the railroad is to be broken up between this and Harper's Ferry; in which event, we will have to take the road by Philadelphia. I am even told that we will be captured on our way home; and you will doubtless, hear of many captures before long.

The Pan Handle is in a worse condition than even my own county. It is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania and on the west by Ohio. It is a country over which a cannon ball can be thrown. Can they maintain their existence there? Can you send a soldier there to defend them? Do you really think that we will not need any? We will need them, but we do not expect aid from you, and I am sure you will not be able to get aid from us to any extent. The Pan Handle will be overrun, and will be in the possession of the enemy, as well as all the border counties of the North-west. That will be our condition.

Sir, I will simply conclude by saying that I have been more than thirty years in the service of the State, either here or at Washington. It is not necessary for me to say that I am attached to Virginia and to the Federal Government. This State and the Federal Government have protected me, and my fathers before me; and I only hope that they will furnish the same protection to those that I shall leave behind me.

As I have had no ambitious views to serve, I have been content, during the sessions of this body, to remain a listener. It is true that from time to time, had I thought I might throw out an idea which might avail something, I would have sought an opportunity to do so; but, being unaccustomed to such proceedings, I had always found myself forestalled. It is, no doubt, better that it should have been so, for I have frequently found that what I intended to say had been better said by others.

I should have remained a silent listener to the end of this session, but events have crowded upon us, and have brought us to a crisis in which it does not become any man to record his vote in silence. I am unwilling, at least, myself, to do so.

I came here, sir, representing a constituency of an entirely different type of politics from those which I entertain. I came here, therefore, at least under an obligation which of itself would be sufficient to cause me to sink everything in the way of individual predilections to carry .Page83 out the will of that people; and, so far as party politics are concerned, I can say of truth, that I cannot speak of the political sentiments of twenty men within the hearing of my voice. I have sought to remain ignorant in that regard. I am about equally ignorant in regard to the sectional positions of the members who constitute this body. There are some members of a prominent character from different sections, in regard to whose residence, however much I may have sought to remain uninformed upon the subject, a knowledge has been forced upon me; and that knowledge, with what I have heard incidentally escape from themselves, has brought me to the conclusion that every consideration looking to locality or section should be blotted out, and for ever. I have, so far as a knowledge of the fact can be gathered from what transpired here, as much patriotism from the West as from the East; and I trust that no sentiment calculated to produce sectional division or sectional discord will escape the lips of any member here.

Sir, permit me to say that I have not only seen wise developments, but have heard as much patriotism from the West as from the East in the course of the debates upon this question.

I came here, sir, as the representative of no section, and, whilst I feel that those who sent me to make me their mouth-piece, it is as their mouth-piece that I announce here that I know no section; that I know no political party; and when, on a late occasion, I spoke to that constituency, because of instructions coming from different parts, I abjured them to absolve me from the responsibility of casting a vote when the time should come when I should cast it. A due regard to candor required me to tell them that, whilst I sought that direction, I condemned the instructions, and, upon that expression, I could not get one man to give me instructions. Knowing my views, they concede to me the responsibility of speaking in their behalf.

Sir, with what views did I enter this body? What interests have I to serve? What was the Virginia principle that directed my action? The preservation of the Union-the preservation of this Union in all its integrity! What were the views which I entertained in regard to the possibility of accomplishing that object? It never once entered my head that there would be much facility in carving out such a measure by this body as would result in the fullest guarantees upon all these questions in reference to which the majority for a Convention had its origin. The only trouble that I anticipated was not in regard to the North, but in regard to the South. And what were the elements of my calculation? Not any local knowledge in regard to the extent of that prejudice which has wrought these results so disastrous to the .Page84 country, but a knowledge that there was a controlling interest which the South would not be willing to sacrifice. There were only some two or three Southern States which had seceded at the out set, and the trouble was in reconstructing the Government upon the basis of those interests which it was our duty as a people to procure guarantees for from the North. Now the number of seceded States is not three, but seven, which have inaugurated a Government capable of sustaining itself. All my calculations of the feasibility of reconstruction have failed, and the conclusion has been forced upon me that a difficulty, great in itself as it existed at the time that I came into this body, has become insuperable.

What was the next thing that could be accomplished? To shape our measures in such a manner as would retain the balance of this Confederacy in its integrity. This is rendered a matter of necessity by the course of those men at the head of the Administration at Washington. It is not a matter of choice now with Virginia what position she will take. Seeing that there is no middle ground now for Virginia to occupy, but that she must take one extreme or the other, the question addresses itself to us after this fashion-shall we, before we go out, secure a co-operation by which we may successfully maintain ourselves, or shall we take the chances of co-operation in the midst of war, with those people whom we have to rely upon in an eminent degree after we shall go out?

Sir, I have no hesitation in that respect, unprepared as we are. Purpose is power when coupled with a high moral influence, such as we possess. It is more than anything that could now be accomplished by negotiation, under the circumstances in which that negotiation could be conducted. I, therefore, can have no hesitation as to the course to be pursued.

But my main object in rising here, after declaring my own position, was to say, that when I entered this body, I took it for granted that the results of our deliberations, however much we might differ in our progress with the business, would meet the unanimous approval of all who engaged in the proceedings. I was satisfied, that however much we may have been divided in the past into sectional parties; however much we may have been divided in political views; however much we may have been divided into local cliques growing out of the large diversities of interest here represented, all would sink into insignificance in view of the great issue upon us, and which involves so much that is dear to us all. Discord in this body will prove a.Page85 prolific source of discord abroad, and it behooves us to guard against it by all the means in our power.

Sir, can an occasion arise-is it possible for one to be conceived-in which the practical effect of that great truth, "in concord will be found strength," can be more fully illustrated and more beneficially applied, than at the present? I will not, at this time of trial, when the whole Confederacy is convulsed to its centre, refer to the causes which have produced the sad results now upon us. They are widespread and numerous; and if you carry the elements of discord, which have wrought these results abroad, into your own body, what can follow? Evils ten times more deleterious to the public weal than that sum of evil that existed at the time that we entered this Hall. Let us cheerfully yield to whatever line of policy the majority shall mark out, and come as one man to give force and efficiency to their action as the action of our State. Let no prejudice or hostility exist. God, in his Providence, has so shaped our course that, in our voyage, we have nothing to guide us but that light which is coruscated from the light of the bark in which we sail. It were worse than impious to assume that that light was not adequate to conduct us safely into port, undisturbed by prejudice or passion. But, in the ebullition of the passions, there is a cloud of prejudice affiliated through which this light thunders imperfectly; and I beg you not to infuse into the mind that which will make it pungite passita, for I feel that when prejudice and passion are aroused by those who have the destiny of nations in our hands, it follows that danger, nay, ruin to the cause in which they are engaged, is inevitable. Let us avoid this, and unite in favor of the ordinance of secession.

I feel perhaps, as fully and as deeply as any gentleman in this body, a sense of the responsibility which rests upon me in the vote which I shall soon be called upon to cast.

I came to this Convention, sir, representing a Union constituency. It has been my purpose, so far as my humble abilities would go, to contribute to carry out as faithfully as I could the purposes and the object which I know that constituency desired when they elected me. I believed, sir, through the long period in which we have been engaged in our deliberations, that not only was it our duty, if possible, to conserve that Union under which we have lived so prosperously, but sir, I believe that it was practicable and that, by pursuing the course which had been chalked out and marked by this Convention, that our efforts would have been ultimately crowned with success. I believe .Page86 now, that but for the interposition of the power which stands at the head of the Executive government of this nation, these efforts would have been triumphantly successful. Event has been treading so rapidly upon the heel of event within the last 30 days, as to render it utterly impossible for any man's mind to be fixed positively upon any particular line of action.

The last two days, sir-the last forty-eight hours-have been filling with events which, if they have not produced impressions upon the minds of others, have produced a profound impression upon my mind.

Sir, the hope of reconstructing this Government has passed away. The chance of reconstructing the Union is but a myth. It no longer exists but in the mind of the visionary. Sir, the last act in this drama has come upon us. The curtain has been, at last, lifted, and we now see in all its hideous deformity, the long concealed policy of that party, which, I fear, we all misunderstood. Be that as it may, we are now face to face with revolution, and with war, and I, for one, have ceased to look upon the question as a political question, or a question of reconstruction. I am now looking upon it as a military question. It is useless to disguise it. We cannot put the image away from us. We must regard it now as a military question, and a military question alone.

I was profoundly influenced yesterday by the able and ingenious argument of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] .

I left this House with my mind in a state of doubt upon the question. I could see the force of many of the positions which he assumed as to why we should look to co-operation rather to immediate secession. If the vote had been taken last night, impressed with the force of his argument and those of other gentlemen which have been offered upon the subject, I should have felt it my duty to have voted for his scheme of co-operation. I went home, sir, and took these arguments and examined them to the best of my abilities and judgment; aye, sir, with an invocation to Providence to aid me in the investigation; and the result was, a conclusion that this was not the policy proper to be pursued at this time and under existing circumstances.

I feel impressed with the solemnity of the occasion. I feel impressed with the importance of the decision which this Convention is about to make. And, sir, I have brought my mind to the conclusion that at this hour, as a matter of prudence, as a military question, as a question involving the possible existence of our Commonwealth, and of all our interests, the argument on the other side is the best, and most entitled to consideration. Under these circumstances, sir, although I am .Page87 representing a Union constituency, and don't know what change has been produced upon their minds by recent events-nor can I now wait for instruction from home-yet I will do what I believe my gallant constituency would have me to do-record my vote according to my judgment, with reference to the interests of this State; and that, sir, will be that Virginia shall assume the power which she has granted to the General Government.

Mr. President, what is the argument in favor of co-operation? It is that we may invite all the slave States in one consolidated mass for the purpose of resisting this horde of Hessians which is soon to be thrown upon our coasts. This will take time; aye, and our action may lead to misconstruction, so far as those States are concerned. I hold that it is important that they should know at once what Virginia's position is, and that our friends in those States should have the advantage of the moral argument of Virginia's position. Let them feel and know that we are in earnest. Let those who are determined upon resistance know that Virginia has led the van, and then, sir, we can co-operate just as well out of the Union as in the Union. We can co-operate with greater force and effect when we have taken our position. We can strengthen all those who are weak. We can confirm all those who are doubtful; and, sir, bring about more rapidly that co-operation which we all look to.

As I understand the arguments which have been urged, they both lead to the same end. The object is, to bring all the slave States in solid column, shoulder to shoulder in this contest. How is it best to accomplish that? I am compelled to come to the conclusion, that it will be more efficiently accomplished by Virginia's taking a decided stand now, than by waiting for conference with the border States. If, in accordance with the argument presented by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , you throw this contest among your own people by offering alternate propositions to be submitted to the people to make a choice between them, what is the impression to be produced upon the Border States? Will not an impression of doubt be produced with reference to Virginia's position? And what will be the effect produced upon the Northern mind? Why, sir, if Virginia presents herself in a condition of doubt in this emergency, shall we not stimulate them to increased exertion by throwing out a false hope which our ultimate purpose does not justify? What is to be the effect produced upon your own people? It will paralyze their efforts and dispirit them at the outset of this contest. Now is the time for our column to be closed up in solid mass. Now is the time for our people to stand shoulder to shoulder and fight for the purpose of resisting this oppression. .Page88 We cannot retreat. The bridge is cut away. We are compelled to resist. We stand pledged to resist; honor requires it; self-interest and self-preservation require it. Then, sir, under these circumstances, shall we throw in a question of doubt and difficulty, to be contested and canvassed throughout the State of Virginia for the next two months? I trust not, and hope it will be the pleasure of the Convention to pass the Ordinance of Secession proposed by the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] .

Mr. President, I did not intend to say a word upon the question now before the Convention; but on reflection, I feel that it is due to myself that I should take this occasion to say a few words in explanation of the position which I now occupy and design to occupy.

I will advert for a few minutes to the cause which has brought us to our present condition. I presume it will be admitted on all hands, that the immediate cause is the attack which was made upon Fort Sumter. I presume it will not be denied that when a proposition was made to Major Anderson to surrender that fort, he informed the authorities of South Carolina, that he had no more provisions than would last him for two or three days. It is equally well ascertained that no provisions could be sent to him-the fortifications which were erected in the harbor being such as to preclude the possibility of sending him reinforcements or supplies.

Why, then, was that attack made? I regret that the attack had been made. If the fact exists that South Carolina was guilty of the inhuman act of attacking, with her best men, a fort in which there was but a force of sixty or seventy men, the public will be at no loss to decide where the responsibility of the existing state of things lies. And still so it is. This attack was made upon a handful of half-starved soldiers, and a war thus inaugurated. I repeat, that the responsibility for what is now likely to occur, deservedly rests upon those who made the attack and those who advised the attack to be made. I understand that an advice was publicly given to make the attack, and with a view of drawing Virginia out of the Union.

On the other hand, no man can view the conduct of the present Administration with more contempt and indignation than I do. I regard the whole course of Lincoln as marked by duplicity and an utter want of candor and honesty. He has pretended that he was for peace when nothing was farther, in my opinion, from his purpose than that peace should be preserved. He pretended that honor required him to hold these forts, and now pretends that it requires that he should .Page89 repossess himself of them. For what purpose does he want to hold these forts? I apprehend sir, that he has no purpose of maintaining the peace, but that he means to hold on until he makes preparations for conquering the Southern States. I have reason to suspect that the intentions of this Black Republican party look to the conquest of the whole South; and it is this fact alone, which, in my opinion, justifies the steps likely to be taken by Virginia now.

I prefer the proposition submitted by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , because I regard this thing of immediate secession as an open declaration of war. The other proposition will give some time to prepare for a war which I conceive is inevitable. I look upon secession too as unquestionable, and the only difference therefore is, that our declaration of immediate secession is a declaration of war at once, which will bring upon us the forces of the Northern States. On the other hand, if we adopt the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , it will give us time to send to Europe for that powder which it seems we are entirely destitute of. It will give us time to unite with the border States and the seceded States; and I am ready now at this moment to send agents to the Government at Montgomery, and to each of the border States, with a view to concert measures to carry on the war which I now regard as inevitable.

I fully concur with the views expressed by the worthy gentleman to my left [Mr. BLow] , as to what course we should pursue. After our measures are determined upon, I think we should disregard all previous differences and prepare to go into the war with one heart and one opinion, and I trust it will be done throughout Virginia. I trust, sir, that there will be no effort anywhere to hold back, or to throw any obstacle in the way of perfect unanimity in all that concerns our future welfare and safety. I wish that provision may be made for calling out the volunteer companies in every county in the State, in order that we may be prepared for the war that is now evidently upon us.

I beg leave to present, for the consideration of the Convention a communication :

It will be borne in mind that I have not occupied fifteen minutes of the time of this Convention since its commencement. I do not rise now to speak with a view to give myself notoriety, nor merely for the sake of speaking. I feel perfectly the solemnity of the occasion, and feel also that I would be recreant to myself, to my duty, to my constituents, were I not to say a word or two before the vote is taken on the Ordinance of Secession.

I feel to day more like being in the midst of a funeral cortege, than being in a Convention, when I witness the scene which is here presented, and contemplate the fearful step which is about to be taken. I feel that we are now about to destroy this great nation, which was the hope of the oppressed, and as I believe would be the rock of our safety for all future time. In contemplating those evils, I have asked myself what great sin we have committed, that God should so afflict us. I came here representing a loyal constituency of free men-a constituency full of Union sentiments; aye, sir, and half of those who voted against me, I know to be Union-loving men, as true as any in the world. I have had no communication with them for the last week, that would inform me whether there was any change of sentiment among them. I concur fully with the views of my friend from Marion [Mr. HAYMOND] , as to the deplorable state of things in that country-our secluded condition, without arms or munitions of war. The county I represent has a population of 7000, and if we have a rifle in it, I am not aware of the fact. We have no volunteer company in it, and but little use in organizing them, since we are entirely destitute of arms and the other necessary equipments.

I rise now to protest, in God's name, against the passage of this Ordinance of Secession. Give us the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, in preference to this Ordinance, which is tantamount to a declaration of war. It is not a mere matter of choice with us whether we take side with you or not. We will be overwhelmed I fear in any event, and will doubtless be taken prisoners before two weeks. We have no means to protect ourselves, and we will necessarily have to submit. Yet gentlemen do not seem to apprehend our condition, and will not listen to our accounts of it. Indeed, a gentleman on this floor [Mr. GOODE, of Mecklenburg] , said a few days ago that he and those associated with him would pass this Ordinance of Secession regardless of Western Virginia and her 20,000 population. I will say nothing in reply. Be the circumstances what they may, we are Virginians, and we feel disposed to unite with her.

But I would beg of you to respect your pledge and your position. Give us the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, and let the people say whether they will secede or not.

I certainly do not desire to thrust myself upon this body, and do not intend to trouble them but for a brief space of time.

It seems to me now, sir, an established fact, about which there is no doubt now in any quarter, that we are in the midst of war. For one, I confess to utter surprise at the response given by the President of the nation to our Commissioners, and especially was I surprised, and I might say indignant, on reading his proclamation. Both reveal, to my entire satisfaction, his purpose to be war.

I came here with strong hopes that our difficulties would be adjusted. I cherished these hopes up to a very recent period. The reading of this document, I confess, fell upon my ear like an avalanche. The reading of this document crushed out the last ray of hope which I entertained of averting a dissolution of this Union. The reading of that document filled my mind with a violent commotion and agitation, which has not ceased from that moment to the present. I saw at once that war was upon us, and the only thing remaining for us to do was to determine how or in what mode we should conduct that war so as best to protect the interests of Virginia-of the whole of Virginia-Western Virginia, Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, and Eastern Virginia. It seems to me that that is the only question now before this Convention-how shall we best protect the interests of all Virginia? And it would seem to me, that in order to protect the interests of the whole of Virginia, we should adopt such measures, if they are within the reach of this Convention-as I presume they are-as will harmonize the whole of Virginia; for whilst I know that no portion of this Convention would be so unkind, so unnatural, so ungrateful to any portion of the State, as to disregard their interests wilfully, to pass them by without according to them such measure of relief as they would deem practicable, yet I think there is a probability that they may unintentionally sacrifice the best interests of those upon whom, in a great measure, they have to rely in the future.

It seems to me, that of all things under Heaven that is most to be lamented under existing circumstances, it is the idea on the part of any portion of the people of the Commonwealth, that their interests have been neglected or discarded. However erroneous that opinion may be; however unfounded it may be; if you permit it to find a lodgment in the minds of the people; if any individual in any portion .Page97 of the Commonwealth finds ground for any such opinion, it will produce dissatisfaction, and alienate the support and sympathy of a large number of our population.

And, I confess, that the appeals made to us by members from portions of this State are no military fictions. I believe they feel that, in the next recess, the complaints they are uttering here will be fully realized. I believe they feel that these are not mere apprehensions, but stern realities. They believe that if an ordinance of secession be now adopted, they are at once to be overthrown. They believe, for I so understand from remarks made here, that the substitute of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] will relieve them if it is adopted.

The only question before the Convention then, is a choice between these two propositions. The ordinance of secession is offered to us by the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , and the substitute is offered to us by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] . I take it, then, that unless there be something in the substitute which is exceedingly unpalatable to gentlemen upon the floor of this Convention, they will vote for it.

I may be told that the substitute will afford no protection to gentlemen in the North-west; that it is a mere chimera that the Northern States will not harmonize with them; that you cannot get Ohio and the adjoining States to go with the people of the North-west. Well, be it so. These men think they will. They think they can procure the co-operation of these States. They think they will be sufficiently protected, if you accord to them this alternate proposition offered by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] . If you do so, you will bring about harmony and conciliation. If you offer them this alternate, they become satisfied. They will say that Eastern Virginia has done for us all that she could do. She has taken into consideration our imperfect means of protection, and we feel grateful for the favor.

I beg gentlemen, who entertain different views, not to take this matter lightly and hurriedly. I heard a gentleman on this floor, whose patriotism I don't doubt for a moment, say, on yesterday, in response to the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. STUART] - [Mr. SUTHERLIN is the gentleman alluded to, according to the reporter's idea] -that he would fight every man who opposed him; I understood him to go to the extent of saying, that he would fight his own brother if he would offer any interposition to the mode of adjustment which he thought the most advisable.

Sir, if you are willing to lay violent hands even upon a beloved brother for offering resistance to those measures which you think will redound to your safety and protection, are you not ready to accord to other members of this Convention such measures as they may think will result in their protection? I trust that such a consideration will actuate every member here, and that they will adopt the substitute, and thus secure harmony among all.

Mr. President, I desire to say a few words to the Convention under the present melancholy circumstances which attend our deliberations.

I was elected a member of this Convention, sir, as a Union man. I have earnestly and anxiously contended, on this floor, since the commencement of our session, for the passage of every law which I thought would contribute to perpetuate the freedom which we heretofore enjoyed under this Union. I know not now, sir, how to express myself, except that I deem it necessary, in contemplation of the action which I expect to take, to say something in its vindication.

Sir, I have resisted with some tenacity, and, as some said, with some contumacy, the outside pressure which has thrown its influence upon me with peculiar force during the session of this Convention. As I understand the action of this Convention, it has declared, by a very large majority, in favor of the 12th section of the report of the Committee on Federal Relations, which proposes to submit to the Northern people certain amendments to be incorporated in the Constitution of the United States, and if they were not accepted by satisfactory responses, that we should feel constrained to resume our delegated powers; and in the very next section this Convention has declared that, as an indispensable condition, they would wait a reasonable time for response, the Federal Government, meanwhile, to abstain from aggression.

Now, what have we done? For four months we have intervened between the Seceded States and the Northern States, and we have succeeded in preserving the peace until lately. We have sent Commissioners to Washington; we have communicated with them by telegraph; we have communicated with them by correspondence; and we have but a few days since sent Commissioners to Washington, and these Commissioners have returned to us with war sounding in their ears from the very lips of the President himself.

Thus, sir, this Convention, by its own action, stands committed to the doctrine of the immediate resumption of power; nay, more, sir; the President of the United States followed the message which he sent .Page99 to this body by your Commissioners with a proclamation of war; nay, more than that still; he followed that proclamation of war with a requisition upon Virginia for her quota of troops to aid in subjugating her Southern sisters. I say, then, that this Convention stands committed to an immediate resumption of the delegated powers of the Commonwealth.

No man mourns the necessity for such a resort more than I do. It is with a sad and sorrowing heart; it is with a feeling of grief and melancholy, that I would ever sign an ordinance of secession. And, if I regarded the act of secession as a declaration of war, I would rather that we should suffer eternal perils than do so. But a war is now upon us; and we are necessitated to determine which side of that war we will take. It is a melancholy state of affairs; because there is no privilege of choice between peace or war. It is a sad necessity, and one which we must obey. I know it is fraught with dangerous consequences, and attended with melancholy disasters; but it must be undertaken. We are reduced to the necessity of accepting the war issue. I, for one, say that the Virginia banner shall float over Southern soil, and that Virginia's sons shall fight under that banner and no other. I would to God that I could come to some other conclusion. I would to God that my Heavenly Father would grant me grace to execute the justice and to maintain the truth, for, in the infirmity of my poor judgment, I believe that the Northern people have forced this issue upon us, and, that they deserve a just punishment, and a heavy retribution for their course in the past. For my part, I see no other alternative, than that Virginia shall immediately dissolve the connection which exists between her and the Federal Government.

Now, sir, I appeal to my Western brethren to remember that they alone are not exposed to the attacks of the enemy. We are all exposed, from the waters of the Chesapeake, which wash the Eastern shores, to those of the Ohio, which ripple by the banks and green fields of Western Virginia. We all are exposed alike. Let us all be equally willing to bare our breast to the storm. I pray gentlemen to remember that when we can we will come to their rescue; and I know that when you can you will come to our rescue, if need be. As long as the sun of Heaven shall play over our mountains, let us go together. With one mind, one heart, one soul, and a willing co-operation on the part of all-with but a single thought and "two hearts which beat as one"-we must inevitably triumph.

I have given these sentiments because I thought it proper to make some explanation of the vote I shall give. I trust that, whatever we .Page100 may do, shall be done in a harmonious disposition, to forget all past differences, and act cordially together in the future.

Mr. President, I desire to address myself to the only point of difficulty which seems to me to be now arresting the action of this body. I believe there is a general concurrence as to one opinion, and that is, that there shall be secession. Whether immediate or at a more distant day is the only question in dispute.

It is proposed, sir, that we shall postpone this movement with a view to have a conference with our sister border slave States. With what view, sir? What is the object of the Conference? Co-operation? If that is the design, sir, and the only design, then the end is already achieved. We have that co-operation this day. The newspapers have this morning announced that this co-operation was forthcoming. The Governors of several of the States, in their responses to the requisition made upon them by the President for their respective quotas of volunteers, have declared their unwillingness to unite with the President of the United States, in this war upon Southern rights, and that throws them at once into line with Virginia, so that, it seems to me, a work of supererogation to ask for this conference.

Sir, if you cannot have this co-operation by the clash of arms, I ask, gentlemen, when are they to get it by conference? Sir, the only result of the adoption of the measures proposed by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , will be to produce delay and disaster. Let us repudiate that proposition and come at once to the only alternative which is presented to us. Let us act unitedly and harmoniously, in order to give the utmost moral power and influence to our action in other parts of the country. I believe if Virginia were to secede to day, and the ordinance of secession were supported by anything approximating a unanimous vote of the Convention, that if anything tended to stay the aim of the Federal Government it would be this act of secession.

What good is to be effected by delay? Are we to be in a better condition by and by than we are now? The gentleman who offered the substitute [Mr. SCOTT] referred to the state of our finance. Are our bonds to be in more credit in six, eight or twelve months from this time than they are now? Is not our pecuniary condition becoming every day and hour worse and worse? Then, sir, nothing is to be gained by that policy.

Several of my North-western friends refer to their defenceless condition. How is that to be helped? They, I understand, are of opinion .Page101 that we must either now or at some distant period separate. Where are these defences to be. Are we to submit to oppression until that remedy is afforded? I say we will not, we cannot, we dare not wait upon a suggestion thrown up along that line of border? How is this defect complained of to be remedied ?-of that sort.3The meaning is unclear. I myself deplore the condition of all who live on the frontier of our State.

I did not suggest a moment's delay from the cause referred to by the gentleman. I said it was fixed that the State would secede.

I am happy to hear it. Let me now say to the gentleman, if the passage of the ordinance is fixed, is it not his duty, as a good citizen, a Virginia-loving citizen, to give all the effect to that ordinance which it is possible for it to have? Should he not unite with us by giving his vote in order to create that powerful impression which it will have if it goes forth as the unit work of the Virginia Convention? I would ask all my friends from the North-west if they see that secession is determined upon; if they see that Virginia must inevitably be involved in a war-is it not their duty, as good citizens, to unite now with us in that movement, so as to make it as effectual as possible? It seems to me they ought to unite with us. And why should they not do so? Is it a criminal proceeding upon the part of the people of Eastern Virginia to stand up in support of their rights? They are all united to a man in the Eastern portion of the State. They are inevitably committed to secession-will you desert them?

I expect myself to fight, and I will endeavor to influence North-western Virginia to do the same thing.

I have no doubt the gentleman will fight; but I invoke him now to come up by his vote by uniting in the action now, and give effect to this first war movement which is endangering the lives and fortunes of all the citizens of Virginia, whether East or West. I believe, sir, that if there is anything under the sun which by possibility may arrest this terrible catastrophe of war, it will be a union among ourselves and a unanimous vote in this Convention in favor of the ordinance of secession. I see nothing else that may save us from that disaster; and I hope and trust it will be the sense and the pleasure of the gentlemen from the Western portion of the State to unite in this measure, and not let our enemies in the North be backed by assurance given by a divided vote here that Virginia is not united-that Virginia cannot maintain this war because there are domestic difficulties-because there is a prospect of civil war within her own limits, which will need all her power and energies to put down. That .Page102 is to be the effect which is to be produced by any appearance of division here.

I appeal to gentlemen-I implore them to come now and put their hands to the work, and aid if possible, if not in averting this war, in maintaining it. This is all I have to say. I have troubled this Convention but little since its commencement. I have not engaged in those discussions which have occupied our time for months. But, sir, now is the time for action. I could not suppress the inclination I felt to make one appeal, at least to my Western friends, to come up and aid us in accomplishing what we are now about to engage in. War is upon us, and we are compelled to make the best of it. Let our Western friends, by all means, assist us in so doing.

No member of this Convention approaches the consideration of this question more deeply embarrassed by a sense of its overwhelming importance, than I do.

Coming from the exposed portion of Virginia, known as Northwestern Virginia, I cordially tender to my friend who has just taken his seat, my hearty co-operation and the hearty co-operation of a people unsurpassed by any within the broad limits of Virginia, in their zeal and fidelity to her interest.

Sir, unpleasant as is this conviction that is now forced upon every mind, I acknowledge that it has been preying on my conscience ever since this Convention assembled, that the greatest error that we could commit, and that we have committed was, in failing to take that position in the beginning which circumstances have compelled us to take to-day. Every time I heard it announced upon this floor that the people of Virginia had no right of secession; every time I heard it announced that the people of the Southern States were traitors, and rebels, I felt as if the death knell of the liberties of the people of Virginia was sounded in my ears! for I felt, and every man feels it now-that secession is necessary, that it is the very life, the very soul, and the protection of the liberties of the people of Virginia.

Mr. President, since I last opened my mouth in this Convention, events have hurried rapidly forward, and we are now standing upon the verge of civil war-civil war that we deplored-civil war that we have not the moral courage to say we would resist; for I cannot divest my mind of the conviction, sad and melancholy though it be, that it is forced upon us by our own wavering course of conduct here. Why, sir, I believe if we had committed ourselves, as we ought to have done on the 4th day of March, when Lincoln chose to disregard the position .Page103 assumed by members on this floor, that the right of secession existed-that we would have been spared all this trouble. But "insult has been added to 'injury' "-we have been spurned and turned aside; and a regular requisition has been made upon the Governor to furnish our quota of troops to cut the throats of our fathers and brothers. But I feel to-day like rendering honor to whom honor is due. I rejoice that the Executive of Virginia has at last said that Virginia will have nothing to do with this matter; and that the people of Virginia will never lend themselves to any such conduct.

While these things depress my mind, I cannot but rejoice that a sense of impending danger has been drawing us closer together; and when I hear voices uttered here to day, which only eight or ten days ago were raised against us, I feel that our cause must triumph, and that a full and adequate sense of our wrongs is entertained which cannot fail to command the sympathy and support of every Virginian. I would to God that when this Ordinance shall pass, that it shall go out to the world without a dissenting voice. I would be glad to have it known over the length and breadth of the land that Virginia has reached a position where she is fully united; and, as a Western man, let me enter my solemn protest; let me set the brand of my reprobation upon the sentiments that are uttered here threatening revolution from Western Virginia. I tell you that men may say that here in the heat of debate; but go home to the good and loyal people of that section and let them know that you expect them to become traitors to their Commonwealth, and there will not be a law-abiding power in the Commonwealth sufficient to save them from that destruction that they will draw down upon their own heads. There is no such spirit among the people of the West. Such remarks are thrown out for the purpose of intimidation, and they ought to be denounced wherever or whenever they are heard.

We are defenceless, it is true. We have no arms or munitions of war, but let us not forget that the people on the Virginia side of the Ohio river have just as strong hearts, strong arms, and brave souls, and that they can hold a rifle as true to its aim, as any people in the world. The invasion is not to be all on one side. I would to God that some means could be determined, by which it could be avoided; but if it comes, the future historian of Virginia will write down deeds of glory performed from one extreme of our Western border to the other, and will record the fact that no traitor, that no treason shall ever be found existing within these borders.

But I am opposed to cutting off discussion. These are important .Page104 questions-questions of peace or war-and full liberty of discussion should be given.

I shall, Mr. President, when the Ordinance of Secession comes up, vote for it. My people require me to vote for it; but I shall not give my vote to cut off discussion. I understand this debate is now as to why the main question shall not be put. I trust every man will have an opportunity to present whatever reasons he may think proper in explanation of his vote. I shall therefore vote against this question to cut off debate, but will cheerfully vote for the Ordinance of Secession.

I cannot record my vote without giving the reasons which shall influence me in giving that vote. I am perfectly well aware, sir, that I shall give a vote which will not be agreeable to some; but since the meeting of this body I have given no vote that was not in accordance with the conviction of my own mind, with the exception of one which I gave in accordance with the instruction of my constituents.

When I entered this body, I entered it not as a party man. I should have deemed myself unworthy of a seat in this Convention if I permitted myself to be controlled or influenced by any party considerations. I came here not as Whig! I came here not as Democrat! I came here not as a secessionist; I came here not as a Union man. I came into this body prepared to pursue that course which patriotism might suggest as the best and wisest.

Sir, I have been deeply grieved at the unfortunate condition of things, and I envy not that man his callousness of mind, who cannot be grieved at the state of affairs which is now presented before us; and I envy not the impressions and feelings of those men who undertake to destroy this great temple of liberty. For my part, I have made every legitimate effort to ward off this terrible disaster; but notwithstanding all my efforts, I find it is perfectly impossible to avert the evil. I have surrendered my opinions and ceased my efforts to accomplish the purpose for which I had set out. The war is now upon us, and we must fight.

I was proceeding with some remarks the other day, when I was reminded by my friend from Monroe [Mr. CAPERTON] , that the remarks which I was about to make, might better be made in secret session. I will now say that I believe we must fight and we must secede. These questions are settled beyond the possibility of defeating them.

I differ, however, from my friend from Monroe [Mr. CAPERTON] , about the way of avoiding a war. We cannot avoid it; we must fight.

The war is upon us already, and it is impossible to do otherwise than to fight, and prepare for war. In my estimation, it is now a mere military question, and the next inquiry is, whether, under the circumstances by which we are surrounded, we shall pass an ordinance of secession at once.

What virtue is there in an Ordinance of Secession? My friend from the city of Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] , said yesterday that we wanted not advice but bayonets. Will an Ordinance of Secession, which we can pass in five minutes, furnish bayonets to the State of Virginia. Look at the condition in which we are-see the circumstances by which we are surrounded. We are differently situated from the seceded States. They are far off from the seat of the Federal Government, and from the Northern States. We are at their doors. We are isolated, cut off from the Seceded States by North Carolina and Tennessee. We have about two hundred miles of Northern border, and about the same extent upon our Western border, separated, I may say, only by an imaginary line from the free States. On the Atlantic side we are threatened by four routes. The James River, that commands the heart of Virginia, is commanded by the Federal Government, and in a few minutes an army of any magnitude could be thrown here into the very heart of Virginia, and the mouths of our rivers blockaded. Look at the course that the Federal Government has pursued. We were told by my friend from Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] , that Virginia was in a better state of military organization than any Northern State. Mark you that we have not only to fight the Northern States, but the Federal Government, with 18,000 regular troops at their command, and nineteen Northern States in addition, besides the whole Navy of the United States. With such advantages, it strikes me, they would have little difficulty in throwing an army into the city of Richmond in twenty-four hours; and what have we to defend ourselves. It will not do for gentlemen to talk about bravery alone. It is very well to talk to soldiers about; but it will not do to talk to statesmen and Generals in reference to it. We have six thousand two hundred and twenty Infantry armed, according to the report made to-day. We have no powder; what, then, are we to do? Sir, if you pass an Ordinance of Secession, you declare war-you declare yourselves in a state of war. You will be in a state of revolution, and you invite the Federal Government to make an attack upon you. They will undoubtedly do so; and they can throw an armed force here, and take possession of the Armory, which is now useless, because there is no machinery in it. They will in all probability take possession of Anderson's Foundry, .Page106 where the guns that took Fort Sumter were cast, and we can offer comparatively no resistance for want of the necessary means of defence.

I am not talking in this way because I wish to avoid any responsibility as a military man; so far from it, I have offered the services of my brigade and my own services to the Governor; for feeble as this arm is, if the Governor will permit, it will be raised in defence of my State, no matter what may be the force brought against me; and no matter though I may be committing treason according to the laws of the United States. Though that may be my opinion, if the Governor of this Commonwealth will permit, no man can be found who will more cheerfully take his position in defence of Virginia than I will. But we are not in a condition to carry on war now. What, then, is best to be done? I shall vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , because it will give us a little time to buy arms. Why, sir, I was told by the Adjutant General this morning that if we passed an ordinance of secession, we ought not to let it be known for a few days, because he sent, for arms to the North, and he is apprehensive that they may be intercepted if it was known that the ordinance passed. Would it not be well, if we are determined to secede, to wait a little while in order that we may receive those arms from the North? We could then secede, and we would be in a much better condition to meet the enemy than we are now. This seems to be the proper course, and I trust the Convention will pursue it.

Mr. President, when I survey this Convention; when I see men who are ripe with years of experience, I feel that I had much better be silent than open my lips. Heretofore, sir, I have certainly been silent, except to cast my vote; but I feel now, representing as I do, two counties and part of a third, lying immediately west of the Alleghanies, that I can no longer remain a silent spectator of the proceedings in this Hall and not say something.

Permit me to tell you that I have the honor of representing upon this floor a constituency than whom there are none in the Commonwealth more noble, none more loyal, none more brave, none who would leap to their muskets more readily to defend their rights.

Heretofore, I have co-operated with the Union party on this floor. I have had an earnest, abiding faith that all our difficulties might be amicably settled, and that peace and quiet might once more reign throughout the borders of this noble old Commonwealth. I have clung to the last broken plank of our once noble ship of State, until it has sunk beneath me; and I have now but one remedy left, and I confess .Page107 to you frankly that I feel that to be separating from this Union. Stern necessity forces me to say to my people, that an emergency has arisen which compels me, in justice to them and myself, to take ground in favor of action-prompt, immediate, decisive action. I am opposed to temporizing any longer; I am opposed to making any more propositions to a tyrannical and overbearing foe that desires to make slaves of me and you. For my part, I can submit no longer. I had no opportunity to confer with my people since the last news received here of Abraham Lincoln's tyrannical over-bearing declaration of war against us. I have had no opportunity to hear from my people in respect to the course which they would have me pursue in this emergency. I think I know my people and know their feelings, and I believe I know their hearts, and am satisfied that every impulse of theirs would be in favor of Virginia all over-not North-western Virginia alone-not Western Virginia alone, but Eastern Virginia, Middle Virginia-the whole of Virginia. That, I confidently believe, is the feeling of my people; and, if I failed so to represent them upon this floor, I believe to-day, I would be recreant to my duty to myself, to my people, to my country, to my native State, and to the God that presides over the destinies of Virginia.

Permit me, meanwhile, to inform you of the platform upon which I was sent here. I told my people when I was a candidate, that, if elected, I would be in favor of doing everything that we could do honorably to preserve the Union; but, at the same time, I told them I would never agree to see Virginia disgraced or dishonored; and believing now, sir, that there is an effort being made by Abraham Lincoln and his co-adjutors to subjugate not only our sister States, but Virginia, I am in favor of immediate secession to-day without any ceremony.

We have temporized too long already, and I confess I have been one of those who favored that policy. I hated to give up this noble Union that formed the source of our great prosperity in the past. This was my feeling. Look, if you please, at the action of the last Black Republican Congress, sixty-seven members of which signed a recommendation in favor of the notorious Helper book, which advised our slaves to rise up and cut our throats, and then play havoc with our people at their discretion. You see a proposition introduced into the Congress of the United States that the Black Republican party must not interfere with slavery in the States; and what do you find in the teeth of this movement? I blush to state the fact-that almost 100 Black Republicans in that Congress voted against that proposition; .Page108 the effect of which action is that they were in favor of declaring war upon slavery in Virginia and the South. Yes, Mr. President, almost one hundred members of that Black Republican Congress voted against a proposition of that kind. But notwithstanding all this, I was willing still to compromise, still to adjust our difficulties, still to meet them in a spirit of brotherly love, and settle this matter, if possible; and while I co-operated with the majority upon this floor; while we were engaged in check-mating the minority at every turn; while we met them on every proposition, and voted them down; while we showed to Abraham Lincoln that there was a majority of this Convention who were determined to preserve this Union; while we were engaged in this good work of seeking to effect an adjustment, Lincoln declared war upon Virginia; yes, sir, upon Virginia! And what can we now do? What remedy have we to adopt? What means can we resort to to maintain our rights and resist this war? But, sir, not content with thus declaring war against us, he adds insult to injury; he makes a requisition upon Gov. Letcher for Virginia's quota of troops to make war upon the Southern States. When that is the case, after having done all that, as an honorable man, I think I can do-after the majority upon this floor have resorted to all the means they could resort to in order to adjust these difficulties-I feel compelled to give my vote in favor of action-decisive and immediate action. We even sent commissioners recently to Washington, in a spirit of peace and harmony, to appeal to Lincoln to preserve the status quo until we could make further efforts at adjustment. The only answer he makes to these commissioners is a reference to his inaugural and a declaration of war upon our people immediately upon the return of our commissioners to this city.

Under these circumstances, I shall feel compelled to vote in favor of the Ordinance of Secession.

The darkest, the most cheerless and the most desolate hours of my life have been passed within sight of this spot where I now stand. I had hoped, sir, that the cup that is now presented to my lip might, in the mercy of God, pass away. No human being will ever know the conflict to which my heart has been subjected for the last six long weary days and weary nights at the thought that when I returned to my people upon the banks of the Ohio it would be to bear to them the sad tiding of the final dissolution of this great Republic, and to inform them that I must now abide the issue whether for evil or for good which, the South has now made. I have not forgotten that one in whose veins flows .Page109 the same blood which now courses in mine is second in command at Pensacola. Blood, kindred, affection, love, every impulse that can control an honorable man have been bearing down day after day upon my judgment until I felt that all the fortitude, that all the heroism, that all the hardihood that could belong to a wise man was necessary to meet and suppress this storm of emotion and of fear.

Sir, I have tried to purge myself, as far as my feeble faculties could, from that natural and painful feeling which I dare any Virginian to expel from his bosom when he feels himself standing here in front of a destiny that, deprecate as he may, he sees is inevitable.

Sir, I have waited to this hour-I have calmly and deliberately weighed every argument as fully and zealously and conscientiously as I could do, to see in what direction the path of duty lay. On the one side was my family, their interests, their fortunes, their all. On the other were a people who have known me only to love me, and who in every hour of trial have showered down their manifold blessings upon me, until I feel that I belong more to them than to myself.

Sir, I desire, at this day and at this hour, to present a united front, if a united front we can present. I adjure you in the name of the people whose protection and whose interests you cannot overlook, to unite upon some measure that will make a unit of this Convention, and will finally make a unit of the people of the State. Sir, this is not now altogether a military question. If it were, I should feel myself at liberty to act upon other principles and with other considerations than those which bear upon me now. We have no right to pass an ordinance of immediate and unconditional secession. You cannot do it legally. The proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , seems to me to be fair and just, for it presents a safe alternative without giving rise to delay. If you pass an ordinance of secession, you must await the decision of the people upon it, and no more delay will result from a vote upon the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, than will from taking a vote upon the ordinance. You gain nothing by passing an ordinance of immediate secession. That is, in fact, a power you cannot exercise. You can present to the people the alternative of deciding whether they will, by their own sovereign act, dissolve the bonds which bind this people together; or whether they will more firmly unite those who are bound together by geographical ties and the ties of a common interest and a common destiny.

Sir, in my conscience, I believe that if this Convention will present the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , that we can and will unite all in this house, and that will present a united .Page110 front, which, at a time like this, is of great importance. Under these considerations, and without going into any further argument upon the subject, I am compelled to vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier. I trust that those who desire that we may all unite upon the broad principles necessary to our security as a people, and who believe that in peace is the time to prepare for war, will cooperate with us in adopting that proposition. I would remark, that ominous and threatening as may be the cloud that now seems to be gathering over us, it is not an act of patriotism to deliver over the people to wholesale slaughter without affording them the means of defence. However indisputable the right of revolution may be; however justifiable it may be for the people of Virginia to take arms in their hands to vindicate their liberties; if Virginia desires to secure her best interests, and to keep her people in their proper line of duty, she will take the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, and reject the ordinance of secession.

Mr. President, I know not where I shall find words to express the deep feelings of my heart, and if I had them, shattered as my nerves are by sleepless nights, I should not have the physical strength to speak them. I did not dare to trust myself to speak on yesterday, for my feelings would have overcome me. I never realized till then that Virginia must go out of this Union.

Do not blame me, sir, if I have peculiar feelings of veneration and affection for the American flag and the name of American citizen.

Sir, it was my fortune to be in Paris during the deadly carnage of the insurrection of June, 1848. When fear and consternation reigned throughout the city, I stood under that flag, safe as within the bastions of Gilbraltar. I felt and experienced during that trying crisis that the name of American citizen was an xgis of protection in every danger. Sir, I have always associated the American flag with the name of Washington. My honored grandfather, Gen. Thomas Nelson, stood under that flag, when he aimed the first gun shot at Yorktown, against his own house, then the headquarters of Cornwallis. Do not wonder, then, if I am grieved at heart to give up that flag.

Mr. President, if I have come to the conclusion that we cannot secede from this Union without consultation with the border slave States, I can at least plead that my convictions on that point have been strengthened by the eloquent remarks of the gentleman from Montgomery, on the 26th of March. Its fervid strains are still echoing in my ears. I thought that day that if the Hybla bees had been .Page111 there they would have swarmed upon his lips. Let him not blame me, then, if I am still under the influence of that spell.

Sir, I said I never realized till yesterday that this Union must be broken up; for I never would believe that it could be broken up whilst Virginia remained a member of it. But, sir, I begin to realize that it must be so; and if the time has come, I shall have no conscientious scruples in breaking every tie that binds us to it.

When I remember, though, that that beautiful valley where my people live, as has been said, is to be the Flanders of the battle, and that those green fields will probably be fields of blood; when I look back to the past and forward to the future, I sorrow from my heart, and I am speaking with trembling lips, with tearful eyes, and from a bursting heart.

Sir, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we must secede; that we must resist the Federal usurpation at every cost and at every hazard; and, sir, I only differ with some of my friends as to the best mode of doing it. I believe that the alternative proposition of cooperation with the border slave States should be submitted to the people, together with the question of separate secession.

Sir, the only consolation which I shall have in parting with the flag of the United States, is that I shall stand under the flag of this beloved Commonwealth when she unfurls it to the breeze, and calls upon her sons to defend it. I pledge you here, that as long as there is strength within my arm, or in those of my people, we will defend it to the death. If it ever falls to my lot to hold that flag, like heroic Ja'far, on the field of Muta, when I lose my right hand may I shift the standard to my left, and should the left be severed from my body, may I embrace it with the bleeding stumps, and if I am killed, may there be some Khalid there to bear it on to victory and to triumph.

I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose of making a few remarks, not merely to excuse myself to the present generation, but that I may stand right upon the record hereafter. I have no fear of being misrepresented whilst I am alive, and my record I shall leave as my vindication when I shall have passed from this world.

When I came here, it was with a disposition to have this matter amicably adjusted. Before we entered fairly upon this task of adjustment, there were a set of resolutions adopted, in which it was expressly stated that the General Government was to forbear from the exercise of any power that might bring about a collision between that Government and the seceded States. We then had Virginia in a .Page112 safe position, so that we could with propriety under take to settle this matter amicably, without the citizens of Virginia apprehending danger from any source. I felt myself at liberty, with the assurance that everybody in Virginia was safe, to make every honorable effort to settle this matter. Recently, however, my constituents at home attempted to instruct me, and when I went home on Saturday last, I demanded to know what line of policy they instructed me to pursue. I was told by a member what arguments were used to get the paper signed. I made no reply, however, until I met those who drew up the resolutions, and had them adopted. I took occasion, on meeting them, to say that when their instructions came to me, I would receive them respectfully, and then tender my resignation, go home, and run again, when I am confident of beating their strongest man by a majority of at least two hundred. I told them I would refer the whole matter to the people who gave me their confidence. Every man whom I met, of the signers of the paper, told me he signed it under a misapprehension. I stated that I would resign if the document should be presented to me, and would insist not only on his withdrawing his name from it, but also in denouncing the man who got him to sign it.

When I got to Petersburg, I found that a telegraphic despatch had reported a state of things from Washington that was, to me, alarming enough. I was met by two gentlemen of high distinction, who had done their best to defeat me. They told me they would not sign the instructions. That I beat them in a stand up fight, and that they would now leave me to pursue the course I thought best. I told them, if that was their plan, I would meet them as men. I said my efforts were directed to an amicable adjustment of the whole affair; and that, if we went out before making due preparation, there would be a divided Virginia. I said I did not believe, and Virginia did not believe, at that time, that there was any existing cause to justify disunion, and I am still of opinion that no cause did exist, then, to justify secession. I stated that I thought some overt act should be committed to justify secession. In my estimation, that without that there would be no unity of purpose or sentiment in the State. I stated that I regarded the policy of Lincoln in calling forth 75,000 militia, and calling upon Virginia for her quota of that number, as sufficient to unite not only Virginia, but Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland and Missouri. I said to them, "Gentlemen, go on; issue your instructions; I know when the point of honor is past, as well as any man; I know when to strike the blow." I remarked to them, also, that it was due to the commissioners who went to Washington that we should wait and hear what they.Page113 had to say. I said that when I heard their report I would be ready to do my duty. I came here, and finding the report of the commissioners to be of a character by no means satisfactory, I determined, if an ordinance of secession was offered, to vote for it. In doing so, however, I am not condemning my Western friends for the position they take. I am not condemning my friend from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , for I know he has done everything he could to secure peace.

I will remark, however, that when I sign that ordinance of secession, I shall sign it as an act of revolution. I tell you that the passage of this ordinance is the inauguration of revolution; and I tell you that in less than thirty hours afterwards, there will be acts done in the Convention that no man would now regard as possible. I tell you I go into this fight, and look every man in the face, and say, I did what I deemed best for my country, meanwhile believing that in signing the ordinance, I was helping to inaugurate revolution.

I beg pardon of this Convention at this late day to say a few words. We are about to write our names upon the record of history, and I will not consent that my name shall be signed to that record without a declaration of my opinions as to the crisis which is upon us.

Sir, I cannot disguise from myself the fact that the most glorious government that ever protected a people has been overturned, and has, without sufficient cause been overturned. I admit that we are in revolution. I admit that the resumption of the sovereignty of Virginia is necessary, and proclaim here, sir, that that necessity exists without sufficient cause.

Sir, I cannot shut my eyes to the fact, that certain States of this Union, for reasons peculiar to themselves, took certain steps which have precipitated this issue upon Virginia. I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that they have had co-adjutors among ourselves; and, holding that this Union is the last sheet anchor of liberty, I came here prepared to resist the effects of what has been done, and to counteract, as far as my efforts would avail, the evil influence of the course which these States have thought proper to pursue. Sir, those who have co-operated together upon this floor for the purpose of preserving the Constitution and the Union as our fathers made it, have met with reproach for their efforts. It is true, sir, it was of a general and not a specific and personal character; but, nevertheless, I have felt in my inmost soul, the impropriety of the course which gentlemen have thought proper to pursue in this crisis. For my part, I have in silence met these reproaches with a contempt more profound than the .Page114 insults which they conveyed. I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that this matter has been precipitated upon this Convention, and upon this people. I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that against my wish, and against the thousand interests of the State of Virginia, have we all been drifted into this eventful crisis. And, sir, I should be wanting in the frankness of a man if I did not proclaim here, whilst I may co-operate with gentlemen in passing an ordinance of secession, that I do it without the feeling of kindness and the sympathy which ought to have existed, and which would exist if they had pursued the right course towards those who have thus far differed from them. Humble as I am, I think I can see the machinery which has been, and which is to be put in motion in connection with this movement.

Now, sir, in reference to the plan proposed by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , I shall vote for it and give it my most cordial support. It commends itself to my judgment as far preferable to the immediate ordinance of secession in many respects. I believe that the effect of this proposition will be to unite the citizens of Virginia in one solid body; to unite the people of Virginia and cause them to act in co-operation with the citizens of the other border slave States. It would enable us to do what the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] so ably argued for in a speech which he delivered in Committee of the whole, namely: to make terms in a consolidated body with the Southern Confederacy, instead of being precipitated into that Confederacy under a Constitution which we will not have the ability to alter. I regard those who press upon the Convention now this ordinance of immediate secession, to speak plainly, as guilty of eminent folly. Sir, it is said in the public press this morning that an intimation has been received from the President of the Southern Confederacy, that, if acceptable to Virginia, his headquarters will be removed to this city. Whether the paper is correct or not, is there a gentleman on this floor who doubts that the effect of the immediate secession of Virginia will be to defeat that result? I would call the attention of gentlemen here to a fact that is demonstrative of the evil of this immediate ordinance of secession, so far as the State of Virginia is concerned. We all admit that if war does not now actually exist, that in a short time it will exist. The secession of Virginia will necessarily bring about a conflict which, without her secession, would not ensue. And what is to be the result? That we who are precipitated into this issue; that we who have no instrumentality in bringing it about; we who were opposed to the action of these Southern States-we step forward to take the part they ought to bear-we step forward and shift the scene .Page115 of conflict from those States to the soil of Virginia. Now, there is no part of Virginia more exposed than the part I come from, and I am unwilling by my vote to give additional impulse to a movement which must involve my people in danger, and, it may be, entail sad disasters upon them. I am not prepared to precipitate a war upon my constituents. If the people of Virginia choose to engage in this conflict, why not furnish them men and money to meet the force which the General Government may send against them? It is the excess of folly in us so to act in this great emergency as to shift the scene of conflict from the seceded States to ourselves.

I simply rise now to proclaim, that I have been zealously attached to the Union of these States, and willing, so long as hope existed, to use every honorable effort to maintain and preserve that Union; and that I shall at last, if at last I must, vote for an ordinance of secession, under a protest that I did so from the force of circumstances.

I presume the members of this Convention will indulge me for a few moments while I make a remark or two. War is now actually declared, and I feel that the time for talking has passed.

I will state that the people whom I have the honor to represent are fully alive to the crisis, and prepared to meet it, come what may. They possess as noble and patriotic hearts as beat in the breasts of any people on earth. They are as industrious and sober, and as zealous for the success of the cause of Virginia and the South as any people can be. I know that they desire with all their hearts that Virginia shall secede immediately, and, in addition to that, they are prepared to defend the honor of Virginia and the rights of Virginia. So much for my constituents; now for myself.

I have only to say to this Convention and before high Heaven, that I am determined that my action here shall be such as all will approve of. And when I am gone, my highest aspiration is, that I shall be buried in old Virginia in some spot where my wife may weep over me; and I would fain trust that when I am gone, I may be remembered in the patriotic heart of every patriotic defender of Southern rights and Southern liberty, if any merit there is in my course here to entitle me to such remembrance.

This is all that I would look for as a reward for any little service which it may be my good fortune to confer upon my State and the cause of the whole South.

I would ask leave of the Convention to add a few words to what I said last evening.

It will give my constituents the chance of voting to call to this council chamber of death the glorious State of Kentucky. She ought to be there. She is the daughter of Virginia-"bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh." The fairest daughter of all the earth. I know her well. I have heard the voice of her love for her honored mother. Hers is the most enchanting land on the continent. Her population are a race of heroes-wise and faithful in council; valiant, gallant, aye defiant, in the field. Call them to your council in this dreadful hour of dissolution, and if the red banner of war should invade our borders, her heroes and ours will triumph together, or embrace in death. Yes, sir, Kentucky should be present in the high councils of Virginia. It is an action that may affect our destiny for ages. I know my constituents will want her here. I beseech you to let it be so.

I shall vote against secession because I was elected to do so, and I desire, above every other consideration, to carry out faithfully the will of my constituents in this dreadful hour. They know the difficulty of my position, and if they have changed their opinions, they could have sent us instructions from the court house, where court was held on Monday, by the mail day before yesterday and again on yesterday. But they did not do it. I, therefore, vote their will in casting it against this ordinance of secession. If I believed there were instructions from the body of the people on the way now to that effect. I would vote for secession. I thank God they will have the power to vote upon it themselves. And when Virginia has decided, they and I will stand by her flag for weal or woe.

Mr. President, I have no apology to offer for consuming the few minutes' time allotted to me under the call of the previous question, on the subject now under discussion. As to who represents and who do not represent the views and sentiments of their constituents on this floor, time will soon disclose. Of one thing I am certain, and that is, that I have an approving conscience that I have, in my course in this Convention, been actuated by pure and patriotic motives. I believe that I have represented the wishes of my constituents, and in the vote that I am now about to cast I am still of the opinion that I represent the interest and views of my people. If I were not convinced that I represented the feelings of my people, I would this moment resign my seat in this body. No earthly power could induce me to cast a vote of this magnitude against my sentiments and convictions of right, nor would I cast it against the views and will of my constituents.

We were appealed to by the gentleman from Pittsylvania to know .Page117 who we were-were we Western Virginians and not Virginians! Let me say to that gentleman that I am a Virginian. My great ancestor sought refuge in Virginia from foreign bondage and oppression. My grand ancestor fought through the Revolutionary war as a Virginian. My father fought through the war of 1812, and I, Mr. President, stand here to day a Virginian-a direct lineal descendant from revolutionary stock-ready and willing to live or die for my country, as her necessities may require. Through these veins courses blood that never shrank from danger when country was imperiled. Under the flag of my country, I am ready to march to victory or to death. But, Mr. President, I must know that it is for my country that I fight. I am not willing to bring on my little family and defenceless countrymen the battles of a people whose conduct and course of action towards us I have always condemned. I am not willing to perjure myself and commit treason against my Government until that Government has been perverted to my oppression and injury. Not until I and my people are enabled to justify ourselves in the sight of God and man for such a fearful act, are we prepared to do this thing. I am now called upon to pass upon a question of more vital importance to the people of Virginia than has ever been before any of her deliberative bodies during her existence as a sovereign State; and that, too, with closed doors and with indecent haste. Why this unusual haste to press this question on the Convention? The ordinance of secession offered for adoption proposes to submit the action of this body to the people for ratification some forty days hence. An ordinance of secession cannot be effective until ratified by the people. Then, what possible harm could result to this Convention or the people, if one or two days should be consumed in discussing the two propositions now before this body? We have consumed months in debating abstractions which were of no earthly importance; and now, when a question that in my opinion involves life and death and all the material interest of this Commonwealth,4Some word such as "arises" seems to be missing here.it is to be pressed through under an unusual excitement. Little does it become the dignity of Virginia statesmen. The people will demand, and have a right to know, the reasons that influenced the actions of their representatives. We hear some of our brother members say they desire to be heard before this House. Let me say to them, if their voice is to be silenced here, that this is not the only tribunal. There is another last and final appeal to be made before those of whom we are the servants. There, if not here, we will be heard. I see one object the friends of the ordinance of secession have in view, in pressing it to so hasty an issue. This ordinance of secession is to be .Page118 hurried through this body; a revolutionary spirit is to be aroused, and the action of the people of Virginia is to be anticipated. The property within the limits of Virginia, belonging to the Federal Government, is to be seized. Hostile collision is to be induced by that act between the people of Virginia and the General Government. War is to be inaugurated here, without consulting the people. The purposes and objects for which we were delegated here will have been subverted by our own acts. Our mission here, as I understood it, was to deliberate and consult together for the interests of the Commonwealth, and to submit our action to the people for their adoption or rejection. What matters an Ordinance of Secession after we have brought upon our people open war with the General Government-the very thing we were sent here to prevent? Peace was our mission. The people reserved to themselves the right to say whether we should have war or peace. They reserved to themselves the right to pass upon every act of ours looking to a change of our federal relations. I would ask, is not the seizing and wresting from the possession of the federal government the property in our limits, changing our relations with that government; and that, too, in the face of the avowed declaration of the President that he would hold the public property, peaceably, if he could, forcibly, if he must? Will not the members of this Convention hesitate before they recommend such a course? If you will not, let me warn you, that your unwarranted usurpation of power will arouse a spirit of resistance in Virginia, that you are not now prepared to realize.

Mr. President, time fails me. I represent a people lying on the extreme border of the State. We can look across the beautiful Ohio, and converse with our sisters and brothers. In the name of every thing that is sacred, are we to be put in mortal array against each other without one last and final appeal to our brothers for reconciliation? Secession is war-war in its most fearful and desolating aspect. I make this my last and final appeal to this Convention to give us the substitute of the gentleman from Fauquier. I want my people to have the privilege of passing on it. With it the people of Virginia can be united. I came here with the determination of demanding the rights of Virginia and taking nothing less. Every vote that I have cast in this Convention has looked to that object. But I for one, am not willing that Lincoln or any one man shall destroy this Government. I want to make an appeal to the people. Is it possible that a few ambitious reckless men will be permitted to destroy the fairest Government that was ever constructed by mortal man, and the people in their majesty .Page119 and power not come to the rescue? God in his mercy forbid! Time is up, I am done.

I simply desire to say that I tied off with Mr. KILBY, of Nansemond, from Saturday morning until last night, and that I am now free to vote as I think proper.

Mr. President, the issue is now upon us; we must fight; and the question is, which side will we take. I have not heard from my people and have therefore no positive information as to how they would vote. I will, however, undertake to decide for them on which side they will vote, and that side is the South.

I have not had any instructions from my constituents, nor have I had any special communication from them as to what I ought to do here. I do not wish it to be understood that the vote I mean to give here to day is given as by them. I wish it to be understood, that I take the whole responsibility myself. Whether they would concur in it if they were here or not, I do not know; but the vote that I shall give I fully approve with my head and heart.

I have not detained this Convention heretofore by any remarks of mine, to the extent of twenty minutes. I feel compelled upon this occasion, however, to say something before this vote is taken.

I believe that I appreciate fully the solemn responsibility which attaches to me, and every member of this Convention, on this occasion. But, sir, I do not intend to indulge in any vague and idle repinings. There is a great crisis upon us, and as men we must meet it.

I endorse the sentiments of my friend from Loudoun [Mr. CARTER] , and intend, furthermore, to meet the crisis with all the responsibility that attaches to it.

Now, sir, there are two propositions before us; and, because the vote upon the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] is intended to be a test vote, I shall take occasion now to give my sentiments upon the main question.

I intend to vote what I believe is for the very best interests of the whole State of Virginia, because I claim to be a Virginian, true to every interest of my State-a Virginian without any prefix.

What are these propositions? One proposition-that submitted by the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] -is an ordinance of immediate secession, in support of which I have heard no argument calculated to bring conviction to my mind. The other is the proposition .Page120 of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , in aid of which I have heard an argument clear, powerful, convincing, patriotic; and in answer to that argument I have heard no other response than a call for the previous question.

Now, sir, I intend to vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, and why? Because it presents some hope that if we must fight-as I believe now we must and will do cheerfully-we will go into it well prepared. In such an event, we might with some confidence look forward to a successful issue; and when the conflict conies, I hope to meet there some gentlemen that I have the honor to meet here. In the mean time, as a Christian man, I do not intend by My vote to bring on this conflict; but rather to avert it as long as there is a possibility of escaping it. I do not intend to plunge our people into a war when arms or money are not available, and when we even have not powder enough to keep an army in the field for a campaign of two, nay, one month.

I intend, therefore, to vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , believing that, under the operation of that ordinance, we will be enabled to supply the deficiencies which are known to exist at present. I do not intend, so far as I am concerned, to plunge this State, bound hand and feet, into a civil war; and, as that would be the effect of an ordinance of immediate secession, I cannot vote for it. By the passage of this ordinance, you, in effect, declare war, and nothing else than war. Not a formal declaration, it is true, but such a declaration as Lincoln will perfectly understand and meet in due time.

How has this condition of things been brought upon us? One week ago, we were all calm, and firm. Since that time, by sensation despatches; by all sorts of communications; by proclamations issued by the President-gentlemen have been driven from their propriety, and now we all are upon the very brink of revolution, the end of which, I firmly believe, no man here will live to see.

In view of these facts, I intend to record my vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] ; and whilst I intend to hold myself responsible for that act to my people, I feel that I express, in recording my vote for that proposition, the sentiments of one of the most populous counties in this State. What I shall do after that may be what may be necessary to co-operate with those who now take the responsibility of plunging Virginia into a civil war. I shall do what, in my humble judgment, is best for the interests of all Virginia. I shall consult my best judgment in the matter, with no .Page121 other desire than to arrive at the truth. Thus far I have seen my way clearly. I don't know but that from this hour forward my way may be lighted by the blaze of civil war.

Mr. President, in violation of the positive injunction of my physician, I am now in my seat upon this floor, at a moment the most momentous, and fraught with more of interest than any since my existence, or the existence of the free people of America. Sir, I am about to be called upon to cast my vote upon a subject, the decision of which I feel involves the best interests, not only of the noble and generous people who honored me with their suffrages, but the people of the whole State. In my opinion, upon the decision of the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier depends the fact whether Virginia is at once-yes, at once-to be plunged into a war that we are wholly unprepared to engage in, or whether we are to have some little time in which to make preparation. War we are to have, and the only question now is time and preparation.

We are informed that there is a great insufficiency of arms, and a still greater insufficiency of powder; not near enough of the latter article, in my opinion, to justify us in taking the field without hope of soon obtaining more. There is not a powder mill south of Mason and Dixon's line ; where is our supply to come from? pass an ordinance of immediate secession, and you cannot get one pound from the North; but by accepting the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, I feel sure that we could procure a supply, if not large. at least an amount that we would be safe in taking the field with until we could procure a supply from England. Sir, I was elected to my seat here by a constituency whose devotion to the Union was a unit; a constituency noble, patriotic and generous, and to a majority of whom I have been opposed in the political questions formerly dividing parties all my life, but who, upon this occasion, laid past differences aside, as I have done here, and elected me by a triumphant majority over a Democrat. But they elected me, not on account of my former political affinities, but because I was a Union loving man, in whose integrity they thought they could trust, and who they felt assured would stand firm to the last. I have not heard of any change in their opinion, and even this morning heard they were as I left them. It is apparent to me that the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier will be rejected, but for which I will vote, and that an ordinance of immediate secession will be passed by this Convention, but for which I shall not vote, because if I did I feel sure I would thereby misrepresent a majority of those who sent me .Page122 here. But, sir, when that ordinance shall have been passed and ratified by the people, and when Virginia shall have been declared to be out of this Union, I shall then be prepared to stand by her to the last.

But, sir, I must here in the most solemn manner, protest in the name of my people against the passage of this immediate ordinance, but will give my support to the alternative one; because it will give time to make the preparation spoken of. Sir, we are about to be precipitated into a war brought upon us by fanatics and precipitationists; upon the heads of such be the responsibility; they have raised the whirlwind, can they direct the storm? To a just God, to desolated families, to fatherless children, let them account.

When Virginia takes her stand I will be with her; yea, be with her to the last; and whether my head be laid upon the pillow of death in my own happy home, or whether I be hurled into eternity upon the battle field, amid the clash of arms and groaning of my dying comrades, my prayer shall be for my own my beloved native State.

Shall the main question be now put-which is on the substitute offered by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] .

The vote having been put on ordering the main question to be put, was decided in the affirmative.

I call for the yeas and nays on the substitute.

The call was sustained, and the roll having been called, resulted-yeas 64, nays 77, as follows:5The Journal adds Armstrong and White to the affirmative votes listed here. The Journal adds Ambler, Addison Hall, and Leake to negative votes listed here, to arrive at a total of 79; however, apparently only Ambler should be added, since Leake and Hall were paired.

YEAS-Messrs. Janney [President] , Aston, Baldwin, Baylor, Berlin, Boggess, Brent, Brown, Burdett, Burley, Byrne, Campbell, Carter, Clemens, C. B. Conrad, R. Y. Conrad, Couch, Critcher, Custis, Dent, Dulany, Early, French, Fugate, Gillespie, Gravely, Gray, Ephraim B. Hall, Hammond, Haymond, Hoge, Holladay, Hubbard, Hull, Jackson, Peter C. Johnston, Lewis, McComas, McGrew, J. Marshall, Masters, Moore, Nelson, Osburn, Patrick, Pendleton, Porter, Price, Pugh, Robert E. Scott, William C. Scott, Sharp, Sitlington, Spurlock, Alexander H. H. Stuart, Chapman J. Stuart, Summers, Tarr, Whitfield, Wickham, Willey, Wilson-64.

NAYS-Messrs. James Barbour, Blakey, Blow, Jr., Boisseau, Borst, Bouldin, Boyd, Branch, Bruce, Cabell, Caperton, Cecil, Chambliss, Chapman, Coffman, Conn, James H. Cox, Richard H. Cox, Deskins, Dorman, Echols, Fisher, Flournoy, Forbes, Garland, Graham, Gregory, Jr., Goggin, John Goode, Jr., Thomas F. Goode, Hale, Cyrus Hall, L. S. Hall, Harvie, Holcombe, Hughes, Hunton, Isbell, Marmaduke Johnson, Kent, Kindred, Lawson, Macfarland, Chas. K. Mallory, James B. Mallory, Marye, Sr., Miller, Moffett, Montague, Morris, Morton, Neblett, Orrick, Parks, Preston, Randolph, Richardson, Rives, Seawell, .Page123 Sheffey, Slaughter, Southall, Speed, Staples, Strange, Sutherlin, Tayloe, Thornton, Tredway, Robert H. Turner, Tyler, Waller, Williams, Wise, Woods, Wysor -77.

I agreed to pair off with the gentleman from Lancaster [Mr. ADDISON HALL] , upon certain questions, one of which was the substitute of the gentleman from Fauquier. Were it not for that, I should have voted in the negative.

Mr. FRANKLIN P. TURNER , of Jackson, said, that he had paired off with Mr. PAUL McNEIL, of Pocahontas, otherwise he would vote no.

Mr. WM. P. CECIL, of Tazewell, McDowell and Buchanan, stated that his colleague, Mr. SAMUEL L. GRAHAM, was absent on account of illness.

Mr. JUBAL A. EARLY, of Franklin, stated that his colleague, Mr. PETER SAUNDERS, SR., was detained from his seat by sickness. He added that if he were present he would vote in the affirmative.

my colleague, Dr. GRANT, is now absent from sickness. I don't know how he would vote if present; but believe he would vote in the affirmative.

I have pursued, Mr. President, with undeviating constancy, the policy of co-operation. I have believed and still believe that we would best have subserved the interests of our constituents by producing concert of action between ourselves and the people of the border slave States. That policy has not met the approbation of a majority of this body; and it seems now that an ordinance is to be recommended to the people of this Commonwealth, by which we should immediately sever our connections with the Federal Government. I merely rise to say, sir, that I mean to take my share of the responsibility of voting for that ordinance, and now make an appeal to those gentlemen with whom I have been acting, to come up and give to this action all the strength that united counsel can impart to it.

I do not propose to detain the Convention a moment in explaining the considerations that must at once address themselves to the mind of every member; but merely to announce my own intention, and to beg at least as many of those as find it compatible with their sense of duty to unite with me and give to this vote as large a majority as it is possible.

I am one of those who voted for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] . I voted .Page124 for it with the knowledge that it would be defeated. The gentleman has appealed to all those who co-operated with him in support of his substitute, to come now and vote for this ordinance of secession that is now before the House. I need no such appeal from him, and will remark, that I should have done so without that appeal. I unite with him in asking every member of this House with whom I have heretofore acted to come forward and make this action of the State as nearly unanimous as possible. Many of the votes that I have given, were given for the purpose of uniting the State, and in deference to the wishes of our friends from the West, who, I know, have as patriotic hearts as any of those in the East. I appeal to them now in this hour of trial and trepidation to come up and aid us in our efforts to place Virginia in a position of independence. Let not Virginia be divided. Let us all come up to the mark. Let us, like one man, shoulder to shoulder, take the responsibility of carrying the Old Dominion out of the Union. I trust it will be the pleasure of all to unite in that good work.

I know the fact, as well as I can know it without being present at either the time or place, that there is a probability that blood will be flowing at Harper's Ferry before night. I know the fact that the harbor of Norfolk has been obstructed last night by the sinking of vessels. I know the fact that at this moment a force is on its way to Harper's Ferry to prevent the reinforcement of the Federal troops at that point. I am told it is already being reinforced by 1,000 men from the Black Republican ranks. I know the fact that your Governor has ordered reinforcements there to back our own citizens and to protect our lives and our arms. In the midst of a scene like this, when an attempt is made by our troops to capture the navy yard, and seize the Armory at Harper's Ferry, we are here indulging in foolish debates, the only result of which must be delay, and, perhaps, ruin.

I move the previous question.

The call was sustained. Ten minutes was allowed under the rule for each man to show why the main question should not be put.

I will say but a few words.

I am distressed, sir, beyond measure. I have not language to describe the feelings which fill my heart and this bosom. I never supposed that the first time that I should be in public life, I would be called upon to sever my connection with the United States of America. I have done all that I could do, consistently with the honor of Virginia,.Page125 to preserve this Union. I opposed the policy before my people of separate State action. I believed that hasty and independent action would result in the destruction of our fair country, and the utter extinction of the liberties of the State itself. But, sir, events over which we have no control have forced this evil crisis upon us. We have stood here manfully battling for the rights of Virginia; we have stood here manfully battling for the rights of the South, and, as I believe, for the freedom of the world. All these efforts, however, have proved futile. We have been forced into civil war by no act of ours. It has been forced upon us by the usurpations of a Black Republican President. I have never been deceived from the time of his inaugural to the present moment in regard to his policy. It was in keeping with the policy, the shrewdness and cunning of his Secretary of State. I have always kept my eye upon him, and have never forgotten the declaration he made six years ago, that the time would come, when, to aid his party in their hellish purposes, he would vote in favor of raising a force of 50,000 men. I have had no faith in that man since, and have considered every act of kindness on his part towards the South as merely apparent, and rendered for ulterior purposes involving ruin to the South. I wish that gentlemen here, who are able and eloquent, would proclaim to the world that Virginia now is one, and that this cunning arch agitator has led us into this evil crisis; I entertained a doubt this morning whether or not I should vote for the proposition which has just been voted down; but, sir, from the time I went before the people, up to the moment that I heard the enunciations just made by the gentleman from Princess Anne, in regard to what has been done at Norfolk, and is being done at Harper's Ferry, I believed that co-operation was most necessary for Virginia. Separate State action in the South has brought upon us much more calamities than will fall upon them. I do not, however, blame them. They acted right, as they thought; they certainly acted courageously, and the idea never entered my head to utter a word of condemnation upon them. They are bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and we are bound to defend them at every hazard. Had I been here I would not have voted to send Commissioners to Washington. I was prepared, then, from what I had seen of the policy of that man Seward, to vote for secession; and now I do not require the appeal made by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. ScoTT] to induce me to vote for this Ordinance. I came cheerfully to vote for it; and I think that every man who is a Virginian in heart, is bound to give her action as much unanimity as possible. This day's proceedings .Page126 will be read by the world. The eyes of the world are upon us; let us, therefore, act as one man. Let us offer up on the altar of our country, our prejudices in the past. Let us determine that no man will need any other appeal than that which comes up from his own heart, and when we give our votes, let us give them because that course has been forced not by any act of ours, but by the infamous policy of a Black Republican President whose authority we defy.

We have been appealed to, Mr. President, to take upon ourselves a portion of the responsibility of the passage of the ordinance of secession. If an ordinance of secession becomes the act of Virginia, we will have to share in the responsibility that is to attach to it-that is, all of us that intend to share the fortunes of the State. I am one of those who intend to share the fortunes of the State, come weal, come woe; and I shall take and bear my full share of the responsibility of the act of the State. But, sir, we are now in council as to what should be the act of the State; and I cannot see how any gentleman who does not think the act a wise act for the State, can share the responsibility of making it the act of the State.

I am one of those, sir, who believe that this act is an exceedingly unwise one, to be done now and under the circumstances by which we are surrounded. I have indicated that opinion by the vote which I gave for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier. I shall indicate that opinion again by the vote I shall give against the ordinance of secession. I claim the right as a representative upon this floor; as the representative of a free people living under a constitutional form of government; I claim the right, while a matter is in council, to give my vote according to my opinion. When I am overruled, and the act of the State is determined, then comes the time for united action upon the results of the council of the States, and then I shall be found sharing the fortunes of Virginia.

Sir, the gentleman from Princess Anne [Mr. WISE] says that we are already in the midst of war. The Governor of this State at his instance and the instance of others, has already directed assaults to be made upon Harper's Ferry and Gosport Navy Yard.

I did not say that.

I understood him to say that the Governor, at his instance, had directed steps to be taken with a view of taking Harper's Ferry and Gosport Navy Yard. If that is the case, I feel it to be my duty to tell my people not to march under an order that the Governor had no right to give.

I will state to the gentleman that it is to protect his people from being cut to pieces by the Wide Awakes-his people, who have marched to Harper's Ferry, I hope, in time to prevent the Wide-Awakes from getting the 20,000 arms at that place-that he has ordered out reinforcements. This has been done at the instance of a gentleman from this city. It is now too late to recall these people, if the gentleman could, and I hope he never would recall them, if he could. The Augusta troop are acting nobly in this matter, and I only wish my people had the honor of taking that stronghold.

I have no doubt that my people will be found ready, at all times and under all circumstances, to uphold the honor of their country. They have never been found wanting on that point.

But, sir, I am speaking here as the representative of the people in a constitutional government, in regard to an act which the people themselves, by a majority of 60,000, directed should not be consummated without their voice at the polls; and I say that to consummate this act in defiance of the solemn action of the sovereign people of Virginia, I care not how patriotic the impulse which actuated such a course, is in derogation of the sovereign rights of the people of Virginia, who have appointed to settle it at the polls. I do not undertake to discuss, because I do not know the fact, that any portion of the people of Virginia have undertaken to assume the responsibility of making war, or opening hostilities; but, sir, I do undertake to say that it is a fearful responsibility that any one undertakes who plunges this State into civil war, unprepared as she is.

Sir, the Governor is said to have sent men for the protection of my fellow citizens who are gone on this mission. I have no doubt that the Governor, in whatever he has done and will do, will be actuated by a high patriotism. I have high confidence in his patriotic purposes and his pure and sincere devotion to the interests of the State, as well as his capacity to preside over her destinies; but I feel it to be due to myself to say, that in recording my vote here, I cannot record my vote as one of the counsellors of the State of Virginia for a measure which my judgment does not approve. I repeat, sir, that when it shall become the act of the State, when my opinions shall be overruled it is a matter to be taken home to the hearts of the whole State, and to be sustained by the hands of the whole State. God forbid that I should be the one to make the slightest objection to carrying into action, aye, into determined action whatever the people of Virginia, in their sovereign capacity, solemnly determine shall be done.

Sir, I regard this as the most solemn hour of my life, and I would be .Page128 wanting in that candor which belongs to the position I occupy, and to the friends by whom I am surrounded here, if I had withheld this declaration of my position. I wish I could look upon this matter as other gentlemen here seem to look upon it. I wish I could participate in the feelings which seem to light up the countenances of friends whose opinions and patriotism I respect. But, sir, to me the future looks dark-da'rk and dreary; and while I trust I shall have a stout heart and strong arm to carry me through this as through any other duty to which my country may call me, while it is yet to be determined upon, my voice is against it.

Mr. President, I think it necessary for me to make a slight explanation of the position I occupy here.

I was elected to this body whilst a member of another body in this city. I was not at home during the election; but the party that elected me, over a darling brother of my own, occupying the same position with myself, was the party with which I have acted here from the beginning. I have done all in my power-humble though I am sure my efforts were-to maintain the integrity of the Union, and to preserve the peace. I have looked forward hopefully to a settlement of this question without a resort to arms; but that hope has unfortunately been disappointed. I now give, and shall very cheerfully vote with the majority on this occasion, and for the reason that I regard it as important that we shall show a united front to the enemy. I am willing to take my two pounds of powder and make the most of it that I can; and shall, moreover, do my utmost for the future to harmonize the people and to bring this war to a termination as early as possible.

I shall vote for the ordinance of secession, when the question comes up; and I would in this connection, while up, advise as a matter of some importance to Virginia in my opinion, that the flags that are now spread all through this Commonwealth shall at once be taken down, and the flag of Virginia run up in their stead, so that all can vote under that flag.

I rise simply to respond to my respected friend from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] .

In respect to his appeal, I will say, sir, that when the position of Virginia, shall have been taken, whatever that position shall be, I expect to sustain it-to sustain it in any quarter or in any capacity in which it may be required of me. I will be willing to sustain it in the field if necessary, or by the investment of what little fortune I have,.Page129 if necessary. I shall stand by Virginia to the last. Wherever her fortunes lead her, I will follow-I expect to be with those who follow them.

But in this crisis I am required, as the representative of a portion of the people of Virginia, to record their convictions upon the question before us, and my own convictions. I believe this proposition wrong. It has not the assent of my judgment. I believe it is the act that is to destroy this State; to destroy liberty itself. I believe, however honest may be-as I know honest they are-the sentiments and opinions of gentlemen on this floor, that without the madness, we have yet the folly of Vombier of pulling down the pillars of the glorious temple of liberty, and destroying ourselves.

I cannot, therefore, record my vote for this measure. I expect to sustain it when it is passed, and I feel that the necessity which compels me to make this declaration is a sure guarantee that the pledge which I make will be redeemed. But when I go home to my constituents, and when I see their trade all destroyed; when I see them cut off from every market they had in the South and West; when I see bankruptcy and distress stalking abroad in the midst of the honest constituency whom I represent; when, perhaps, I shall be called to look upon bloody fields and desolate homes-when, in the midst of all this ruin and desolation, I don't want my constituency or my conscience to reproach me with having any agency in producing it; and when I stand before the bar of my God, I wish to stand with my skirts all clear of the blood and the carnage which this fatal act will bring upon the State, if she shall adopt such a measure.

I have lived to see fifty seven winters and summers; I have had many trials and difficulties to endure during that time; but I have to confess that this hour is the most trying that I have ever experienced in my life.

We are told that some of my own countrymen have gone on to Harper's Ferry, where, perhaps, blood will be shed. Who are gone, I know not; but I do not deem it improbable that my own son is among the number. If he is not, certainly, some of the best friends I have are there.

I came here, as you know, and pronounced myself a Union man, determined at the same time to hold to that position until the very last hope had failed; and, sir, the last hope has failed. I believe that the Union is eternally gone, and the question is now, what is to be done? I had very little difficulty in making up my mind to vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , because I .Page130 thought it was right, and because I thought it was better that the people should have an opportunity of choosing between two propositions-of deciding whether they would consolidate the border States first, or whether they would adopt an Ordinance of Secession without that procedure. That proposition has been voted down, and now the single question comes up of secession or no secession. And what am I to do? I am sorry to say, sir, that I cannot approve of it. Yet, this Convention is going to pass it, whether I vote for it or not; but, in any event, I am determined to go wherever Virginia goes, and I would have gentlemen not suppose for a moment that because I cannot vote for this measure, and would prefer that proposed by the gentleman from Fauquier, I would throw any obstacle in the way of the action of the Convention. I may be doing wrong, but if I do, it is an error of the head, and not of the heart. I can say, in the language of one who figured more than three hundred years ago in the Old World, whose name and fame will stand forth in the pages of history identified with all that is noble and independent down to the end of time itself-I mean the illustrious Luther. When he was summoned before the dignitaries of the Old World, he observed :

"I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor advisable to do anything against conscience. Here I stand; I cannot act otherwise."

I don't know whether the debates of this day will ever see the light, but if they do, I want it to be seen why I cannot vote for this measure; and I want it to appear that I declared, whatever may be my vote, that I would go wherever the majority of the people of Virginia would go.

I will conclude by tendering to the Convention thanks for the attentive manner in which these few remarks have been listened to.

Mr. President, no member on this floor feels more deeply than I do the responsibility that devolves upon him. I am here, not to act for myself, but am charged with a representative duty-not of an ordinary character, but of the utmost importance to my people. It is for the people of my county I must speak and act.

The vote just taken upon the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier, is known to be a test vote. It is known that an ordinance of secession will pass this Convention this day-my vote could not prevent it. I have no desire to hinder what is to be the action of this body. If I was left to act for myself, I could do so without the embarrassment I now feel.

Sir, I shall shrink from no responsibility, and avoid no issue. But I am at a loss to know what would be the wish of my constituents in this hour of my country's trouble. And, as my vote could not change the result, I ask that I may be excused from voting on the proposed ordinance of secession.

The excuse was granted.

I do not desire to detain the Convention further than to ask permission for myself and my colleague [Mr. MCGREW] to file a written statement of the reasons why we shall vote against the ordinance of secession.

Leave having been granted, the following was handed to the reporter for publication :

Mr. President, I wish very briefly to give the reasons for the vote which I mean to cast.

When I was elected to this Convention, I am satisfied that a large majority of the people were opposed to separate State secession. This Convention has been in session for a considerable period of time, within which several Court days have passed in my county. My votes have gone there, and in no instance have the people intimated, either by resolution or petition, that they have undergone any change since I left home.

In casting the vote which I have cast for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , I acted, as I believe, strictly in accordance with the wishes of those who sent me here. A majority was opposed to separate State secession when I last saw them, and when I communicated with them in a public manner, I received no instructions conveying any wish to the contrary.

I feel, therefore, that I can but give the negative vote upon the passage of the ordinance of secession.

I desire, Mr. President, to say a word or two.

This is with me a very solemn occasion. Up to this time, I have been content to keep my seat, to listen to others and say not a word. I was still disposed to pursue that course, but I felt that it was proper that I, like others, should offer a remark or two in explanation of my vote.

I came here as a Union man to represent on this floor a strong Union constituency. But I would say in their regard, that while they are a Union loving people, they are loyal. to Virginia, and zealous for the promotion of every interest of hers. They are ready to do all in their power to maintain her honor and her rights; and, for my part, I would appeal to my brethren here to say how, persistently, in every vote I have given, I have endeavored to do that which I thought was calculated to maintain the Union of these States consistently with the honor of Virginia. But, sir, within the last day or two, I have, like every one else on this floor, lost all hope of preserving .Page133 the Union. I voted for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , because it presented to the people the alternative of a choice between co-operation with the border slave States, or immediate secession ; and because, moreover, it afforded time for preparation, which was needed. That proposition, however, has been lost; and now the only question left for me to decide is, whether I shall vote against the proposition of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , and thereby appear to make a factious opposition to it, or whether I shall respond to the appeals of my friend from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] . I have to say that I have determined to go with him. I have had, I confess, much difficulty in examining this question. When I look forward and see nothing before us but war, devastation and utter ruin, I must say that my hopes of the future are dark and ominous. I have already learned by the result of the last vote that a majority of this house have condemned the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier. I see a determination on the part of a majority here to pass this ordinance of secession now, and, in order to give as much unanimity as I can by my vote to the action of this body, I mean to vote in the affirmative.

Mr. President, I would not desire to say a word were it not that there is upon us now a moment of more importance, carrying with it issues of more momentous interest than any upon which the State of Virginia has, perhaps, ever been called upon to vote. In this condition of things, I think it proper for me to state what is the course I shall pursue on the question before the house, and to assign, in a few words, the reasons that induce me to take the course that I shall pursue.

Recent events within the knowledge of all of us, have absolutely forced the State of Virginia, whatever may have been the disposition of a large number in this Convention previous to these events, to say now that she cannot remain where she is; that she cannot remain without doing that which I don't suppose any gentleman would counsel to be incurred without dishonor and disgrace. She must move in that condition of things.

Two propositions have been presented to the house; one that of the gentleman from Fauquier, as a substitute for that offered by my friend from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , which is an ordinance of immediate secession. The only question then presented in that attitude of the matter is, all agreeing that the State must move, in what manner shall that movement be made, whether according to the one or the other of these two propositions.

I am not disposed now to occupy the time of the Convention, to take even a glance at the arguments which have been offered by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] in presenting his proposition. They were clear, forcible-to my mind not only unanswerable, but unanswered. The Convention, however, chose to reject it, and I bow to its decision, and shall willingly submit to it. I preferred that proposition to the one now before the House, and from the situation in which I now find myself-with a conscience deeply impressed as to the inevitable necessity of the State's moving-there is nothing for me to do but to take the other proposition which the House has not rejected.

I concur entirely in the idea of the absolute and inevitable necessity of Virginia moving, and the only difficulty presented to my mind was, which of these two propositions was preferable. One being rejected, I adopt the other with all my heart.

I shall make no professions here of my devotion to the State. I shall make no professions at this stage, for I feel that in doing so I would be trespassing unnecessarily on the time of the Convention. At best, I am satisfied, it would be superfluous; for those who know me need no assurance of my fidelity to the cause of Virginia.

I will conclude by saying that I shall cast my vote for the ordinance of secession, the Convention having failed to adopt the competing proposition.

Mr. President, I have no disposition to detain the Convention further than to remark that I voted for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier with great cordiality and much pleasure, because its plan of co-operation with the border slave States seemed to me to embrace the great want which, it is to be feared, will prove detrimental to us when it will be too late to remedy it. We need, moreover, considerable preparation, and this we would have an opportunity of making if the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier was carried.

I have received letters from my constituents since I came here, and they all sustained me in the position which I have taken here. I received a letter last night which takes this position. All in fact are utterly opposed in sentiment to the adoption of an ordinance of secession, and, convinced, that this is the general sentiment of my people, I feel bound to vote against it. While doing so, I am not disposed by any vote I shall cast here to prevent entire unanimity in the action of this body. I hope that no emergency will prevent .Page135 gentlemen here from submitting their action to the people. If they adopt an ordinance of secession, I shall most cheerfully acquiesce.

Mr. President, I hope this Convention will indulge me for a few moments, whilst I explain the vote I shall give on this momentous question on which we are now called to vote. The action of this Convention on this question cannot be final. Whatever it may do, before that action can be final, must be ratified by the people at the polls. Whenever, and however the people may decide, I, as a Virginian, will bow to that decision.

But we are asked to give a vote on this question, that is to go forth to the people as a recommendation of it to their favorable consideration and vote.

Sir, I cannot give that recommendation to the measure. I believe the separate and immediate secession of Virginia is equivalent to immediate war. And in the unprepared and defenceless condition of the State, war is destruction and direful ruin to her. She is without soldiers, arms, money and credit; and with a debt of forty millions hanging over her without the means of payment.

I shall therefore vote no. I cannot recommend it.

I will ask for a division of the question-the division to consist in taking a separate vote upon the ordinance and preamble. In intimating this desire to divide the question, I am influenced by a wish to have some change made in the preamble, for it seems to me to be somewhat defective. I do not mean to be understood as seeking to avoid casting my vote upon it. That I shall do in any event.

At this stage of the proceeding, Lieutenant Governor ROBT. L. MONTAGUE took the chair and occupied it till after the passage of the ordinance of secession.

Mr. President, I was in hopes when the Committee of the Whole adjourned and went into Convention, that then I would have an opportunity to make my views known upon this all absorbing and important question. That opportunity has not been afforded me, and I rise now simply to enter my most solemn protest against the passage of this ordinance.

Sir, what is it? A declaration of war against our Government. Believing it to be such, never, so help me God, shall it receive my vote. I know not what may be in the future. I have a wife and six little children standing around her knee and sitting on her lap, and I see nothing but ruin to that family and hundreds of others besides them, if this ordinance shall pass.

What is our condition on the sea coast. We cannot be protected. We cannot have communication with our old mother Commonwealth. Separated by a bay thirty five miles wide, with inlets to admit the enemy and render us liable in a single night to have our property consumed, our negroes run off, our all taken off by a reckless rabble from the Northern States, without a gun or a rifle in my county; with only a few blank cartridges, a few balls and a few little pieces of ordnance which were sent there to keep down servile insurrection, in case it should break out. I say, sir, with such disadvantages, who can doubt that our condition, in the event of war, must be desperate. I see nothing, in fact, but ruin for my people in the policy which it is intended to inaugurate here to-day.

A few years ago, sir, when a boy so high [describing the height] I stood by the bed side of the only parent I ever knew. Besides many other wise counsels he gave me, he told me to try always and do right; to walk steadily and constantly in the path of duty, and that God would bless my efforts. I have sought zealously to observe these counsels; I have tried with all my might to discharge my duty to all, and I congratulate myself that so far the results have been very much as predicted by my good parent. Upon that arm depends the support of my family; but, so help me God, I would have it cut from its place before I would use my hand to sign an ordinance of secession. I voted for the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , but I cannot vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , because I do not believe it to be for the good of the Commonwealth; and if no other man in this assembly will cast his vote against it, I will stand here solitary and alone and do it. I will not only do that, but when I go back to my people, I will vote against it and advise the people to vote against it. But if a majority of these people vote for it, then it becomes the act of the people and I will submit; and whenever the standard of the Old Dominion floats, I will rush to it; and I venture to say I will be found as true to it as the most ultra in this Convention or out of it. In the language of my friend from Princess Anne [Mr. WISE] , employed in the first speech which he delivered in Congress, I am intus et in cute a Virginian. If honor shall flow from this day's proceedings you of the secession party are entitled to it all; but if ruin, bloodshed, desolation and disgrace shall be the consequence, as I very much apprehend will be the case, you must step forward and say, "we did it and we are ready to abide the consequences." Great, indeed, will be the responsibility that must attach to so awful a proceeding if such results as I have referred to .Page137 should follow. For my part, I wash my hands of the whole matter. Never, never will I sanction this movement until it is sanctioned and ratified by the sovereign people of Virginia. There all sovereignty resides. Whatever may be the consequence of this proceeding, I hope that the great principle of self-government will be protected and upheld for all time; that it may be transmitted in all its purity and perfection to our latest posterity, and may flourish in all its original splendor when that city yonder [referring no doubt to Washington] will crumble to dust.

I beg the indulgence of the Convention while I depart from a resolution I formed the moment you elected me to that chair-to take no part in your deliberations. But the moment has come when I feel myself impelled, by a sense of duty, to state, with all the brevity I can, the reason why I cannot vote for this ordinance of secession.

I always feel the force of every appeal that is made to me by my friend from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , and when he invited us all to come up and present a united front in favor of this ordinance, I felt as if I would have done it, if I could, without violating my own sense of duty. I know not what course I may pursue when I go home, although I am determined now to vote against this ordinance of secession. But if I had resolved, from the moment my foot touched the soil of the county in which I live, to urge the people there to vote for the ordinance of secession, I would, as a matter of policy, vote against it; and I appeal to all gentlemen, who have been representing Union constituencies like myself, to say, if, by carrying out the will of their constituencies here in the vote they are about to give, they could not return home and operate with more power, and more influence upon them, than if they vote here to violate the will of those constituents who sent them.

Sir, I know what is before me; I know that an Ordinance of Secession is war, a cruel, bloody, civil war. The gentleman from Augusta [Mr. STUART] , who spoke yesterday, alluded to my county and its position. Sir, it is true as he has intimated, there is a large revolutionary highway over which the armies of the country marched North and South, during the whole of that war; which I cross every day that I put my foot outside of my office. There is the old highway over which Braddock's army was marched to Saratoga; and there is that old highway now leading into the heart of the most populous and powerful portion of the great State of Pennsylvania, with its three .Page138 million of inhabitants, and we within three miles of that State, separated from it only by a river that is fordable for six months in the year. I desire to know of gentlemen here to day if any power that ever governed any civilized nation upon the face of the earth, ever plunged their country into a war with such fearful odds against them, without having a single battalion of regular soldiers, with a beggarly account of empty armories and magazines, with a frontier of more than 1,200 miles without a fort or fortification upon any one of its headlands. My friend from Augusta [Mr. STUART] , yesterday, told you that I lived in the Flanders of Virginia, or rather of this war. When you shall have passed this ordinance of secession the Potomac will be the Rhine, the borders of which for miles on either side, from where it takes its rise in the Alps to where it empties into the German ocean, has been saturated with human blood for the last three centuries. Gentlemen must have read history in vain if they can point out to me any boundary between two nations in any civilized continent on the globe where the same result has not been produced. Aye, gentlemen, your wives and children in the county of Montgomery, up in the mountains, the wives and children of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] and the gentleman from Bedford [Mr. GOGGIN] will all be asleep peacefully at midnight, when others will be fleeing with their children in their arms, by the light of their burning dwellings.

What I demand of you is this : will you make a declaration of war-for that is what this ordinance of secession will amount to-without preparing to defend our people who live upon the frontier, who are exposed to the assaults of the enemy, and upon whom they will come thick and heavy? I see before me now my venerable friend from Charles City [Ex-President TYLER] . I demand to know of him, if he were President of the United States, whether he would ever have recommended to Congress to declare a war under such circumstances as now press upon us, with a force against him of eighteen to one, with a powerful navy upon the other side, and he without a gun boat; with armies drilled and disciplined, and with a command of 800,000 militia, would he have recommended to Congress to pass a declaration of war without waiting sixty days to make some preparation for it? I imagine not, sir.

We have been told here that the power of these Confederate States once organized into a regular government, with a regular army, would be sufficient to meet the emergency of a war such as is now threatened. Gentlemen, that is a tried failure. I tell you that the Confederate army never will and never can march to our assistance. Not that.Page139 they are not as brave and gallant men as any in the world; but they will use all their means and power to protect themselves at home.

I looked lately into the history of the control by the government of Spain of the mouth of the Mississippi river. I learned there that all Western Virginia, all Tennessee, all Kentucky were aroused almost to open rebellion against their own government, because they would not get the command of the mouth of the Mississippi by treaty, and if not by treaty, by force of arms; and when Mr. Jefferson became President, he wrote to France and stated that that country [referring to the country along the mouth of the Mississippi] must come under the control of the United States at the hazard of our existence; and he sent Mr. Monroe there to aid Mr. Livingston in negotiating for its acquisition. Mr. Livingston wrote to Mr. Monroe at Havre, saying, "you came here too soon-you ought to have gone down there and taken the right, and then come here to negotiate it." And now what is the state of the case? North of the Ohio, which was then a wilderness, is now filled with its teeming millions of brave, hardy people, and their outlet is down the Mississippi river; and, sir, as sure as God is in Heaven, lament as we may, and lament as I should, and always would any conflict, they would have the mouth of the Mississippi river, whether the Government at Washington says aye or no. In the Mechanics' Hall, when the manly form of the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. STARKE]6This name should be that of Mr. Anderson, the Commissioner from Mississippi. was standing by my side addressing this Convention, I looked upon him with sadness and with sorrow. Facts which I had forgotten were all fresh in my memory, and I could not but reflect upon the dreadful spectacle of thousands of armed men floating down that river, not that river alone, but all its tributaries, to clean out the fertile regions which line them on every side with habitations.

Mr. Clay stated, in 1840, that while some had talked of a South-Western Confederacy, it was certain that those who lived upon the Mississippi would never permit a barrier to lodge at the Belize or over the falls of the Crescent city. Mr. Vallandigham, in the Congress of the United States, told them that they of the North-West would hew their way to the mouth of that river, sword in hand. So that you will get no aid from that quarter.

Permit me to say, that what I have said has been said in no spirit of reproach upon any of these Southern States that have thought proper to change their relation to the General Government. I thought the hour had come to look facts in the face as they were, and to see .Page140 whether we could hope for any aid from the North-West in this new Confederacy which you are about to create.

I propound this question now to you, and ask you to respond to it, not governed by passion or prejudice, or by the excitement of the hour, but clearly and calmly, if it be possible.

If Lord Palmerston, the British Premier, were to involve his country in a war with France, or with any nation upon the face of the globe, without preparation, with a force of eighteen to one against him, ought not he to be impeached, and lose his head? What has Louis Napoleon been about ever since he ascended the throne? Making preparations for the great Italian campaign. He has been ever since the close of that campaign making preparations for any war that may turn up, or that he may choose to originate, whenever it suits his will and pleasure.

The proposition of my friend from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , was a favorite proposition of mine, and I think ought to have been adopted, because it would have given us time, at least, to have expended this million appropriated by the Legislature before the shock of arms should come upon us. My belief is, that if this ordinance passes here to day, and more, if it passes by the unanimous vote of this body, that it will be regarded as an act of war, and so treated by the General Government.

I shall vote against this ordinance of secession, for the reason, among others, that if there be not a unanimous vote upon it, there may be a pause on the part of the General Government until our people vote upon it. In the mean time we will have an opportunity to make some necessary preparation to meet an emergency of war, if such should result.

This ordinance of secession was brought before this body yesterday. The previous question was moved upon it and the ten minutes rule adopted, and now we are called upon to give a vote that, in my judgment, is pregnant with the issue of human freedom all over the globe. I believe that if this experiment fails there is no hope left for representative government and liberty regulated by law. I believe that the dark night of universal despotism will settle down over the whole globe, upon the failure of this great experiment of ours. This is not the only proposition before us. Not at all. We have other propositions before us. We have a proposition in the resolutions and in the amendments to the Constitution which are laying over. These contain a plan of conference and co-operation with those border sister States of ours. I thank the Convention, not only for the kindness and .Page141 indulgence that they have extended to me now, but for that which I have received in my entire sphere of action during the whole session of this body. I have felt it due to my constituents to enter this, their protest, in view of the peculiar circumstances in which they are placed, against this act dissolving the Union.

I do not desire to occupy the ten minutes allotted to each member, but before I commence the remarks I intend to make, I ought to say to the gentleman from Loudoun [Mr. JANNEY] , that he ought to recollect that for the last two months we have been discussing this question, whether the State should secede or not. This question was not mooted for the first time yesterday. It is one with which every member here, I imagine, is perfectly familiar. It does not become gentlemen to seek to cast odium upon what was once the minority in this Convention, but what is now the majority, for calling the previous question when they themselves voted to restrict debate to ten minutes at an early stage of the session; and when they had lying upon the table a resolution declaring that as soon as the question under debate at the time would have been disposed of, in Committee of the Whole, that the same gag was again to be applied. It is not, therefore, becoming in gentlemen, as I humbly conceive, that they should be making complaints of this sort at this time. Why, if the arguments of gentlemen are to avail here, no person would vindicate his violated honor. They are making this a question of dollars and cents, and not one of honor. My friend from Accomac [Mr. CusTrs] , who really has elicited this reference, has told you about the exposed state of his county. Sir, my county is as much exposed as his, with not half the population that his possesses, with not half the arms within its borders that are within the borders of his county. There is not a tree, as you know, Mr. President, between my residence and Europe or Africa, and on the other side the Chesapeake washes some of my possessions that are not distant above five miles from my residence; and, sir, one-third of my whole estate consists of slaves, and these, if necessary, I am willing at any time to dedicate to the honor and independence of Virginia. The invaders cannot take my lands; but, as I have said, if it be necessary to the maintenance of Virginia's honor and the establishment of her independence of Yankeedom, that all my slaves should be lost to me, I will cheerfully abide the loss. They are no consideration with me in an issue of this sort, and especially so, when I feel confident that the coming conflict will close with Virginia's wrongs fully avenged. I expect, after all, I will be able to live.

I have more confidence in Divine Providence than the gentleman from Loudoun [Mr. JANNEY] , who seems to have a belief that everything that is within the pale of Virginia is sacred. The gentleman ought to recollect that if we have no forts on our borders, neither has Pennsylvania or Ohio. But, sir, if we have no forts we have a gallant people. We have a people who "know their rights and dare maintain them" at all and every hazard.

The gentleman says that there will be a declaration of war as soon as the ordinance of secession is passed. Has he forgotten that a declaration of war is already made by Abraham Lincoln? Has he forgotten that Abraham Lincoln, as President of the United States, has called upon Virginia to furnish her quota of troops, not only to suppress the insurrection or the rebellion, as he chooses to call it, in the Confederate States, but even in our own Commonwealth? If this ordinance be adopted, and the gentleman from Loudoun [Mr. JANNEY] believes afterwards that Abraham Lincoln can exercise any restraint upon him, I hope it will be a constitutional restraint; and that if, as the gentleman apprehends, war should be declared, which I maintain is already declared, it will be a declaration in keeping with the forms presented by the Constitution, and not an act of usurpation, such as he seems thus disposed to perpetrate. If Congress shall declare war, I accept the issue. I never mean to be deferred from declaring my rights because I apprehend that some stronger men than myself will try to wrest it from me.

Mr. President, I will only make a few remarks before I give my vote.

I must confess that I find myself today in a very peculiar position. I am here among the members of my section, with only three others and myself prepared to vote for an ordinance of secession.

There are in fact, but four who are prepared to vote for this ordinance, out of thirty counties in the North West. I have been importuned by those from that section who are opposed to this policy, to vote against the ordinance; and I must confess that their appeals have had some influence upon me. I had determined in my own mind to vote for an ordinance of secession; but events have transpired and indications have been furnished which brought dismay to some of the strongest hearts from my section, arid I almost determined to abandon, for the present, my original purpose. Upon testing the feelings of the members from my Congressional District, I ascertained that out of 18 counties, which it comprises, there were but two-another and myself-who were willing to vote for an ordinance of secession as a last resort.

I found that my friends all around, North and South of my counties, intended to vote against this ordinance, while others asked to be excused from voting, and the House granted the leave. I should like very much to have that favor extended to me, while, at the same time, I will return to my people if this ordinance is passed, and will urge upon them to ratify it by their votes at the polls.

You can very easily understand the position I occupy. I have had no instructions from my people. I am now four hundred miles from them; they have entrusted their destiny to my keeping, and, in the absence of instructions, I feel that I should act with extreme caution.

The gentleman from Harrison [Mr. WILLEY] whom I know to have considerable influence in the counties I represent, is aware that the people of these counties hold intimate relation with the people of Ohio; and, having no instructions from them, I don't know but that the vote I may give may plunge them into civil war.

I have concluded, this morning, that there is but one course that I could see marked out for me, and that was to cast my vote for this ordinance of secession and leave the result to God. It is true, as has been said here by gentlemen from the North-West, that we have not a market in that whole country, nor have we any means of defence whatever. We are cut off from you, and we will soon be cut off, I have no doubt, from the city of Baltimore, with which we carried on a large trade. I was going on to remark that if it would be the pleasure of the Convention to excuse me from voting, I would thank them for it, but if not excused, I trust I shall have the nerve to meet the emergency and vote for this ordinance. I am importuned by many men from my section, whose judgment is more ripe than my own, and who probably have looked carefully into this matter, not to vote for the ordinance. I determined, before I would yield altogether my judgment to theirs, to ask this Convention to excuse me from voting, which, if they do, I shall thank them for; but if they refuse to do so, I shall not shrink from the responsibility, let the result be what it may to me and my people. Though we stand at the point of danger, live or die, sink or swim, I will record my vote in favor of the ordinance, and give my heart and hand to the cause of my mother State. [Applause.] The main question, which was the ordinance of secession, was then ordered to be put.

I ask for the yeas and nays upon the adoption of the ordinance.

The call was sustained.

I would ask that the vote be first taken on the ordinance itself, and that the preamble be acted upon afterwards.

It was so ordered.

The question was then taken on the adoption of the ordinance.

The Government being already overthrown by revolution, I vote "aye."

I have no doubt there are many gentlemen who, upon a night's reflection, would be disposed to record their votes in favor of this ordinance of secession; and, with a view to afford them an opportunity of a night's reflection, and in order to have the vote as nearly unanimous as possible, I move we adjourn.

I have heard the question asked whether gentlemen were at liberty to speak of the result of this vote. I think it is a matter of the very highest importance that the matter should be kept secret for the present.

The question was then taken on the motion to adjourn, and lost. The vote on the adoption of the ordinance of secession was then announced. It stood-yeas 88, nays 55, as follows: 7The Journal adds Rives to the affirmative votes listed here.

YEAS-Messrs. Ambler, Aston, Jas. Barbour, Blakey, Blow, Boisseau, Borst, Bouldin, Boyd, Branch, Bruce, Cabell, Campbell, Caperton, Cecil, Chambliss, Chapman, Coffman, Conn, James H. Cox, Richard H. Cox, Critcher, Deskins, Dorman, Echols, Fisher, Flournoy, Forbes, French, Garland, Gillespie, Graham, Gregory, Goggin, John Goode, Thomas F. Goode, Hale, Cyrus Hall, L. S. Hall, Harvie, Holcombe, Hughes, Hunton, Isbell, Marmaduke Johnson, P. C. Johnston, Kent, Kindred, Lawson, Leake, Macfarland, Chas. K. Mallory, James B. Mallory, Marye, Sr., Miller, Moffett, Montague, Morris, Morton, Neblett, Orrick, Parks, Preston, Randolph, Richardson, Robert E. Scott, William C. Scott, Seawell, Sheffey, Slaughter, Southall, Speed, Staples, Strange, Sutherlin, Tayloe, Thornton, Tredway, Robt. H. Turner, F. P. Turner, Tyler, Waller, Whitfield, Williams, Wise, Woods, Wysor-88.

NAYS-Messrs. Jno. Janney [President] , Armstrong, Baldwin, Baylor, Berlin, Boggess, Brent, Brown, Burdett, Burley, Byrne, Carlile, Carter, Clemens, C. B. Conrad, R. Y. Conrad, Couch, Custis, Dent, Dulany, Early, Fugate, Gravely, Gray, Ephraim B. Hall, Hammond, Haymond, Hoge, Holladay, Hubbard, Hull, Jackson, Lewis, McComas, McGrew, Marshall, Masters, Moore, Nelson, Osburn, Patrick, Pendleton, Porter, Price, Pugh, Sharp, Sitlington, Spurlock, Alexander H. H. Stuart, Chapman J. Stuart, Summers, Tarr, White, Wickham, Willey-55.

At the suggestion of members around me, I rise to suggest that the injunction of secrecy be removed, so far as it relates to the passage of the ordinance of secession.

No action was had upon the suggestion. The question then recurred upon the adoption of the preamble to the ordinance.

I call for the yeas and nays upon the adoption of the preamble.

The call was sustained.

I understand the injunction of secrecy applies to writing or speaking. I desire to call the attention of gentlemen to the necessity of their withholding all information upon the result of this vote from even their friends at home, as it is very important that the whole matter should be unknown for several days.

The question on the adoption of the preamble to the ordinance was then put, and decided in the affirmative; yeas 74, nays 64, as follows:8The Journal adds L. S. Hall to the affirmative votes listed here; the Journal lists 62 negative votes, adding Carter and Clemens to those given here.

YEAS-Messrs. Ambler, Jas. Barbour, Blakey, Blow, Boisseau, Borst, Bouldin, Bruce, Cabell, Caperton, Cecil, Chambliss, Chapman, Coffman, Conn, R. H. Cox, Deskins, Dorman, Echols, Fisher, Flournoy, Forbes, Garland, Graham, Gregory, Goggin, John Goode, Thos. F. Goode, Hale, Cyrus Hall, Harvie, Holcombe, Hughes, Hunton, Isbell, Marmaduke Johnson, Kent, Kindred, Leake, C. K. Mallory, J. B. Mallory, Marye, Miller, Moffett, Montague, Morris, Morton, Neblett, Orrick, Parks, Preston, Randolph, Richardson, R. E. Scott, Seawell, Sheffey, Slaughter, Southall, Speed, Staples, Strange, Sutherlin, Tayloe, Thornton, Tredway, R. H. Turner, F. P. Turner, Tyler, Whitfield, Williams, Wise, Woods, Wysor-74.

NAYS-Messrs. John Janney [President] , Armstrong, Aston, Baldwin, Baylor, Berlin, Boggess, Branch, Brent, Brown, Burdett, Burley, Byrne, Campbell, Carlile, C. B. Conrad, Couch, Critcher, Custis, Dent, Dulany, Early, French, Fugate, Gravely, Gray, Ephraim B. Hall, Hammond, Haymond, Hoge, Holladay, Hubbard, Hull, Jackson, Peter C. Johnston, Lewis, McComas, McGrew, Macfarland, Masters, Moore, Nelson, Osburn, Patrick, Pendleton, Porter, Pugh, Rives, Wm. C. Scott, Sharp, Sitlington, Spurlock, A. H. H. Stuart, Chapman J. Stuart, Summers, Tarr, Waller, White, Wickham, Willey-64.

The following is the preamble and ordinance as they were adopted :

-I merely rise to say to the Convention, that your work now is just begun, and that the Governor of the Commonwealth will need immediate co-operation upon those measures which I know he has instituted. He will want the sanction of this Convention to take steps for the defence of the Commonwealth, which he has every reason to believe is now invaded. I hope we will not adjourn over until tomorrow. If we do, your secret is out at once. As certain as you adjourn over till to-morrow, they will consider your work as done. We had better take a recess until about 7 or 8 o'clock this evening. I will split the difference, and say half past 7. It will keep up appearances, and look as if we were struggling on this question; and really there will be some work which we want to do.

Before the question is taken on the motion for a recess, I would offer the following resolution.

Resolved, That the President of this Convention communicate in .Page147 confidence, by special messenger, the ordinance of the Convention resuming the powers granted under the Constitution of the United States to the Federal government, to the President of the Confederate States, and that the obligation of secrecy be removed so far as it applies to the Governor of this Commonwealth, with a request to observe it as strictly confidential, except so far as he may find it necessary to issue secret orders.

I move to lay that resolution on the table.

The motion was lost.

I call for a division of the question.

I shall vote against the resolution.

I had a consultation this morning with the Adjutant General, and he said that he thought it highly improper that any of the proceedings of this Convention should be made known outside of this Hall, until we should get the arms from the North. The Governor tells us this morning that if the action of this Convention is permitted to be known outside of this body, these arms will not be allowed to come here.

If you send a communication of this sort to the President of the Confederate States, there will be great danger that the whole secret will leak out.

It seems to me that this question brings up directly for consideration, not as fully as I should like to see it presented, but yet it brings up the whole subject of the secrets and plans of this Convention in regard to that subject. As I said to a friend who consulted me this morning in regard to it, while I have formed an opinion, my mind is open to conviction in regard to the extent of the power of this Convention. But it seems to me as being highly important that we should, before we take another step, have the whole subject brought up and deliberately discussed. I hold that all who acquiesce in the action of the Convention feel desirous to co-operate in every legitimate function necessary to place the State in a proper position for the people to act upon the ordinance of secession. I feel it important that we shall not forget, although we have passed an ordinance of secession, that that ordinance is of no validity until it is passed upon by the people. We yet live under a Constitutional Government, which limits all the power by strict States Rights rules; and, sir, the charter of our organization limits us in every change we may make in the organic law of the State, by organization, .Page148 that such must be subject to the ratification of the people at the polls.

Now, if we wish to observe, as I think it important that we should observe, the limitations of Constitutional right which belong to American Republicanism, if we want to observe the safe guards of public liberty, it seems to me of the utmost consequence that we shall keep within the scope of our power, before we take any action.

With that view, I move, without taking any vote upon this subject at all, we adjourn.

Will the gentleman allow me to make a simple suggestion?

There is no objection to the second part of that resolution removing the secrecy so far as the Governor is concerned.

I would ask the gentleman from Princess Anne [Mr. WISE] , to withdraw the first part of his resolution until the adjourned session, and allow the latter part to be adopted.

No discussion being in order, the question on the adjournment was taken and decided in the negative.

I move, now, that the Convention take a recess until half past 7 o'clock this evening.

The motion was agreed to, and the Convention accordingly took a recess until the hour mentioned.

1.3. THIRD DAY

The Convention met at 10 o'clock, A. M.

I am very much indisposed this morning and will request Mr. SOUTHALL to act for me.

Mr. VALENTINE W. SOUTHALL, of Albemarle, accordingly took the chair.

Mr. President, I beg leave to offer the following Ordinance which I am satisfied will meet the approval of the Convention:

Be it Ordained by this Convention, That all the commissions of all the military officers of this State be vacated, and that the Governor of the Commonwealth renew the said commissions, and that, hereafter, no officer of this Commonwealth, civil or military, shall be required to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.

I would suggest a slight amendment, providing that the several officers, when re-commissioned, shall rank as they now rank.

May I ask the gentleman to give way for a moment to enable me to make an important suggestion?

I give way cheerfully.

The Ordinance of Secession says it will take effect this day. There is no date in the Ordinance, and I propose to add "this 17th day of April."

The amendment was agreed to unanimously.

The consideration of Mr. SCOTT'S ordinance was then resumed.

I suggest to my friend from Powhatan [Mr. SCOTT] , to include in that ordinance a provision for the recommission of all officers in the Commonwealth, civil as well as military.

I have no sort of objection to the gentleman moving any amendment he chooses. My whole purpose is to get rid of the obligation that is now resting upon the officers of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in respect to the form of oath which they have taken. There is not an officer in the Commonwealth in commission, who has not taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. I know it is not the place of this Convention to relieve an individual from an oath; but every oath of this character that is taken, is taken impliedly to rest so long as he holds the commission.

When the commission is vacated he is absolved from the oath. When the commission is renewed then he takes a new oath, and thus frees himself from all responsibility under the former oath.

I simply want to make an inquiry touching the subject of this ordinance.

If I understand the nature of the ordinance of secession which we passed here yesterday, it is not binding upon the people until it shall be ratified by the people themselves at the polls. I simply rise to inquire how it is that while we are part and parcel of the General Government, an officer can be expected to repudiate his obligation to support the Constitution of the United States?

According to my view, the oath of every officer lasts during the time he holds his office and no longer. The object of the ordinance is to absolve him from that obligation by declaring the office vacant.

I desire to inquire of my friend if that oath is not taken by the Governor himself, and if he can forego the obligation under the ordinance?

It appears to me if it is the purpose of this Convention to enter upon the discharge of these sort of functions, that we had better go a little deeper into this matter. I took occasion to state on yester, distinctly to the Convention, my views as to the scope of the powers of this body, and the earnest objections which I entertain to our departing from well defined limitations, as it seemed to me.

Having defined my position in regard to that matter, I expressed the earnest conviction which I still entertain, that it would be wiser and better for us to confine ourselves strictly within the limits of our power under the Constitution of Virginia. I think it proper to state now that, understanding the judgment of the Convention to be different, and that it is its purpose to exercise a power that, I have thought, belonged elsewhere, I have discharged what I have regarded as my own duty to my constituents, and will offer no further opposition to any exercise of power on the part of this Convention on the mere score of power. I have placed myself right in regard to this matter. I do not intend to be placed in the position of a factious opponent in any sense of the term. From this moment further I wish to be understood as taking up and considering in good faith every measure that comes before this body, upon the single ground of expediency, to forward the great object in view. I believe we are all, by the judgment of this Convention, required to engage in that work forthwith. .Page185 I believe, sir, that in taking this position, I will serve the Commonwealth in the circumstances by which I am surrounded, although I still believe the Convention would better serve the Commonwealth by another course.

Now, sir, in the spirit and with a determination to go right to the mark of placing this Commonwealth upon the highest possible ground of military efficiency, I ask what is the practical benefit of the measure here propounded? Sir, if our ordinance of secession amounts to anything, it has performed the function which is now proposed by the ordinance of the gentleman from Powhatan [Mr. ScoTT] . The oath to support the Constitution of the United States is an oath which applies during continuance in office. If a man is to have merely his appointment changed, while his office remains the same, it does not at all affect the question of conscience involved. The question lies deeper than that. We all recognize the right of revolution, and we all recognize that a revolution by a State is not at all like the right at a regiment muster; that the State commanding the soldier has a right to carry along with it the unit action of all her best citizens, with a view to the maintenance of social order; and as a part of this power to maintain social order, she has a right to command her citizens to cease to serve anybody else but herself as the holder of social order. It is a revolutionary right, and I think that this is the position that is now taken by the State of Virginia; and that every citizen is free to act and vote for the State of Virginia, without regard to past associations, or past oaths, or anything of the sort. But this proposition to change the commissions of the military officers amounts to nothing. If we want an efficient military organization, as a matter of course it should be found in the volunteers whose officers are selected with more reference to their qualifications than officers of the regiments of the line. Why is it that more of the latter are not selected with reference to their qualifications? It is because the prospect of employment has been always so remote, and when they come into service, they come there without a just sense of the responsibility resting upon them. But declare all the offices in the line vacant to-day and direct them to be filled now with reference to the emergency that is upon us, and I venture to say the field officers in the militia will be filled by as efficient a body of men as can be started anywhere on the face of the earth. If there is a man within the limits of any county in which a regiment is to be mustered, who has a military education, he will, in view of the emergency upon us, be required to fill the office thus declared vacant.

As to the general officers, I am satisfied that it would be true policy to take their commissions and to have them filled by the Governor of the Commonwealth, with reference to eminent service. Sir, we have a good many of the general officers of the militia of this Commonwealth "lagging superfluous on the stage;" and if we are to call upon the entire military force of the State, as I believe we shall have to do before we come out of this great enterprise, it behooves us, sir, to have every military office of importance filled, and filled promptly, with the highest military talent of the State. It seems to me that this would look more like military efficiency than a mere change of oath, continuing the same inefficient men.

I throw out these suggestions for the Convention to act upon as they may think,proper. It is my purpose to support whatever in the judgment of this Convention shall be most efficient for the work of organizing a proper military force, and otherwise promoting the success of our cause. If these suggestions should meet the favor of the Convention, I trust that they may be considered by some military man who knows more about military matters than I do. I was a military man myself once. I never set a squadron in the field; but suppose I was as competent as militia colonels generally are. I have no reason, personally, to be concerned about the proposed change of the commissions. I only have to say that, under any circumstance, I am ready to resist the invaders.

I desire to bring to the notice of the Convention a matter personal to myself.

Mr. President, just a few minutes before 11 o'clock last night this Convention adopted an ordinance giving to the Governor of the State the power to call into service the whole volunteer force of the Commonwealth, and to organize that force into regiments, brigades and divisions. I command at this time the 74th, in the county of Hanover. In that regiment there are five volunteer companies-four thoroughly organized and armed, one in process of organization, which will, I believe, be armed and organized in the course of a few days. The Governor is authorized under that ordinance to detach from every regiment in the State every volunteer company which has been organized within the bounds of that regiment, and in detaching them to depose the field officers now in command, and to substitute in their stead other officers. Of that matter I do not complain. I desire to say that the companies in my regiment have been organized with great trouble on my own part and on the part of the company officers, as, I think, will be testified by my friend, the representative from .Page187 Henrico [Mr. WICKHAM] . Now this Convention has adopted an order of secrecy. That obligation has been removed to a certain extent so far as the Governor is concerned, because the Convention has communicated to him confidentially the fact of the passage of the ordinance of secession; and it will no doubt also communicate to him the power conferred upon him by the ordinance of the gentleman from Richmond [G. W. RANDOLPH] , adopted last night. I do not want any gentleman to get up here and tell me that it having been communicated to the Governor that this organization is to take place, there is no use in making the appeal which I now make to the Convention.

I desire that the Convention shall extend to me the privilege of allowing me to tender to the Governor without violating this obligation of secrecy my humble services to be associated with the volunteers of my own regiment. As soon as this ordinance passed, I addressed a communication to the Governor, tendering to him the services of this regiment; but I was advised by my friends, if it was not trespassing on the courtesy of the Convention, to get their permission. I would therefore ask the Convention to relieve me from the obligation of secrecy, so far as to allow me to tender my services to the Governor of the Commonwealth.

There is no injunction of secrecy as between the members of this Convention and the Governor.

It seems to me that we are at perfect liberty to communicate with the Governor without any special permission of the character now applied for. If this order is passed it will impliedly deny to us the power to communicate with the Governor.

The reading of the resolution offered by Mr. WISE on yesterday, directing, among other things, the obligation of secrecy to be removed, so far as to communicate the fact of the passage of the Ordinance to the Governor, was called for. It was read by the Secretary.

I came to the House this morning under the impression that it would be good policy to remove the injunction of secrecy, so far as to announce that an Ordinance of Secession had passed. My impression now is that it would be wise to remove this obligation; and with that view I will move to amend the motion of the gentleman from Hanover [Mr. RICHARDSON] , that this House remove the obligation of secrecy, so far as to announce that an Ordinance of Secession has passed.

I shall then ask the Convention to remove the .Page188 reflection upon me which this course would imply, for I have had conversations with the Governor upon subjects which transpired here.

I am in the same situation.

I tendered my services to the Governor as Major of a regiment, so that I am guilty also of a violation of the injunction of secrecy, if such it be.

In objecting to the motion of the gentleman from Hanover, I do it merely to prevent an entry upon the record which would imply, at least, some reflection upon members-myself among the number-who have already done what the gentleman asks permission now to do. I am confident that this motion is made with no intention to reflect upon those who have already conversed with the Governor on matters of a secret character appertaining to this Convention.

I move that the proposition of the gentleman from Hanover [Mr. RICHARDSON] be laid upon the table, and I beg to say that I make that motion out of no disrespect to the gentleman.

The motion was agreed to-ayes 62, noes 26.

I desire to say that I am indebted to this Convention for nothing. This small request not having been accorded to me, thank God, I owe them nothing.

Before voting on the resolution offered by the gentleman from Powhatan [Mr. SCOTT] , I desire to define the position that I occupy here.

I say that no man in this Convention will go farther than I will to carry the war to a successful termination. I tell gentlemen here, to whom I have been opposed from the beginning, that I will vote for any measure that military men say is necessary. I will give this vote, believing that we are not acting according to the Constitution of the State of Virginia or of the United States. I will do it with the same spirit in which I voted for that ordinance of secession. I will vote for it, because I believe we are in a state of revolution. I believe there is no law to justify this. How can I go and take an oath that Virginia is now subject to the United States Constitution that is not now operating in this State, when we are not actually out of the Union until the people ratify the ordinance of secession by their votes at the polls on the fourth Thursday in May? When that is done, the exercise of the power of peaceable secession will have been accomplished. I cannot believe that any man can get up here, after .Page189 having read the act of the Legislature convening this body, and say that this ordinance of secession has any validity until it is ratified by the people. The requirement to send it back for ratification stands as the recorded will of the State, by a majority of 60,000. Meanwhile, I say, it is better to assume the powers necessary to enable us to meet the pressing emergency and protect the people from invasion. For my part, I am satisfied to do that, but I cannot agree to construe the act of Assembly as giving authority to exercise these powers. I repeat again, that any vote I may give here to the end of carrying out this object, will not be given under the sanction of law as we now stand; on the contrary, if we are to be regulated by law, the law must change from what it has been at its passage. Virginia is not out of this Union until this ordinance is ratified by the people; and every act that we do from this time, until the ratification of the ordinance by the people in pursuance of the objects designated here, will be a departure from the Constitution of the State, and of the United States, will be to carry out the revolution that is now existing. It was from this conviction that I voted against the preamble to that ordinance. Fifty years from now, when my children rise up and look at that preamble, they will say to your children, what did your father see to justify this course on their part? If your preamble set forth the true cause of this movement and presented a full justification for it, such as really existed, they would have placed the General Government in the wrong and us in the right. I shall vote for the resolution cheerfully.

It appears to me, in matters of such importance, that it would be better not to forego the usual course of proceeding in deliberative bodies, to refer all propositions, especially those of an important character, like the one under consideration, to committees. Various propositions have been made here, and passed, in all probability, without being thoroughly understood by the House, as must always be the case in a body like this.

There was one other matter in reference to other resolutions, which I desire to mention, although the suggestion was made, I believe, by some other gentleman; and it is this: that if any actual service is expected from the present militia officers attached to the ordinary military organizations, I should deem it absolutely necessary that there should be a change in these officers at least, and that the power should be somewhere vested of appointing efficient officers of every grade; because it is well known to every gentleman upon this floor that the militia officers of the Commonwealth, generally appointed merely for .Page190 holiday practice, are not of the efficient character which would be required in actual service.

But, Mr. President, my principal object in rising was to trouble the Convention but for a moment with a subject with which I have never, I believe, troubled them before, and that is my individual views, and position, and action upon this floor. I think the time has come when it is my duty to say one word only upon a subject not irrelevant by any means to the subject before the House already. It is applicable as well to various other propositions that have been made as to the one which is now immediately under consideration.

I deemed it my duty to my constituents to vote against the ordinance of secession, which passed this body yesterday; and it is to avoid any misapprehension of my own individual views and position here, that I desire to say, that I entertain, in regard to the action now passing before this House, and in regard to that ordinance of secession, none of the scruples which were indicated by some other gentlemen upon this floor. I have no difficulty whatsoever in using every effort, and promoting every effort that may be thought proper and necessary to put this Commonwealth in a complete and thorough condition of military preparation for war. I have no scruples whatever in respect to any measures of opposition that may be inaugurated here, to the threats and the actions tending to enforce these threats, that have emanated from the Federal authorities at Washington. I voted against this ordinance of secession mainly because I regard the whole course of action taken by the Federal authorities and indicated by the proclamation of the President, as an unconstitutional usurpation of power; and I have therefore no hesitation, and should have none as a member of the ordinary State Legislature of Virginia, and think that the Executive authority of the Commonwealth should have none, in resisting, to the uttermost extremity, all efforts of these Federal authorities, because, as I have heretofore indicated to the Convention, my own opinion is fixed and positive, that in the present state of things the Federal authority, under the Constitution of the United States, is utterly paralyzed.

The Chair is constrained to remark that in his opinion the gentleman is taking too much latitude.

It is not my purpose to make a long speech. I wish to indicate that in regard to this action I have no difficulty whatever. I am willing to go now to the extremest point to prepare for war. My opinion, however, is, Mr. President, and I throw this out for the consideration of the Convention, that we should have some .Page191 declaration, as it does not seem to be indicated in the preamble-discriminating between the action of the Federal authority under the constitution and the unconstitutional and usurped power which that Government has assumed. This has reference to the proposition now before you. I should prefer that the ground for this action on the part of the Convention should be in some way indicated; but as I said, I am prepared, whether this is given or not, to concur heartily with gentlemen upon the floor, in making full preparations for the coming conflict. I am unwilling, however, and it may be necessary to make these limitations as to some of these proposed measures-I am unwilling, before the people of Virginia shall have voted to approve the ordinance of secession, to vote for any proposition which plainly implies that the State of Virginia has already withdrawn her people from their connection with the other States under this Union; for I don't believe that this is a fact. By the vote of the people of Virginia in the election of the members of this Convention, it was declared by the people that any action on the part of this Convention severing any connection of this State with the Union of States, should have no effect until it should be subsequently approved by the popular vote. That approval not having been given, our action is merely inchoate and cannot be regarded as having effected a dissolution of the connection between this State and the Federal Government. I can therefore vote conscientiously for no measure which declares or assumes that the State of Virginia has already severed her connection with the other States, and I deem this the best and the safest position which Virginia can assume at this time-to resist the President of the United States and the Federal authorities upon the ground that they are exercising or attempting to exercise usurped power over the people of this Commonwealth and the people of other States in this Union; and to hold them responsible as individuals, as lawless usurpers of power, and not acting under the Constitution of the Federal Government or any other Constitution; and I think, sir, that it is due to the people of Virginia; it is due to the safety of the people of Virginia; it is due to ourselves in some mode or other, to declare to the world that we have not chosen, by a mere voluntary act, to overturn this Federal Government, which I admit that the people of Virginia had a right to do under the circumstances. That we did not, upon a mere act of volition, destroy the integrity of this Union; but that we did it upon the ground that this Federal authority, elected temporarily under the Constitution, holding office for a short term, had undertaken to disregard all constitutional limitation, and, in violation of the .Page192 Constitution and of the natural rights of the people of Virginia and of the United States, are attempting to exercise lawless, usurped authority. It is upon that ground we should place all the action of this Convention-at least in part-if gentlemen deem it necessary to take any ground for their justification other than those which past events have developed.

I beg gentlemen who have the control of these proceedings-for I don't mean to seek any particular participation in them, but simply as a silent member to vote for them-I ask gentlemen to consider this question, and say whether some ordinance ought not to be passed declaring the usurpation of authority by this Federal Government, and declaring our action to be based in part upon that ground. The idea I throw out was mentioned by my friend from Prince George [Mr. IllyEs] , as the basis of his action, and of his concurrence with the action here. I wish to place myself right; and I merely desire to say, in addition to what I have already said, that I am not in the habit of making professions. I don't expect to go into this war myself, but I have a deep interest in it. I have four sons now that are able to bear arms, and if there is to be a war I know they are all to be in it. I have, therefore, a deep stake in it. I may add, simply, that I will not attempt to withhold them if it becomes necessary to protect the land of my birth and of the birth of my forefathers, which took place long before Virginia was a State at all.

At the suggestion of several friends, I withdraw the resolution I offered, and submit the following in its stead :

"Resolved, That a Committee on Military Affairs, consisting of seven, be appointed by the President."

Do I understand that as being offered by way of a substitute?

No. It is offered as an original proposition. The other resolution has been withdrawn.

The resolution was adopted.

I have a resolution which I desired to get the floor yesterday to offer. I think it is eminently proper, under the circumstances which surround us now, that it should be adopted. It reads as follows:

Resolved, That this Convention approves and endorses the response of the Governor of the Commonwealth to the call made upon him by the Secretary of War at Washington for a quota of the militia of Virginia; a copy of which response has been communicated to this Convention.

Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolution be immediately communicated to the Governor.

The resolutions were adopted.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution :

Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy be and the same is hereby removed, so far as to permit the disclosure and the publication of the ordinance of secession, passed by this body on yesterday, to take effect as an act of that day, when the same is ratified by the people at a poll to be taken thereon on the 4th Thursday in May next.

I have a telegraphic dispatch from distinguished friends in Kentucky, who are all on tip-toe to know what our action has been. We will be seriously embarrassed if the secrecy is maintained any longer. It was intimated, yesterday, that the fact had gone forth by accident, and the people will be firing salvos to-day without any security that the statement is correct.

I would suggest that the disclosure be confined to the fact of the ordinance being passed, without giving the vote upon it.

I think it is important that only the mere fact of an ordinance of secession being passed should be proclaimed. The ordinance itself, in my opinion, should not be published now, inasmuch as we have not adopted a preamble to it.

The preamble has been also adopted.

I was not aware of that; I was, doubtless, absent when the vote was taken upon it. I would, however, have it merely stated that an ordinance of secession has passed without publishing the ordinance.

I would suggest to the gentleman from Orange [Mr. MORTON] , that the ordinance without the preamble be published.

I understand that is the proposition of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] .

I am in favor of the publication of the ordinance. To announce, simply, that we assented to an Ordinance withdrawing Virginia from the Union, would, perhaps, lead to uncertainty and groundless speculation. It may be surmised that we had withdrawn in some qualified form. All that will be removed by the publication simply of the act of withdrawal.

I am more and more impressed with every moment's reflection, as to the propriety of publishing the fact merely that an .Page194 ordinance of secession has been adopted without publishing the ordinance itself. This is not the time for us to consider the propriety of modifying that ordinance, the necessity for which seems to be conceded by many gentlemen here. The publication to the world of the fact that an ordinance has been adopted, will be all the satisfaction that our friends desire. This course will not tie the hands of the Convention at all in making such modifications as may be deemed expedient. In my view, the proper course would be to appoint a committee, and in making out that Committee I wish it understood that I do not desire to be on it, to draw up a proper preamble to the Ordinance, and to suggest any modification that it may deem necessary in the words of that Ordinance. I think that this will fully meet the views of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , and the gentleman from Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] .

I concur entirely in the propriety of removing the injunction of secrecy, as contemplated by the resolution of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] . I do not concur in the suggestions of the gentleman from Orange [Mr. MORTON] . If the people are interested in any action of this body at this time, it is in what action they have taken upon the question of secession. They are to pass upon it finally, and it ought to be placed before them as speedily as possible; and while it is improper to withhold from them the fact that an Ordinance of Secession has been passed, upon which they will be required to pass their opinion at the polls, it would be equally improper that they should be deprived of the privilege of knowing the reason assigned in the preamble as the grounds upon which that Ordinance of Secession is to be justified. We cannot too rapidly send this back to the people. They are the arbiters who are to pass upon it. We cannot too rapidly place before the people the grounds upon which gentlemen, who voted for that proposition, justify their action. I am opposed, therefore, to the publication of the simple fact of the passage of an Ordinance of Secession, without the publication of the Ordinance itself, and without the preamble assigning the reasons upon which that Ordinance is predicated.

Will we withhold from the people this matter? They are the parties interested in it. They constitute the tribunal who are to pass upon it. It is a matter of life and death with the people. They ought to have the whole matter spread before them for consideration and deliberation. I have had letters and telegraphic dispatches in regard to this matter from the North-West. My mouth has been closed. I .Page195 have never answered the letters or dispatches, because of the obligation of secrecy resting upon me. Sir, the people ought to know the actual truth in regard to this ordinance; and the more rapidly they know it, the better it will be. I am not for concealing anything from the people. They have a right to know whether or not we passed an ordinance, and the grounds upon which that ordinance had been passed. I am not for this Convention sitting here and allowing the fact to go out to the people, without a knowledge of the reasons which were held to justify those who voted for the ordinance. I hope, therefore, that both the preamble and the ordinance will be permitted to be spread before the people. The fact itself and the reasons for it, ought to go out together, and it is high time to have them known.

The people that I represent on this floor have already placed themselves in a revolutionary attitude. They have taken this matter into their own hands, they are now directly in opposition to the Federal Government, and I am satisfied that the publication of this ordinance will cause the Federal Government to concentrate troops in Norfolk and its vicinity, before it is possible for the Governor to place at that point the troops which are necessary. I understand that in all probability the Commonwealth will have three or four thousand troops there before three days from this time. I think it would be better to have the troops there to repel any invasion which the Government will bring to bear upon that quarter before any disclosure of our action here in regard to the ordinance is made. Thus believing, I am prepared to vote against the publicity.

Will the gentleman allow me to interrupt him for a moment?

Certainly.

The main reason of my rising was to mention a fact which escaped my mind when last up, and that was, that we ought to let it go out to the people, that the Federal Government and all may see that this matter is still to be ratified by the people before it takes effect. Very few, if any, apprehend the difficulties to which the gentleman from Norfolk county [Mr. WHITE] , alludes. The effect of the publication of the ordinance and preamble, in my opinion, would be to quiet the public mind.

All I have to say is, that we are now in revolution. We are actually at war with the General Government, and it is wise policy on our part to keep our proceedings secret as long as possible, in order to enable this Commonwealth to place herself in a state of .Page196 proper defence. It is possible that three thousand troops will be in the neighborhood of Norfolk in two or three days. There are now in the Gosport Navy Yard two thousand barrels of powder, one thousand cannon, six or eight ships of war, all amounting in value to about ten millions of dollars. There are arms enough there to arm 15,000 infantry, and who will question, in view of these facts, the importance of occupying the Navy Yard immediately. Fort Monroe is in the possession of the Federal Government, and they can march any number of troops into Norfolk and Portsmouth and land them under the guns of their war vessels.

I think, therefore, that the publication of the passage of this Ordinance would be premature, and would risk the safety of the constituents that I represent.

I was amongst those who were most anxious that the action of this Convention, so far as it related especially to the passage of the Ordinance of Secession, should be kept secret for a time at least. I saw that great good would result from it. I am perfectly certain now, however, that those who are enemies of the State of Virginia and of this movement, are acting upon the assumption that action has been taken by this Convention upon the question of secession, or will undoubtedly be taken. My pocket is full of telegraphic despatches from various points outside and inside of the State, asking for information as to whether any action has been or will be taken, and stating that their action will be predicated upon our course here. Our enemies are in possession of the fact, so far as certain presumption or inference goes, and they are acting upon this, while our friends are ignorant of the fact, and are therefore inactive, inasmuch as they presume that information would be conveyed to them of the fact of the passage of the Ordinance, to enable them to take prompt steps to meet the enemy. We should give them information upon this subject at the earliest possible moment, so that they may go on with their preparations, and not suffer the enemy to be in advance of them.

I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to remove this injunction of secrecy, in order that we may have the full benefit of the action of Virginia. I trust, sir, that there will be no hesitation in removing this injunction, for I am satisfied that there is a feeling of disquietude growing up in the public mind in consequence of our tardiness in this matter, and the sooner our action is disclosed the better. I understand perfectly what I am about, when I say to this Convention that I think it is a matter of importance that you should .Page197 publish this action, unless there is some serious objection to its being made public; and I see none at present. So far as the purpose of the gentleman from Norfolk county [Mr. WHITE] , is concerned, I am aware that every effort has been made to accomplish it, and I am satisfied that these efforts are likely to be attended with success.

I have no doubt that forces enough to capture the Navy yard will be sent down to-day or to-morrow; but the question is, will they be able to hold it?

I am satisfied they will with the aid of reinforcements which will be promptly sent.

Mr. President, it is well known that I have been in a minority upon this floor; but I feel that it is a matter of importance now that the friends of secession everywhere, North and South, should know the position that we occupy.

It is said, sir, that troops have been ordered to the vicinity of Norfolk. Our enemies do not know that they have the sanction of this Convention. It is not known abroad, but that they are acting without our sanction, and I think it is important that our friends everywhere shall know that these movements are not unauthorized, but that they have the full sanction and approval of this body.

I am decidedly in favor of removing the obligation of secrecy from all our proceedings, that they may be known to our own people and throughout the length and breadth of the land. If we are to intimidate the North, of which I have no hope, let it be known that our whole available strength shall be employed against them. It is thus only that we can hope to effect that object, if, indeed, there is any ground of hope in that respect.

I would ask leave of the Convention to offer the following resolution, in lieu of that which I have already submitted.

Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy be removed so far alone as to permit a disclosure of the fact that an ordinance of Secession was passed by this body yesterday, to take effect as an act of that day, when the same is ratified by the people at a poll to be taken thereon on the 4th Thursday in May next.

I am opposed to that resolution. I see no good to result from it; on the contrary, I can see much harm that is likely to follow the removal of the injunction of secrecy. What good, I will ask, will result from communicating to the country that this body has passed an Ordinance of Secession? The argument which I used in favor of the Ordinance, submitted by the gentleman from.Page198 Fauquier [R. E. SCOTT] as a substitute for the Ordinance of Secession, would apply to the resolution now under consideration. I stated in the course of my remarks upon the Ordinance, that one object I had in supporting it was delay, with a view to obtain arms from the North, in order to put the State in a proper condition of military organization. But, sir, what do we accomplish by publishing to the world that this Ordinance of Secession has passed? It will be, in effect, proclaiming to the Federal Government that we are now in a state of revolution, and in a condition to resist any attack that may be made upon us. They are stronger than we are, and better prepared than we are. If we make the fact known that we are in a state of revolution, they will be perfectly justified in throwing an army into the city of Richmond in forty-eight hours if they can; and, in my opinion, they will have an army in the city of Richmond before we can be in a condition to prevent it.

A gentleman of this city told me last night that he was so fully convinced of the fact that we passed an ordinance of secession, that he telegraphed to North Carolina to that effect.

That may be true. The President of the United States may believe such to be the case; but he would have no right to throw an army here or anywhere else without positive evidence of the fact of our having passed an ordinance of secession. But, publish to the world that we have seceded, and the President would have a right to throw an army here or anywhere else in the State he thought proper.

But, sir, there is another reason why this publication should not be made now. The Governor has informed us that he has ordered a large quantity of arms from the North, which he expected to receive in a few days. There are many people at the North who believe that Virginia has not and will not secede, and they would be willing to send these arms; but, let them once become informed of the fact of our secession, and there is an end to our getting them. We are not now in a condition to go into a war. Let us, then, according to the advice of the Adjutant General, keep this movement as secret as possible, so that we may get all the arms we can and place ourselves in the best possible condition to meet the enemy.

I call the previous question.

The call was sustained. Ten minutes, however, was still allowed to each member under the rule, to show why the main question should not be put.

I desire to say two or three words only. I made my will here a few days ago, and I desire to add a few words by way of a codicil. [Laughter.] This body, as I understand, has passed an ordinance placing us outside of the Union, and yet you deny me the poor privilege to tell my wife of the fact.

In the name of common humanity, I protest against this action. It is known to every body in this city; and yet I am not permitted to say one word about it to my people who have telegraphed to me to ascertain whether or not an ordinance of secession was passed. I am not at liberty to tell them this ordinance has passed, while it appears from what has transpired here, that it is generally known throughout Richmond. I have been told of it by twenty persons to-day; and when I go home, as I shall this evening-and meet my people, what shall I tell them? Why my mouth will be hermetically sealed so far as relates to the passage of this ordinance; and I cannot gratify the anxious desire of my constituents to be informed upon what has transpired here.

I trust it will be the pleasure of this body to put us all upon an equality. I leave upon the train this evening, and when I get home I want to unburthen myself to my people; to discharge my whole duty by telling them what you have done. I received a telegraphic despatch this morning making anxious enquiries relative to our action, and whether this ordinance had passed. In view of the peculiar circumstances in which I, in common with many other members on this floor am placed, I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to discharge members from this obligation. If these measures do not suit-although you passed them; although you compelled us to vote upon them-if they don't suit, keep them under advisement until you make them suit. Only let the record show what you have done; let it go forth to the country; let it go upon the tide of time; and when the historian comes to write the events of this day, let him have a fair opportunity to write what is done. And if the genius of liberty does not shed tears enough to blot it all out, I am a mistaken man.

I was about to say that for myself, I was aware of no reason why the fact of the adoption of the ordinance should not be made known. There may, however, be reasons why it should not-reasons of a nature connecting themselves with the action of the Governor of the Commonwealth; and it seems to me that we ought to be satisfied upon that subject by ascertaining from him whether any such reason exists. Some gentleman says that there is .Page200 a contract for the purchase of arms in course of fulfillment in the North. It may be that removal of the obligation of secrecy would throw some obstacle in the way of the fulfillment of that contract. The Governor may give us some information upon the question, which would settle all doubts in regard to it.

It seems to me, before we make the ordinance public, that we should communicate with the Governor.

I spoke to the Governor a few minutes ago on the subject, and he knew of nothing which required the secrecy to be continued any longer.

I informed him that a motion would be made to remove the secrecy, and I understood him distinctly to concur in the opinion that it ought to be removed. There was at first strong reason why it should be kept secret. That, however, no longer exists.

I rise to make an inquiry.

I received a letter from my family this morning imperatively demanding my presence at home, and I desire to know whether on my return home, I shall be permitted to communicate to my constituents, who will flock around me on my return to ascertain the news, what has transpired here? I shall leave here to-night to visit my family, and while I am not intimately known to many members of this Convention, I will say to them, that I would lose my right arm before I would dishonor myself or the generous constituency who sent me here, by any unauthorized disclosure of what has been done here.

But, I appeal to this Convention to relieve me from the embarrassment in which a continuance of the injunction of secrecy would involve me on my return home. When I reach there, men, women and children will rush to me, and eagerly inquire what has been done. But they must be disappointed in their efforts to obtain the information they will seek after unless the obligation of secrecy is removed; for in no event would I reveal a single incident of what has transpired here while the obligation of secrecy rests. I am willing to keep my tongue silent, but I must know from this Convention, before I leave here this evening, when you propose to relieve me from this obligation. My district extends over a vast extent of country, most of it rough and almost impassable. So difficult of access is it, that a large number of my people were not aware that the election for this Convention had taken place at all. They will, however, have a full opportunity of voting upon your ordinance of secession, and they are necessarily anxious to know the reasons by which you felt justified .Page201 in passing this ordinance. It is on this account that I am anxious to be relieved from the injunction of secrecy; and I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to disembarrass me to the extent of allowing me to communicate to my people the fact of the passage of the ordinance and the reasons for its passage.

I am constrained to differ with my colleague [Mr. WHITE] , in reference to the propriety of keeping secret the Ordinance of Secession. And, sir, I fully concur with the gentleman from Amelia [Mr. HARVIE] , with whom I find myself now co-operating, that there is an absolute necessity for the publication of the passage of this ordinance, because it is manifest that so long as the people of this Commonwealth remain in ignorance of the fact that we have passed an ordinance of secession, the military preparations will be but spasmodic; and my colleague may expect but limited aid to his section of Virginia, so long as it is unknown by individuals that their action receives the sanction of the authorities.

I understand now, from gentlemen on the other side, who were formerly designated the Union party, but who are now co-operating with the other side, that, if we are to co-operate effectually together, there ought to be a full and fair understanding between us. For one, I believe I am groping my way in the dark. There are intimations on this floor of proposed actions of which I know nothing. We are told, on the one hand, that orders are to be issued in reference to the movement of troops; and, on the other hand, that amendments are to be proposed to the preamble and ordinance of secession. I think it is time that gentlemen should show their hand. We must co-operate together now, sir, if we desire success. When the preamble was before the Convention, it was intimated that it was not acceptable to a great many gentlemen, and that a good many alterations would have to be made. We are told to-day, for the first time, that the ordinance of secession is not acceptable to a great many of the gentlemen who opposed the ordinance, and that it is proposed to make amendments to it.

Who made that statement.

I understood Mr. Morton to say so.

I said that some modifications may be made. I said that I thought it might be judicious to make a modification in the ordinance as well as in the preamble; but I said, in addition, that the sentiment seemed to be so general against a disturbance of the ordinance, that I cordially accepted the amended proposition of the gentleman from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] .

I understand the gentleman then as saying that it is not contemplated to make any further amendment to the ordinance.

None, sir.

I have no more remarks to make then.

The main question was then ordered, and the question being put on the resolution offered by Mr. PRESTON, it was decided in the affirmative.

The President announced the following committee under the resolution offered by Mr. SCOTT, of Powhatan: Messrs. William C. Scott, of Powhatan; Jubal A. Early, of Franklin; Peter C. Johnston, of Lee and Scott; George Blow, Jr., of Norfolk city; George W. Randolph, of Richmond city; John Echols, of Monroe, and Eppa Hunton, of Prince William.

Mr. WM. M. AMBLER, of Louisa, submitted to the Convention, a communication from the Governor, transmitting three acts passed by the last General Assembly, which have not yet been published.

These acts were, on motion of Mr. WICKHAM, laid upon the table.

I rise to a personal explanation.

I was not here on yesterday when the ordinance of secession was passed, and I regret I was not, because I paired off with my friend from Goochland [Mr. LEAKE] , and thus prevented him from voting upon the question. Had I been here, I should have recorded my vote with him in favor of the ordinance, and not against it. I now desire to have the privilege of recording that vote, and I am determined that all my actions hereafter shall be directed to the maintenance of the honor of Virginia and of the whole South.

Leave was unanimously given to Mr. HALL to record his vote in favor of the ordinance.

I voted on yesterday for the ordinance of secession, being convinced that the gentleman from Lancaster would so vote if he was here. I did not vote for the substitute proposed by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] . I understood that he would not have prevented me from voting against it, and I now ask the privilege of having my vote recorded against that substitute.

Leave was given.

I would ask permission to have my vote recorded on both propositions, against the substitute of the gentleman from Fauquier, and for the ordinance of secession.

Leave was also granted to Mr. HALL.

I beg leave to offer the following ordinance:

"Be it ordained by this Convention, that the Governor of this State be, and he is hereby authorized and requested, should it become necessary for the defence of this State, to borrow, on the faith and in the name of this State, either by the issue of bonds or Treasury notes, a sum of money not exceeding one million of dollars f$1,000,0001 to be paid into the Treasury of the State and disbursed by the Governor under the ordinance of this Convention."

I don't mean to detain the Convention by any extended remarks upon the proposition which I have submitted for their consideration. I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to adopt it at once, for the present state of things requires that our action shall be prompt and decisive. The temper of this administration in Washington, by every intelligence that we receive, is such that we have no time for delay. I don't know whether the information that has just reached us upon this floor is correct or not, but I understand that that distinguished officer, Winfield Scott, the Lieutenant General of the Army of the United States, resigned his commission last evening, and was immediately placed under arrest by the Government at Washington. This is indicative, if it be true, of a very vindictive feeling on the part of the administration at Washington, and indicates to this body that minutes are becoming hours, and that we must act, and act at once, and place every means within reach of the proper authorities of this Commonwealth, so that we may be enabled to put ourselves in a proper condition of defence. I hope that the ordinance will be adopted at once, and unanimously.

The question was put upon its adoption, and carried unanimously.

I offer the ordinance which I hold in my hand as indicating the purpose which I mentioned in the few remarks that I made this morning:

"Be it ordained by the people of Virginia, in Convention assembled, that, whereas, the President of the United States hath, by his public proclamation as well as by a communication to this body, assumed the authority and announced his purpose by military force to subject to his power and authority the States of the Southern Confederacy; and whereas, he hath, to this end, commenced raising an army of volunteers and militia; and whereas, he hath made a requisition for a part of the militia force of Virginia, and hath also, with the intent to intimidate and constrain the action of the people of Virginia, made preparation to seize, hold and strengthen the forts, arsenals and navy- .Page208 yards within the limits of our State; and whereas, this Convention hath, in view of this action and avowed purpose of the President, declared the withdrawal of the people of Virginia from the Federal Government, to take effect, if ratified by the people at the polls on the day of May next; and whereas, this Convention doth believe and declare that said purpose and action of the President of the United States is wholly unconstitutional and is a palpable usurpation of power; and whereas, the necessity is great and imminent for the security of the State and people, the preservation of the peace and our rights, that immediate steps should be taken to put this Commonwealth in a condition of military defence, and that our people should be prepared to resist, if needful, in arms, all aggressions by, or under the pursuance of said intents of Federal authorities:

"Therefore, we authorize and enjoin upon all the citizens of Virginia to organize, arm and prepare themselves for military service, and to obey all orders which they may receive from the regular authorities of this Commonwealth for such military service, from and after the day of the passage of this ordinance."

I move that that ordinance be laid upon the table for the present.

I beg leave to say what I have said already, and would appeal to gentlemen of more experience than myself to sustain me in the statement, whether it is not necessary and proper that we should cause all propositions made to this Convention to go before a committee, even if it were but for five or ten minutes. I don't think we should go any longer passing resolutions which one-half of the Convention do not hear, and of course cannot understand. It is impossible that a proposition can be fully understood by a single reading of it at the Clerk's desk.

I would call the attention of the gentleman to an error of fact in his ordinance.

If the gentleman will allow me, I will state that it was drawn up very hastily at the desk just now. It will be competent for the gentleman to offer any amendment he may see fit when the ordinance comes up for consideration.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

I beg to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Military Committee inquire into the expediency of taking immediate steps to prevent unauthorized military movements within the State as tending to forestall and embarrass the determination .Page209 of a general plan of military operations by precipitating inefficient collisions in improper localities.

I think it a very important thing that we should not be dragged into grave military errors by the unauthorized action of excited people in different parts of the State. I don't profess to have any experience or any great amount of information with regard to military affairs; but it has been stated upon this floor, that it has been contemplated by citizens of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth to lay hold of the Navy-yard and drive out the military authorities of the United States.

Now, sir, I understand, also, that there is a movement made upon Harper's Ferry for the purpose of getting possession of the armory at that place. These are mere indications. I don't think they will progress in different localities, unless it is understood that our military preparations are to be but mere spasmodic affairs.

Now, as I say, I am no soldier; but it seems to me that an attempt by the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth to hold the Gosport Navy-yard would be a capital military mistake. I think that there is not a more accessible point on earth to military assault by a government possessed of a navy, than Norfolk and Portsmouth. That is my impression. And all the military resources that may be expended upon the defence of Norfolk and Portsmouth will only have the effect of bringing down upon the citizens of those two towns the horrors of a most disastrous military siege.

Do I understand the gentleman as conveying the idea that he would consider it good policy if the Navy-yard was to be occupied by a body of "Wide-Awake's," to allow them to hold it without making any attempt to drive them out?

Not at all. I mean that it would be well not to give the Federal Government the pretext to come there and make the attack by any premature or unauthorized move on the part of our citizens.

Sir, I merely throw out these suggestions, not as matured opinions upon military questions of this sort, but to show that it certainly cannot be good policy to allow that neighborhood the selection of a plan of a military campaign. If it shall be determined by military men that Norfolk and Portsmouth are military points capable of being held, why, as a matter of course, it will be done. On the other hand, it may be best not to take any action that may precipitate us into a conflict-I mean unauthorized action. All I want to assert in regard to the matter is, that I do not see any propriety in allowing our .Page210 military plans to be determined by a squad of men in the neighborhood of these towns.

It may be, sir, that all my impressions in regard to Norfolk and Portsmouth may be mistaken; but still I think have demonstrated the impropriety of individuals in precipitating collisions in their neighborhood, to the prejudice and forestalling of the regular plan of campaign. This is but a mere resolution of enquiry before the Military Committee as to the propriety of taking this plan out of the hands of an unauthorized person.

I do not exactly understand the gentleman. I understand he asks the reference of his resolution to the Military Committee; and I presume that the design is, that that committee shall determine upon this matter. Now, so far as the movements referred to are concerned, the gentleman falls into an error, because whilst we all believe that the general campaign ought to be under the control of competent men, yet in reference to this particular object, I think there can be but little difference of opinion between us.

In the navy yard there are immense stores of munitions of war, provisions, ships of war already armed, and some to be armed. In reference to Harper's Ferry, it was understood that a large supply of arms was contained there; and it seems to me that a movement to seize them does not conflict at all with the idea of a general campaign referred to in the gentleman's resolution. It would be the most remarkable thing on earth, situated as we are, with arms located at different points within our borders, for us, under existing circumstances, to refuse and decline the opportunity of seizing arms presented to our hands, and to permit these arms to be removed beyond the limits of the Commonwealth of Virginia. While I concur with the gentleman that a general campaign ought to be under the direction of competent military officers, yet the propriety of the course intimated in reference to these things exists, and I cannot for one moment doubt the necessity for immediate action. We are unquestionably in revolution. We have made substantially a declaration of war, and we all know that within a few days the horrors of war will be upon us; and the question is, shall we refuse to avail ourselves of the opportunity now offered us to arm ourselves? I submit that, in reference to the movements in my own locality, I regard them as eminently proper, and fully justified by the circumstances which surround us.

I will simply remark, in conclusion, that this being a resolution of .Page211 inquiry, I see no impropriety in adopting it. I do not understand that the gentleman refers to these movements specially, further than they might conflict with his idea of a general campaign.

I have no idea that the movements are made from any other than patriotic motives. My object merely is to obviate, if possible, premature conflicts, which may embarrass a general plan of campaign.

I think it is apparent we can do no business now.

I move that we take a recess until half past 7 o'clock, this evening.

The motion was subsequently withdrawn at the request of Mr. RANDOLPH, who promised to renew it.

I had a conversation with the Governor, and he reminded me that the ordinance passed, authorizing him to call out the military force of the State, cannot be carried out, unless the injunction of secrecy is removed so far as it may be necessary to enable him to discharge his duties under that ordinance.

I move that the pending resolution be laid upon the table for a moment, to enable me to offer a resolution to that effect.

The motion was agreed to.

I now offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy in reference to military matters is hereby, removed, so far as in the judgment of the Governor it may be necessary for the efficient discharge of his duties.

The resolution was adopted.

According to promise, I renew the motion for a recess.

Mr. KILBY again withdrew it at the request of Mr. SCOTT, of Fauquier.

I am very strongly impressed with the impropriety of the course of proceeding we are falling into here, of adopting resolutions and ordinances of grave import, hastily prepared by gentlemen at their desks, the nature of which can be but imperfectly known and understood by the Convention.

I think, sir, that we ought to deliberate, and be careful to put forth nothing but perfected work. The gentleman from Frederick [Mr. CONRAD] , a few minutes ago, propounded something in the form of an ordinance, on a matter to which my own attention has been for sometime drawn. As I thought from the reading of it, it did not seem to me to come fully up to the necessity of the times.

We have been said, and I think truly said, to be in a state of revolution. .Page212 It has been said, and I think truly said, that the present Federal authorities are now in the exercise of usurped power. We have adopted an ordinance which cannot take legal effect until it receives its ratification by the people at the polls. In the meantime the people of this State are subjected to hazardous and unlawful proceedings. It is impossible to stand still now in this condition of public affairs; to wait as we are till the fourth Thursday in May next, or until the result of the vote upon this Ordinance shall be known. It seems to me that we have reached a condition of things which demands the passage of a Provisional Ordinance, suspending the authority of the Federal Government within the limits of this Commonwealth, until we shall be advised of the ratification of the Ordinance of Secession that we have passed; and with that view, and without detaining the Convention by a further discussion of it, I offer the following resolution:

"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to enquire into the expediency of suspending the authority of the Federal Government within the limits of this Commonwealth, until the sense of the people of this State shall be taken upon the ratification of the Ordinance already adopted."

The Convention will see that the resolution proposes nothing more than the appointment of a committee to enquire into the expediency of doing what is therein referred to.

The resolution was adopted.

I move to take up the resolution of the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] , which was laid on the table a few minutes ago, upon my motion.

I trust the gentleman will withdraw that motion to enable me to offer a short ordinance.

Under the Ordinance passed last night the Governor is authorized to call into service a Major General, to take command of the forces of the State. We want now some general officer, and it is with a view to secure the services of one, that I offer this Ordinance:

"Be it ordained, That the Governor of this Commonwealth be authorized and required to appoint a commission to call into service a Major General of the military forces of the State, to command in chief, in subordination to him, the troops which may be called into service, which Major General shall rank all other officers, whether of the militia or volunteers, without regard to date of commission."

I will call the attention of the gentleman to the fact that the terms he employs there are capable of misconstruction, and .Page213 do not convey what I am sure he meant to express. He uses the words "Major General of the military forces of the State." That would seem to confine the appointment to the Major Generals of militia. My object is to get some such man as Colonel Lee, of the United States Army.

I will modify the Ordinance in accordance with that idea, and strike out the words "of the military forces of the State."

I hope the gentleman will consent to have that Ordinance referred to the Military Committee. I have no reason at all to mistrust the intelligence and fidelity of the Governor of the Commonwealth, but I would like to know who is to fill this great office, before sanctioning the creation of it by my vote here. I trust the gentleman will consent to allow his Ordinance to go before the Committee on Military Affairs.

The object I had in view was to authorize the creation of this office, so that we may have the services of Col. Lee.

I have no objection to its reference to the committee.

The ordinance was accordingly referred.

The President announced the following committee, authorized to be raised under the resolution of Mr. ROBT. E. SCOTT, which has just been adopted:

Messrs. Robert E. Scott, of Fauquier; Jno. B. Baldwin, of Staunton; Wm. Ballard Preston, of Montgomery; Wm. H. Macfarland, of Richmond city; and James P. Holcombe, of Albemarle.

On motion of Mr. Morton, the Convention took a recess until 4 o'clock P. M.

1.4. FOURTH DAY

The Convention met at 12 o'clock, M.

The Chair has received a telegraphic dispatch from the President of the State Convention of Arkansas, which he begs leave to submit for the consideration of the Convention.

The following is the dispatch referred to:

The communication, as I understand, is from the President of the Arkansas Convention. I propose that it be replied to through the President of this Convention, by announcing to the President of the Arkansas Convention, by telegraph, the action which this Convention has taken.

I beg leave, also, to submit a telegraphic communication from the Governor of Georgia.

The communication was read, and is as follows:

This communication was, on motion, laid upon the table.

I have also received a communication from the Cashier of the Traders' Bank of the city of Richmond, which I submit. The communication was read as follows:

Laid on the table.

A resolution was adopted on yesterday ordering a committee to be raised on the subject of finances. It was offered by the gentleman from Albemarle [Mr. HOLCOMBE] ; but, at his request, his name is not placed on the committee.

The committee is as follows:

Messrs. W. H. Macfarland, of Richmond; Charles R. Slaughter, of Campbell; John Echols, of Monroe; Jeremiah Morton, of Orange and Greene; and Alpheus F. Haymond, of Marion.

Mr. PRESTON, of Montgomery, offered the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the Ordinance separating Virginia from a union with the other States under the Constitution of the United States, be referred to a committee of seven, to report the same with such changes in the preamble thereto as the committee shall recommend, with a plan to submit the preamble and ordinance to the good people of the Commonwealth."

I want to offer an amendment to that, because I have no idea that the preamble ought to be referred at all:

"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the President, whose duty it shall be to have that preamble and ordinance, resuming the sovereignty of Virginia, engrossed on parchment, so that the members may sign the same."

I will point out the difference between my proposition and that of the gentleman from Northampton. My resolution proposes to refer the ordinance, with a view to the perfection of a proper .Page247 schedule for its submission to the people. There need be no apprehension of any material change in the preamble.

The gentleman's proposition contemplates no such preparation, but proposes that it shall be signed forthwith, as though our action was final with reference to it.

The Convention will see that there is a very material difference in the propositions.

I am opposed to the preamble being referred at all. I will, however, withdraw my resolution.

I regret that I am compelled to oppose the reference of the preamble. Objection was made to it at the outset; but when the question on its adoption was taken, the Convention by a large majority sustained it. I don't think it is fair for gentlemen who absented themselves from this Convention when the vote was taken, to seek now to effect a change in its action. I think we ought to keep the preamble and ordinance exactly as they are, and submit them without modification to the voters of the State.

I should like to know from the gentleman in what particular he desires an alteration made?

As to myself, in no particular. But an alteration was suggested by the gentleman from Orange [Mr. MORTON] . He wanted some alterations made, and suggested, in a spirit of perfect amity and deference, that it be referred to a committee, who would supervise it and report.

I will forego any further opposition, in view of the facts stated by the gentleman.

It would certainly not be competent for the Convention to make any change now in the preamble without first reconsidering the vote adopting the preamble.

I move to reconsider the vote by which it was adopted.

The motion was agreed to, and the resolution offered by Mr. PRESTON was adopted.

Mr. President : I rise to a question of privilege. When the vote was taken on the adoption of the Ordinance of Secession, I voted in the negative; I believed that the proposition of the gentleman from Fauquier presented a far better mode of bringing the question, and, although it was defeated in the Convention, yet I thought it might be presented to the people as the course that would be pursued, if the Ordinance was not ratified by them; and as the action of this Convention was intended to be recommendatory— .Page248 not final—I was unwilling, by my vote, to recommend a policy which I deemed unwise. But, sir, I am satisfied that to-day a very large proportion of the people of Henrico, with a full knowledge of the probable consequences of the act, are in favor of this ordinance; and, as I think it right that their wishes should be accurately expressed and carried out, and that the weight of their vote shoula go along with the Ordinance, I have no hesitation in asking the Convention to grant me the privilege of transferring my vote from the negative to the affirmative.

Again, Mr. President, whilst I have differed from the majority of this Convention as to the mode in which a State should assert its independence, yet, with all my devotion to the Union, I have ever acknowledged my allegiance as due, first of all, to the State of Virginia. Events that have transpired and are transpiring, render it clear that the Convention, in adopting that ordinance, have expressed the will of a large majority of the people of the State, and the State having assumed a position that will require the earnest and hearty co-operation of all her sons to successfully maintain, I regard it as a solemn duty, on my part, to give my humble aid in procuring unanimity of action and of thought among our people. I have the honor to command a troop of horse in the county of Hanover. Acting in conformity with the proclamation of the Governor, and with orders subsequently received from my superior officers, I have ordered that troop to prepare to take the field, and am on the eve of my departure from the city to take my place at its head, determined, on my part, to do all in my power to advocate the cause in which Virginia is engaged, and meaning to defend her flag wherever it may wave.

Mr. President, I desire to say that the Union men of Henrico, who sent me here, will prove themselves as true to the cause of Virginia as any other portion of the people of the State, and, like myself, they will share her fate, be it for weal or woe.

What will be the effect of granting the leave which the gentleman asked? There are others of us who have an interest to know the process by which that change is to be effected. I would like to know what will be the mode of transferring the vote of a gentleman who may wish to make the transfer?

The Chair thinks that the original record cannot be altered; but an entry of the transfer of the vote may be made in the journal.

If that is the understanding, I shall concur very heartily in giving the leave the gentleman asks.

The leave was granted.

I am requested by the committee on the subject of taxation to make a report. In doing so, it is proper I should accompany it with some personal explanation.

When the resolution was adopted appointing a committee to take this matter into consideration, it was impliedly understood that no action on the subject should be taken until an adjourned session of the Convention, which was then contemplated. It is, therefore, proper for me to say that this action and report on the part of that committee has not been at the instance of myself or of the members composing it who are from the West. The action of the committee has been, at the instance of Eastern gentlemen, largely interested in slave property.

I am authorized this morning to report a proposition of amendments to the Constitution, entirely acceptable, as I understand, to the Western portion of the State, and that proposition was not adopted, I will further say, at the instance of the Western members. It is proper that I should make a further explanation in this connection, in which, I think, I will be borne out by Eastern gentlemen composing that committee; and it is this, that Western gentlemen distinctly placed this proposition before the consideration of the committee upon its abstract propriety and justice in their estimation, desiring it to be distinctly understood that they did not bring it forward at their own instance, and especially that they did not bring it forward now in the present exigency and crisis of the Commonwealth. I wish still further to observe that, acting upon the professions, upon the original, implied understanding that the consideration of this question was to be postponed until an adjourned session of the Convention, many of the Western members have gone home, perhaps not to return until the adjourned session, not anticipating, I suppose, that any action would be taken now upon it.

With this explanation, Mr. President, I propose to submit this report to the Convention, and ask that it be laid on the table and printed. I submit to Eastern gentlemen that they can dispose of it as they see proper. Our friends are not here; those who would support this proposition from the West are not here; but if Eastern gentlemen, from a sense of justice to the West, or of generosity, see proper to take this question up and give us the proposition as reported, we shall be exceedingly grateful to them for it. I don't feel myself, individually, authorized to ask any action on the part of the Convention on the report. I submit it to be laid upon the table and printed. If .Page250 Eastern gentlemen see proper to take it up and pass it we would be exceedingly grateful to them for it.

The following is the report.

The reasons suggested by the gentleman from Monongalia, who has just made the report, together with other considerations operating upon my mind, induce me to urge that that report remain upon the table, and that there shall be no action upon it until an adjourned session, or, at any rate, until we shall have passed through the consideration of the pressing subjects which come upon us daily, and which will, probably, come upon us as long as we remain here.

I understand the motion of the gentleman is, to lay the report on the table and have it printed. My purpose now is merely to say, that whatever may be the result when we shall take it up, there are strong reasons which induce me to vote against its consideration at this time. I will say, that in my view, it would be impolitic; it would be wrong to act upon a new subject of taxation, until we can consider with it the subject of representation. The subject of representation was not referred to that Committee, and therefore it could not report upon it. It is, however, a subject which is immediately connected with it, and I think it ought to be considered by the Convention before we act upon the subject of taxation.

I shall for these reasons favor a proposition that the report be allowed to lie upon the table until some future period.

I merely desire to say in regard to the report of the Committee, that I am prepared to respond .Page251 to its recommendations in the main, most heartily and cordially. I am not only willing myself, but, sir, there are those in this Convention who recollect the proceedings of a meeting in my county, held some two or three weeks ago, in which my constituents authorized me, in view of the circumstances that now surround us, to vote for the ad valorem system of taxation which that report, as I understand recommends.

There is one suggestion in regard to it which I desire to throw out.

If I understand it correctly, it proposes to establish the system of taxation,1Something like "equal" or "ad valorem" must have been intended to qualify "taxation." and if I understand the meaning of that language, it proposes to put the tax upon negro property according to its block value.

I understand that a motion to lay on the table is not debatable.

That motion is also accompanied by a motion to print, which is debatable.

I rose merely for the purpose of expressing my approval of the ad valorem principle of taxation, and no other. Having done so, I shall proceed no further with the debate.

I was not aware that there was to be any report made from the committee appointed to take charge of this subject, this morning; but I regard it somewhat as a duty to make a remark or two on this report, while the opportunity is now afforded me.

I have taken no part in any of the discussions which occurred in the Convention since our first assembling, in relation to this question of taxation. My friends from various portions of the West have given their views upon this question. I voted for the raising of this committee, and voted against laying the propositions offered by gentlemen from the West on the table. I was very willing that a committee should be appointed to consider the subject, and I acquiesced in the disposition which was finally made of it. I thought that we were not to report until a subsequent meeting of the Convention. That seemed to be the condition on which the committee was raised.

Now, for one, I have not been disposed, from the beginning of the Convention, to have the great primary object of this Convention embarrassed in any way by questions touching the State constitution.

At a meeting, a very large meeting of the people of my county, which took place a short time before I left home, at which I was present, and in the proceedings of which I participated, it was among other things resolved, that in regard to outside difficulties with which we were surrounded, the people of my county knew no sort of national dissensions. I stand in truth instructed, so far as the meeting I refer to .Page252 announced the sentiments of the county. The sentiment of that meeting was, that we were not to interfere with the settlement, in any form, of the pending national difficulties by the introduction of any subject touching the State Constitution calculated to embarrass or excite differences of opinion. In that I acquiesced at the time, and have acquiesced since.

Now, upon this question of the assimilation of the tax upon the ad valorem principle, no man who knows anything of my former course can deny that it has always been in accordance with this report. I was in favor of that principle in 1851. I am so now; and, under other circumstances, there would be no hesitation at all in a universal assent to the principle enunciated in that report and to the adoption of that principle.

A committee was raised, however, as I remarked before, with the entire understanding that they were not to report upon this subject until a future session of this Convention. As was remarked by the gentleman from Monongalia [Mr. WILLEY] , some of the Western members have left, and gone home, the understanding being that this subject would not be taken up at this session. Coming up now, however, as it does, I should be willing to act upon it. I have not examined the report of the committee, and the amendments proposed. I do not intend to commit myself to the question whether that report does perfectly embrace what ought to be inserted in the Constitution. I am speaking only on general principles. I would be willing to take the opportunity of adopting that, but there are other matters to be considered in connection with this proposition.

The law under which this Convention was assembled, contains, as was understood throughout this Commonwealth, from one end to the other, a provision declaring that no change in our relations to the Government of the U. States or in the Constitution of Virginia, was to be made unless submitted to the qualified voters of the Commonwealth, and ratified by them. Surely this proposition now made will have to be submitted to the vote of the people. The Convention adopted an ordinance, by which our relations to the General Government are changed. That will have to Je submitted to the people. If that action here shall be ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of this Commonwealth, and our connection with the Government of the United States sundered, then, as every gentleman must perceive, it will become necessary to change the organic law of the Commonwealth, not merely in this feature, but in regard to many other features of that instrument. All portions of that Constitution which look to a connection .Page253 with the Government of the United States, all provisions which look to the election of members of Congress in Virginia, will have to be changed; and not only in regard to our relations heretofore held with the Government of the United States, but in regard to our own national system, there will necessarily be material changes proposed, which will have to be acted upon by the voters of the State.

Now, is it necessary, in that state of things, having passed that ordinance of secession, that we should act upon this single isolated amendment of the Constitution, and submit it to the action of the people at the May election? This ordinance will have to be ratified. This Convention will have to submit changes in various portions of the Constitution; and I know no reason why we should ad interim and from time to time be submitting propositions to change the Constitution. After the action of the people in May, the plan would be to make all the changes necessary, and submit all to their action.

Now, in regard to this taxation question, it can avail nothing for the present, under any circumstances. The assessments of the Commonwealth have already been made. Previous to the 1st of February, a year's taxes can in no manner be placed upon negro property in pursuance of this amendment, even if prepared now, and the people adopted it at the May election; so that there is no necessity to act upon it in regard to any change of the taxation for the present year.

I prefer, then, to keep this matter separate until the action of the people in May. Then act upon your State Constitution. We must be governed by the circumstances that then surround us. What new relations are to spring up, none of us can tell. What changes may be necessary after awhile no one can tell. In taking this position, I am not conscious that I represent entirely the interests of that portion of the State from which I come. I am, sir, representing the wishes of those that I immediately represent here; for, from the beginning, we intended that this great question we met to consider should not be embarrassed by questions of mere State concern. This I say in explanation of my own views in this matter.

The gentleman from Monongalia [Mr. WILLEY] , has made a motion to lay on the table and print.

I did not understand my friend to say that he was anxious to take it up. I understood him to say that he would leave to Eastern gentlemen to take it up or lay it on the table, as they thought best. If they took it up and adopted it, he would be grateful to them for it.

Concurring with my friend from Monongalia, as I do, in no sectional spirit; regarding him as one of the purest and best of men, I .Page254 would be very unwilling to differ from him in anything. I do say, however, that if this be a matter of right; if it be a true system of taxation, as I believe it to be; if it be due to the people of the West to adopt that system of ad valorem taxation, I don't choose to take it as a matter of thankfulness and gratitude at all. I claim to be simply a member of this great Commonwealth of ours, and an humble member of this body, standing here to defend the rights of my constituents; and, so far as I can, looking to the interests of the entire State, I am here to compare opinions with my fellow members, and to lend my assistance, heart and hand, to whatever is necessary for this Commonwealth. I have not voted for this ordinance of secession. Action has been had, however, by a majority of this body; and, as a citizen of this Commonwealth, I am for the submission of that action to the people of this State. In order to carry out fully the scheme of this Convention, when the people shall have adopted that ordinance, and during the interval of time between the passage of the ordinance to their action upon it, I am for putting this Commonwealth, so far as my feeble efforts may go, in a position of perfect independence.

I do not intend to go back into an argument for or against the action which has been had. I said not one word during these nearly two days of solemnity that have transpired here. While other gentlemen East and West were rising to explain their positions, I sat silent. In the first place, I felt that there was the same species of solemnity that I would have felt in attending the funeral of the mother of my family. I was silent again, for the reason that I knew no voice would change the result. The ordinance of secession received the votes of the majority of this body; and from that moment, so far as I am concerned, I am ready, by my vote, to forward any measure that may be necessary to get us through our difficulties successfully. I trust that those who have supported this ordinance will not regard those who voted against it as having no lot in the conflict which is to go on in this Commonwealth. It is true the responsibilities are upon those who passed the ordinance. For all the action that is taken here, there is a responsibility attaching to us all. I only hope that whatever we find it necessary to do; whatever the exigencies of our position may require at our hands, we shall do it in harmony; we shall do it in a mode that will not be inconsistent with the past of this old Commonwealth. Let us do it in such a manner as that it shall at least look well in future history.

I have been borne along to say what I had no expectation to say when I rose. While up I will say, that thrown as we are into this .Page255 most trying position, called upon to perform duties to this old Commonwealth yet dear to us all, let us not cut off the glories of the past or the hopes of the future.

Mr. President, is it possible that this glorious country of ours is to be overrun by blood and carnage. This Union is dissolved; but may we not yet hope to part in peace? Is it consistent with the civilization of the age in which we live, to indulge a thought that such a separation is hopeless? We are involved in a civil war, more bloody than the pages of history have yet disclosed, if it is to be carried on, to end, we know not when, with the subversion and destruction of every interest of every portion of your people; and, it may be, under some new despotic form of government.

May we not indulge a hope that Providence yet has in reserve for us some means by which this calamity may be avoided? I have no suggestions to make. We are all, it would seem, at sea without a helm. We are upon the waves, floating on-I know not where; but as a citizen of this Commonwealth-as a Christian man-I yet indulge a trust in that Providence which never yet has deserted our fathers or their posterity. Although in hostilities, are we to give up all hope that nothing but a long train of bloody war is to bring us through this contest? We are not without foundation for hope in the examples of history. Very recently, in the history of Europe, an example is presented, from which we may take some gleam of hope. In 1847 the ancient Confederation of the Hartz Swiss Cantons was disrupted. Seven of these Cantons withdrew from all connection with the remaining seventeen. A bloody war ensued, many lives were lost, and an amount of treasure expended infinitely beyond anything that occurred with us. Actually, raging war ensued, and was continued a considerable time. But even under circumstances so inauspicious as these, moments of calm reflection ensued. A re-union was formed; the seven Cantons seceding and the seventeen remaining came again into harmony, and that union and that harmony has been progressing favorably from that day to this. They have a more firm Union now than they had then. It is true, we have interests more diverse in their character than the Swiss Cantons; but there are at least fifteen States of this Union that have common interests, and when they shall be brought to act together, a peaceful solution of these difficulties may be accomplished. A re-union of all the States of this Confederacy is possible. It is yet possible that the interests of every portion of this Confederacy may be preserved. I shall not dismiss from my bosom a lingering ray of hope that still abides there.

I have an abiding hope that we yet shall emerge from these difficulties. But, in the meantime, let us act as our fathers acted-let us be true to ourselves, true to our country, true to the present and the future. Whatever we do, let it be done in harmony with our past history and our past glory. For one, I am ready to unite in every legitimate mode of action to place Virginia where she ought to be.

I have heretofore sat silent and calm, and have listened again and again to gentlemen who sought to throw the responsibility upon those who passed this ordinance of secession, for the consequences that now exist and that are about to befall the country.

Will the gentleman give way for a moment to enable the Committee on Military Affairs to make a report.

If it is important I will.

There are two ordinances about to be reported by the Military Committee, which it is very important, should be passed, so that they may be acted upon by the Governor to-night.

While this question of taxation is under consideration, I will offer this amendment to the report of the Committee submitted by the gentleman from Monongalia [Mr. WILLEY] , and ask that it be laid upon the table and printed with the report.

The amendment is as follows:

"Provided, however, that the same rate of ad valorem tax imposed upon land shall be imposed upon slaves, and the same that is imposed upon slaves shall be imposed upon land, and that neither land nor slaves shall be exempted without exempting the other."

I move to postpone the further consideration of the report of the Committee on Taxation.

The motion was agreed to, whereupon

Mr. SCOTT submitted the following reports from the Committee on Military Affairs:

I have been instructed by the committee to report the following resolution, in connection with the ordinances just submitted :

Resolved, That the ordinance providing for the appointment of a Commander-in-chief of military and naval forces of the Commonwealth, with the ordinance providing for calling out the volunteer forces of the State, be communicated in confidence to Col. Robert E. Lee.

I call the previous question.

The call was sustained, and the main question ordered to be put, which was on the ordinances reported by the Military Committee.

The question was then taken, and the ordinances were adopted.

The PRESIDENT announced the following committee under the resolution of Mr. Preston ordering a reference of the ordinance of secession and preamble to a committee, who shall also prepare a schedule for the submission of said ordinance and preamble to the people:

Messrs. Wm. Ballard Preston, of Montgomery; R. E. Scott, of Fauquier; H. A. Wise, of Princess Anne; Wm. H. Macfarland, of Richmond ; James P. Holcombe, of Albemarle; James Barbour, of Culpeper; and Charles R. Slaughter, of Campbell.

I beg you to excuse me from serving on that committee. I am compelled, because of my own illness and the situation of my family, to leave for home to-morrow.

Mr. WISE was excused and Mr. PRICE, of Greenbrier, appointed in his stead.

I beg leave to submit to the Convention a telegraphic despatch received from the President of the Confederate States.

The Secretary read the despatch.

I am authorized to say that I have information directly .Page258 from Montgomery also, that there are upwards of 2,000 troops on their march to Norfolk to assist us.

My attention has been called to the fact to-day, that the Committee on Federal Relations have a clerk who is still entitled to the per diem. The business of the committee has been for some time discharged substantially, and I therefore offer the following resolution:

'Resolved, That the Committee on Federal Relations be discharged from the further consideration of all resolutions heretofore referred to them and not acted upon, and it is further ordered that the services of the clerk of that Committee be dispensed with.

I hope the latter part of that resolution will not be adopted.

There will be no difficulty in appointing a Clerk, whenever we need one. We have had a Clerk for now nearly a fortnight receiving pay without doing anything.

The resolution was adopted.

The question was then put on the resolution reported by the Committee on Military Affairs, directing the Governor to communicate, in confidence, to Col. Lee the ordinances referred to in that resolution, and it was agreed to.

It was ordered that copies should be sent to Gen. Johnston.

I beg leave to report the following ordinance from the Committee on Military Affairs, in conformity with the resolution offered to-day by the gentleman from Prince William [Mr. HUNTON] :

"Be it ordained, That the Governor of the Commonwealth be authorized to appoint as many aids, with the rank of Lieutenant of Cavalry, as the necessity of the service may require."

The ordinance was adopted.

Mr. SCOTT, from the same Committee, submitted the following resolution, which was adopted :

"Resolved, That the Military Committee be authorized to depart so far from the injunction of secrecy as to consult in committee, but in confidence, with such military men as they may deem advisable."

At the instance of the committee, I move that it be enlarged by the addition of two members.

The motion was agreed to.

Messrs. C. B. CONRAD, of Gilmer, and CALEB BOGGESS, of Lewis, were added to the committee.

I offer this resolution:

"Be it ordained, That an Executive Committee of Safety, consisting of five, to be appointed by the votes of this Convention, be, and they are hereby constituted, to aid and assist the Governor of the Commonwealth in organizing and executing all the ways and means of public defence. They shall organize and construct, particularly an Adjutant General's Department, a Commissary General's Department, an Inspector General's Department and a Bureau of Ordnance ; and, in addition to this, they shall organize a department to be called the Department of Private Arms; to cause a return to be made, as near as practicable, of the number of arms and of the amount of munitions of war in the hands of private individuals.

SEC 2D. In appointing the heads of said Departments and Bureau, persons experienced in military affairs or who have served in the army or navy of the United States and graduates of the Military Academy of the United States, or of the Military Institute of Virginia, shall be preferred. And in organizing said Departments and Bureau, the plans of similar departments and bureaus of the United States Government shall, in general, be observed, and a regular system of reports and records shall be devised.

SEC 3D. And the said committee shall have power to appoint a Secretary, and shall keep a record of its proceedings; and it shall have power to sit during the sessions and in the recess of this Convention; and should, in conjunction with the Governor, or in case of his absence, or death or resignation, have power to make all necessary appointments and to apply all appropriations; and, in all other respects, shall have power to act for the defence of the State, and, if necessary, to decide when this Convention shall be called to re-assemble in case of recess, and they shall, in the recess of this Convention, have power to fill vacancies in their own body, and any three of them shall be a quorum, with power to act in the absence of the other two of their number."

I ask that that be laid upon the table and printed.

I would suggest that it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

The Committee on Military Affairs, I think, should have nothing to do with our civil organization. This is a matter that relates to the Governor. A committee of safety appointed by this Convention ought not only embrace military affairs but departmental organizations also. Let me tell you, what I experienced during the John Brown raid. What was the state of your organization at that time?

You had an Adjutant General-aged, infirm and alone to do all the duty of Adjutant General, Commissary General, of the Ordnance Department and Inspector's Department. As my friend Gen. SCOTT of Powhatan knows, when I went to Harper's Ferry, I had to perform every one of those myself. It was utterly impossible for the Adjutant General, with the force you had to assist him, to keep pace with the telegraphs, let alone the correspondences. He did his duty faithfully and well; and as well as one lone, old man could do it. It is very difficult for the State to conduct her affairs with the organization which she now has; and I have therefore endeavored to furnish such a plan of organization as I thought would suit the emergency-I have taken the very organization of the United States Departments-their bureaus, &c, for our army. It will be no more costly than is necessary-I don't think it will be as costly as the present system; because the extra aid that you have to hire, would more than pay the regular salaries of a sufficient number to do the work. I have experience in this matter. I can speak from a knowledge of the extraordinary labors that I myself had to perform during the time of that little campaign at Harper's Ferry. I had to find an Assistant Adjutant General, and with the aid of a Major General, the only General in the State who did tender his services to me. I am I think in error. Let me say for one who sits before me, that he did tender his services [Gen. EPPA HUNTON, of Prince William, the reporter believes] . No, sir; there are two in this body who tendered their services-I mean the gentlemen on my left and right [Gen. SCOTT of Powhatan, and Gen. HUNTON as the reporter thinks] . Withal, I found that the work could not be done in such a manner as to save the Commonwealth from extraordinary expense. The cost of that little raid, was at least from 20 to 30 or 50 per cent more than it ought to be owing to the want of anything like an efficient organization, before the emergency arose.

Now, these Departments are just what you do want. It may be that one of the departments, that of private arms, that I have named there, may be found to be unnecessary; but I believe it will be found upon reflection to be one of the most vital of all. I think it will be well to have a department here to look around and see where the private arms now wanted could be collected; where their calibre could be compared, and where they could be selected with reference to their uniformity. There are thousands of revolvers of every kind which really are not wanted by many families in the State, unless where there are some of their members who intend to go into service. An immense number of arms, which would add materially to our armory, can be.Page261 obtained, if you will only appoint somebody to look after them. It is due to the people in the West of this State to say, that if they defend themselves, they will have to do it with their own private arms for they have not been furnished with any arms, except a few sabres, that I was enabled to supply them during the time that I filled the Executive chair, and with the exception of one or two or three batteries of ordnance, which with difficulty I was enabled to send to that section. I am sorry to say, that I heard to-day, that one of your Brigadier Generals has gone home with the avowed declaration, that he shall cross the Ohio river, and go into Ohio,, and appeal to people there to be neutral in this war, and promise them that the people of North western Virginia will also remain neutral.

I refer to Gen. JACKSON. I am assured by gentlemen who heard him express himself upon the subject, that that was the policy he determined upon. I shall not be surprised to hear, after such a declaration as this, that Parkersburg will soon be in the hands of the enemy. I was shocked, and very much distressed when I was informed of it this morning. I am gratified, however, that I did send some guns to the West to defend their own people.

I say you have need to look after your organization now more than any people have on the face of the earth. This morning I prepared that ordinance. Although it is roughly drawn yet I believe, sir, that it sufficiently covers the object in view, and I merely ask that it be laid upon the table and printed, so that gentlemen may see if something better can be done. I would say that the most essential thing you can do now is to adopt that ordinance. I would not commit this duty into the hands of any man, I don't care who it is.

The Governor of Virginia cannot carry on the war unless this organization is complete. He cannot buy cannon and small arms, clothing, provisions, and the various other requirements necessary for an army, without an efficient organization. All these matters will involve double the ordinary expense unless they are properly attended to. You want a commissary general, an adjutant general, an inspector general. You want an ordnance department. You want every department that experience has shown to be needed, every department, in fact, that they have had at Washington, and I would adopt at once the organization they had there; and if you obtain the valuable services of Colonel Lee or General Johnston, they will find the system arranged which they perfectly understand, and will know how to conform to it all the details of the army. I do think that you will neglect a beneficial service if you fail to adopt an organization of this kind, .Page262 and as I will leave in the morning, I could not do so, even hurriedly as it is, without bringing the attention of this Convention to this all-essential and important matter.

There are one or two objections which seem to me to exist to the motion of the gentleman. We are in secret session, and it is understood that all that transpires here is to be kept secret. It would be rather difficult, when that paper is sent to the printer, to have the injunction of secrecy maintained. This is a very important matter, and it seems to me that it ought to be referred to some committee.

I move that it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Pending that motion-

There was a committee ordered to be raised on yesterday, on the manufacture of gunpowder; but it has been suggested that the subject be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

I move that it be referred to that committee.

The motion was agreed to.

I was unexpectedly called from the hall when the vote was being taken on the ordinance reported by the Committee on Military Affairs, in relation to the transmission of the ordinance creating a Major General, &c., to Col. Lee. I desire to say that, had I been present, I would have voted for that ordinance.

I now move that the Convention take a recess until 5 o'clock.

I move to amend that motion by moving to adjourn.

The motion was agreed to-ayes 49, noes 31, and the Convention accordingly adjourned at quarter to four o'clock, P. M.

I want to state to the Convention that I was in the Ordnance Department to-day, when several gentlemen came in to enquire for arms. It was ascertained that there were none to be had.

I wish to say that there is a gentleman now here from Louisiana, who is come prepared, if he can find any one to co-operate with him, to establish a manufactory of arms in Richmond. If he can procure this co-operation, he will be prepared to furnish arms in a few months.

1.5. FIFTH DAY

The Convention met at 12 o'clock.

I will state to the Convention that Mr. Thos. F. GOODE, of Mecklenburg, is absent from his seat, having returned home to take command of a volunteer company, of which he is captain.

The first business now in order is the report of the Committee on Taxation, presented on yesterday, by the gentleman from Monongalia [Mr. WILLEY] .

At the request of some of the friends of this proposition, with whom I have consulted, I beg leave to withdraw the motion to lay on the table and print. I submit the matter, at once, to such action as this Convention may deem proper to take.

On yesterday morning, sir, when the report of the Committee was presented to the consideration of this Convention, I was not prepared to hear the motion which was offered and discussed by the Chairman of the Committee on Taxation, and by the distinguished gentleman from the county of Kanawha. I felt very much disappointed, and I confess, exceedingly chagrined, that, notwithstanding we had reached that period when the necessity for a change in our organic law, contemplated by the report of the Committee, was made apparent to every man East and West, North and South, in Virginia, and when almost every possible objection to the adoption of this proposition was removed by the altered circumstances of the people of this Commonwealth, in relation to the Federal Government-I say I was disappointed and chagrined at finding the Chairman of the Committee and the distinguished gentleman from Kanawha [Mr. SUMMERS] , presenting the subject in such a manner as to ensure its defeat.

I desire to know whether the subject now under consideration is the report of the Committee or the amendment of the gentleman from Princess Anne [Mr. WISE] . He offered that amendment with the understanding that the report and amendment were to be printed, and expected that no action would be had upon the report until he returned. I suppose the amendment is the subject now under consideration.

The amendment of the gentleman from Princess Anne is not before the Convention. When he offered it, it was not in .Page264 order. He merely meant to lay it on the table and have it printed for information.

I understand, then, that the report of the Committee is the only question before the Convention.

I was remarking, sir, that I felt chagrined when I found the report presented under circumstances, as I understood, indicating its defeat. I have been equally chagrined at seeing members of this Convention from the region of country which I have the honor in part to represent, endeavoring to shirk, if possible, a vote upon this question by absenting themselves at this time from the Convention.

My position on the great question which engrossed our thoughts and attention heretofore is well understood by this Convention. I have taken occasion upon every proper opportunity to indicate to the members of this Convention, privately and publicly, that the rights of the country from which I come require and demand that this question shall be adjusted; and when I found objections coming from a portion of the State where we had least expected them to come from, I must acknowledge I never had been more mortified than to find my own friends leaving their seats and going home, thus hazarding the success of this proposition, which, whatever might have been the opinion of gentlemen heretofore, must have impressed itself upon the minds of this Convention as necessary for the unity, peace and harmony of the State of Virginia. I felt equally chagrined when I learned that members of this Convention from Eastern Virginia were willing to favor the very principle which the originators of that movement vindicated; but which they now seem indifferent to. I hail it as a good omen that this question was brought forward by Eastern gentlemen. For myself, I never have been much impressed by the advantages that some thought we would derive from this thing. Believing it, however, to be right in principle, I felt that it ought to be allowed, and that the change ought to be made and promptly made by those who were interested in the kind of property under consideration. But I expected that Western gentlemen would, in this Convention, stand up to what they must know and feel to be the sense of their people. I admit that in some sections of the State, they allow this great question of Federal relations for the present to cover it up; but I have never found anybody, who, when the question was presented, would be excused, much less authorized or justified in avoiding a fair and manly consideration of the question.

I am willing, so far as I am individually concerned, to take the report of the Committee; because, as I understand, it justly presents it .Page265 as a necessity required by my people. I acknowledge that there are other crying defects in the Constitution that ought to be remedied, and that I believe this Convention will remedy before it adjourns. But I am not prepared to adjourn without doing justice in this one particular, because there are other questions which it is not now expedient for this Convention to determine. I am not at all favorably impressed with the arguments of the gentleman from Kanawha upon this subject. I know that the weight of his name carries with it considerable influence, and is calculated to give force and effect to any argument he may use; but I hardly think it will avail in this instance against the manifest justice and conceded propriety of the claim set up here on the part of the people of his section and of the whole West. Standing here upon a platform that a due sense of my obligations to my constituents requires me to stand upon, I am not to turn aside from the discharge of my duty, because forsooth it may not be possible to discharge now all the duties which devolve upon us. It may be possible that we may have other business that may prevent us from meeting here again, and adjusting the other questions which are deemed necessary to be acted upon. But that is no reason why we would not now settle this question.

The difficulty under which these gentlemen seem to labor, that we will be compelled, at different times, to submit different portions of this Constitution to the people, is not solid. In my opinion, this question can be submitted to the people in the coming election, and although we may not derive any benefit from it now or at any time, yet I desire to put all the property of the Commonwealth in a position to pay its due proportion of taxes. This is a principle which ought to commend itself not only to the patriotism, but justice of every member of this Convention East and West. I know very well that some of our members have gone home, and it may be under the impression that nothing was to be done now on this question; but that at some future time, when this Convention was to have an adjourned session, it would be considered. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that these gentlemen have absented themselves from their duties at this particular time; but we have only to trust to the sense of justice of our Eastern friends to grant us what we believe to be our just rights.

Sir, this measure ought to be adopted. No good reason has yet been shown why it should not be adopted. I do not believe that any good reason can be shown. If there be anything desirable in having the sentiment of the State united, it seems to me that, at this particular juncture, it behooves every man to come up to this question and to do justice to all. I trust that, notwithstanding the fact that many members .Page266 from Western Virginia have departed to their homes, the action of this Convention will forever forestall the possibility of creating disturbances in any part of the State, by calling to the attention of the people directly interested in the settlement of this question, the fact that it was brought up here for consideration and rejected. Every member here owes it to his State and people that this question should be settled and peace and harmony secured in the Commonwealth. But, while I differ from the distinguished gentleman from Kanawha [Mr. SUMMERS] , in his sentiments on this question, I concur with him in other sentiments in regard to the question of peace, I think the only question between the majority and minority here is, that we have reached the same end at different periods. I trust that, whatever of discord or distrust any of us may have felt or imagined in anything we may have done, now, as a common peril is upon us, we will ignore all past dissensions and differences, and unite for the common good. Every effort has been made to preserve the peace of the country. The whole country knew and felt that there was a majority in the Virginia Convention of Union men so strongly entrenched in their positions that nothing but the force of arms would drive them from it. I trust that we will let no question distract us at home, and notwithstanding our political horizon may be dark to-day, yet, I humbly trust that that Providence that has hitherto guarded us, may still extend over us the shadow of his wings until this great difficulty is at an end.

I think I ought to appeal again to every member of this Convention to settle this question now and forever. I did not expect to trouble this Convention now or at a future time; but finding myself deserted by friends in Western Virginia, I felt myself justified in appealing to this Convention to come up and dispose finally of this question.

Is an amendment in order?

Certainly, sir.

There was a committee appointed yesterday, charged with the duty of preparing a schedule for the submission of the Ordinance to the popular vote. The day of election is not far off, and unless the schedule is immediately acted upon it cannot be distributed through the Commonwealth so as to give the people a fair opportunity to vote upon the question at the polls.

I would respectfully suggest that this matter about the tax, which is now occupying the time of the body, shall be laid aside for the present, until this necessary part of our business shall be disposed of. I would suggest to the gentleman having it in charge to pass it by for the present.

The members of the Convention will judge whether the reference made to me by the gentleman from Barbour [Mr. WOODS] has been justified by any remarks made by me in the course of my observations yesterday. If the gentleman from Barbour had given me his attention then, he never would have made the allusion to me he has made.

I have always been anxious for this proposition, and I stood yesterday morning, where I ever stood, on a platform of good faith to all the members of this Convention. I introduced that report with the understanding, which was distinct when the resolution which I introduced was passed, that this matter was not to be taken up until the adjourned session, and therefore I could not, without violating good faith on my part, urge the adoption of that measure now.

But I also stated the fact that, notwithstanding this previous arrangement to which I have alluded, Eastern gentlemen have suggested to me, as the chairman of that committee, the propriety of getting the committee together and presenting the report to the Convention. Acting upon this suggestion, I did so, and laid before that committee the identical proposition reported. It was brought forward on the motion of a member of that committee from the East, and I was ordered to report it to the Convention. Under these circumstances, I made the report, accompanied with the statement which I submitted on yesterday.

The Convention will remember that I made this statement, and will also remember that I expressed myself as being ready to render thanks, and to express my obligations to Eastern gentlemen if they would take up that report and pass it, and allow it to be submitted to the people.

But the Western friends of the measure have gone home; many of them, no doubt, with the understanding that this matter was not to be taken up now. Certainly the gentleman from Barbour [Mr. W000s] does me great injustice when he intimates, directly or indirectly, that I do not desire a consideration of that proposition. But, ardently as I desire it, I will not violate my pledged faith to the members of the Convention. I say now, to the Eastern members, that I would be under great obligations to them if they would pass it. I have received information from a neighbor, this morning, that makes it necessary for me to go home to protect my children, who are left without the support of either father or mother. I will go, unless you hang me; and I suppose that the same motives operated upon other gentlemen living on the border. I will not attribute to these gentlemen such motives as have been attributed to them by the gentleman from Barbour [Mr. .Page268 WOODS] . I stated yesterday that I would not presume to present this measure to be adopted, from motives arising out of the present exigency. I appeal to no such consideration or motives, but directly to the sense of justice of this Convention. I place the proposition on that ground, and no other. I so stated to the committee. I stated, since then, that unless they passed this measure, I would beg them not to take it up until all our friends are here. We come with a proposition that is just to the West, and also to the East. You can pass it, or you can reject it. If the whole delegation from the West were here now, it is improbable that we could pass it without the aid of Eastern members. I repeat now, what I stated to many gentlemen from the East, not to take up this proposition unless you intend to pass it. If you pass it, you will place me and my constituents under a lasting obligation; not because we are suppliants; not because we are begging you to do it; but because we are demanding at your hands a principle which we believe to be just, right and proper.

Having made this statement, I will commit the further management of this proposition to my friends from the West and East.

I am of those who are not disposed to express any opinion upon this subject. I don't think this question ought to be acted upon now with so thin a House.

I move to lay the whole subject on the table.

I ask for the yeas and nays on that motion.

The call was sustained.

Mr. MALLORY withdrew his motion.

I move that the consideration of the report be passed by for the present.

Is that in order?

Yes, sir.

The question was then taken on the motion to pass by, and it was agreed to.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the Governor of the State be requested to inform this body, whether the invitation to the 'efficient and worthy Virginians, and residents of Virginia, in the army and navy of the United States to return therefrom, and to enter the service of Virginia,' has been communicated to said officers or any of them, and what response, if any, has been made."

I consider the State of Virginia at this time in a condition of utter and absolute want of defence. I have no more interest in this matter than any other citizen of Virginia; but I have .Page269 more feeling upon this subject, perhaps, than many others. I feel that there are members of my family in imminent peril in this State, without being under the control of proper military officers. We passed a resolution here the other day requesting the Governor to invite efficient and worthy Virginians in the army and navy of the United States, to retire therefrom and to enter the service of Virginia, and yet, up to this time, I have heard of no response given to this extraordinary invitation.

For my part, I am unwilling to be subjected to this delay because of mere points of etiquette, or doubts as to whether it would be better for these officers to come here or to remain where they are. There is no time now for reflection. Decisions must be prompt or we must suffer in the important matter of our military organization. I am speaking for the protection of my State; I am speaking for the protection of the lives of the citizens of the State, when I demand that this Convention shall take every means in its power to protect its interests, its honor, and the lives of its people; I desire that this Convention shall call upon the Governor and ask him whether he sent this invitation, and if so, what response has been given. If the Governor shall say that there has been no response, I will then propose that invitation be extended to the President of the Confederate States, to come at once to the State of Virginia, and take charge of the military preparation of the State. We know that that gentleman is competent-that he is faithful. We know that he will come, at least, we may safely presume he will. I am willing to trust the destiny of the State of Virginia to him. I am willing to trust the lives of my children into his hands.

I am anxious that the Convention shall take action upon this subject before it adjourns to-day. I must beg pardon of my friend from Montgomery [Mr. PRESTON] , for having interposed with this proposition and prevented him from submitting his report. I am sure he will excuse me in view of the importance of this matter.

I merely beg leave to say that I endorse every word that has fallen from my friend from Amelia [Mr. HARVIE] , and I am satisfied that my people will sustain me in carrying out the line of policy he has indicated.

I agree with the gentleman, that we are in a most deplorable condition, not only in regard to military matters but in regard to many other important things. The Convention has not yet removed the injunction of secrecy in respect to the ordinance .Page270 authorizing the Governor to invite these gentlemen into the service of Virginia.

The Convention authorized the Governor to extend the invitation, and that, it would seem, is sufficient.

The Governor is at a loss to know where these officers are to be found. I know of no means of conveying this invitation to the officers, in the present uncertain state of the mails, except by special messengers. I think the military committee should be asked to report that the injunction of secrecy be removed, so far as it relates to this ordinance authorizing the Governor to extend those invitations. I understand that some gentlemen from the Navy, have reported themselves to the Governor. I understand that no direct approaches have been made to any of them. The object of the ordinance passed yesterday, was to send direct to some military officers, who would aid in forming some plan of campaign. I trust that the Convention will permit the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs to submit a report removing the injunction of secrecy from the ordinance to which I refer.

The resolution offered by Mr. HARVIE was then adopted.

I rise to a question of order.

On yesterday, the gentleman from Princess Anne [Mr. WIsE] , offered an ordinance, and moved that it be laid upon the table and printed. Pending that motion, the House adjourned. I submit that that is the proposition in order now. The motion of the gentleman from Princess Anne was not put, the House having adjourned soon after it was submitted.

The Chair did not understand the gentleman from Princess Anne as presenting the ordinance with a view to its being printed.

Yes, sir. The gentleman submitted it to be printed, and accompanied it with some remarks.

The recollection of the Chair is, that a motion was made, yesterday morning, to pass by the report of the committee on Taxation, for the purpose of considering a resolution offered by the gentleman from Richmond city [Mr. RANDOLPH] . That being the case, so soon as the resolution of the gentleman was disposed of, the report of the committee on Taxation was next in order; and at that time the gentleman from Princess Anne [Mr. WISE] arose, and announced the proposition that he intended to submit, without making a motion in connection with it.

That is the recollection of the Chair.

Reference having been made to the journal, it was found that a motion was made to lay on the table and print.

I move to pass by the consideration of this ordinance for the present.

The motion was agreed to.

The committee to whom was referred the ordinance of secession for the purpose of revising the preamble thereto, and preparing a schedule, have directed me to make the following report:

In the ordinance of secession, the committee have agreed to strike out the words "17th day of April, 1861," and insert in lieu thereof the words, "done in Convention, on the seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and in the eighty-fifth year of the Commonwealth of Virginia."

I have a single word to say. The period at which the ordinance was put upon its passage did not appear on its face. Some gentlemen suggested "the 17th of April, 1861," while others suggested that these words be stricken out, and the form of attestation adopted which was contained in the United States Constitution.

The Chair stated, the other day, that it would require a reconsideration of the vote adopting the Ordinance before any amendment could be made. A reconsideration of the vote adopting the preamble was had, but no such action was taken with reference to the Ordinance. The Chair will, however, by universal consent, entertain the motion to amend without resorting to this formula.

There was no objection, and the question being put on the adoption of the amendment, it was agreed to unanimously.

I am further directed by the committee to submit the following schedule :

SCHEDULE

It shall be the duty of the officers conducting the elections directed by law to be held on the fourth Thursday in May next, at the places appointed for holding the same, to open a poll to take the sense of the qualified voters of this Commonwealth upon the ratification or rejection of "An Ordinance to Repeal the Ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America by the State of Virginia, and to resume all the Rights and Powers granted under the said Constitution," adopted in Convention, at the city of Richmond, on the seventeenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.

2. The poll book shall be headed "The Ordinance of Secession," and shall contain two columns, one headed "For Ratification," and the other "For Rejection;" and the names of those who vote for the ratification of the said Ordinance shall be written under the former heading, and the names of those who vote for its rejection shall be written under the latter heading.

3. The said officers shall make return of the number of persons voting for each proposition at the time and in the manner provided by law in the case of other elections, and shall forthwith deliver the returns, together with the poll books, to the clerks of their respective counties and corporations; and it shall be the duty of such clerks respectively to transmit immediately to the Governor of the Commonwealth copies of the said returns so delivered to them.

4. The Governor shall, without delay, make proclamation of the result, stating therein the aggregate vote for and against the ratification, to be published in such newspapers in the State as may be deemed requisite for general information; and if a majority of said votes be cast for the ratification of the said Ordinance, he shall annex to his proclamation a copy thereof, together with the schedule.

5. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause to be sent to the clerks of each county and corporation as many copies of this schedule and Ordinance aforesaid as there are places of voting therein, using special messengers for that purpose when necessary. And it shall be the duty of said clerks to deliver the same to the sheriffs for distribution, whose duty it shall be forthwith to post the said copies at some public place in each election district.

6. The expenses incurred in providing poll books, and in procuring writers to enter the names of the voters therein, shall be defrayed as in the case of the election of members to the General Assembly.

Done in Convention, in the city of Richmond, on the 24th day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and in the eighty-sixth year of the Commonwealth of Virginia.1It was the eighty-fifth year of the Commonwealth. The date of April 24 was that on which the schedule was finally approved (see page 418). Since this Schedule, and a number of Ordinances passed later in April, include the dates on which they were passed, the Enquirer evidently printed them from versions already published when the Proceedings were being readied for the press. Sometimes, as here, a document bears a date of passage several days later than the day on which it was reported as passed.

I want to know whether the Governor is to call us together after the election.

No, sir.

I think we ought to be called together to enable the Convention to take all necessary steps to meet any exigency that may arise. I am of opinion that there will be strong need for their reassembling. I would move that this Convention be called together after the polls are received.

I think it is competent for us to fix a day .Page273 for meeting again, when in the course of this session it will appear to us proper to do so. If the ordinance is ratified we will have to meet under any circumstances.

Why call upon the Governor to assemble us in one case and not in the other? Why not call upon him to assemble us in case the ordinance is rejected as well as in case of its adoption?

I think the gentleman can be accommodated. Can we not now provide for that contingency? I apprehend that we will not be in session until the day of election. We must adjourn before then and we can easily fix a day for reassembling if necessary.

I move to strike out of the schedule all that relates to adjourning and reassembling the Convention.

I think the gentleman can hardly dispense with the necessity of calling us together if the ordinance is adopted.

I see a great necessity for calling this Convention together if the ordinance be not adopted.

I can suggest how an amendment may be made, if a little opportunity is afforded for so doing. With a view of having that opportunity, I move that the schedule be laid upon the table for the present.

I want to throw out this suggestion for the consideration of the gentleman.

It is very likely that when this election takes place, there will be twenty or thirty thousand of our voters absent in camps. I would suggest that this schedule be so amended as to enable those who may be in the military service to vote wherever they may happen to be on the day of election.

I would ask the gentleman who made the motion to lay the schedule on the table to withdraw it to enable me to make a motion to refer it back to the Committee.

It seems to me that we ought at once adopt such amendments to the Constitution as the adoption of the ordinance of secession would make necessary, in order to adapt them to the new order of things, so that they may be submitted to the people at the same time, or that we should ask the people to give us plenary power, and thus dispense with the necessity of submitting any changes in the Constitution we may deem necessary.

Mr. SCOTT, of Fauquier, withdrew his motion to lay on the table. Whereupon, Mr. BOULDIN moved to re-commit the schedule, which was agreed to.

I beg leave to make a report pursuant to .Page274 a resolution offered by me, in relation to suspending the authority of the Federal Government in the State until the ordinance of secession is adopted by the people.

The select committee appointed to inquire into the expediency of suspending the authority of the Federal Government within the limits of this Commonwealth, until the sense of the people of this State shall be taken upon the ratification of the ordinance already adopted, have had the subject under consideration, and directed me to report the accompanying ordinance:

Whereas, the President of the United States, in his response to the resolution of this Convention requesting information touching the policy intended to be pursued by him towards the Confederate States of America, and by his proclamation calling forth the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, has indicated an intention, under the pretext of suppressing insurrections, and repelling invasions, of waging war upon the Confederate States; and, whereas, the Constitution of the United States gives to Congress alone, the power to declare war, and such power assumed by the President will, in the opinion of this Convention, be plainly a usurped power; and, whereas, by an ordinance adopted by this Convention, the union existing between the State of Virginia and the other States under the Constitution of the United States is declared to be dissolved, as an act of the seventeenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, when the same shall be ratified by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth;

Now, therefore, to relieve the people of the Commonwealth from any supposed obligation, in the meantime, to the military orders of the Executive authorities of the United States, be it

Ordained by this Convention, That until the ratification or rejection of the aforesaid ordinance in the manner provided therein, the people of this Commonwealth are discharged and absolved from the obligation of obedience to the military orders of the said Executive authorities of the United States; and they are hereby enjoined and required to submit themselves in all things to the direction of the proper authorities of this Commonwealth.

I want to know whether, in the meantime, we are to be considered as under obligation to the Federal Government in civil matters.

The reading of the ordinance discloses to the Convention that its operation is confined exclusively to the relief of the people of this Commonwealth from any supposed obligation that .Page275 they may be under to obey the military orders of the Federal Executive. I suppose that it may be possible that whilst we are in this state of transition-while we still remain one of the States of the United States, under the obligations of the Constitution of the United States, military gentlemen now in the service of the United States might possibly have some scruples in taking service with us; and therefore, it is, that I propose to confine this ordinance to this single question of military power. I did not suppose that it would be proper before we knew the sense of the people in respect to the ratification of the ordinance which has been adopted, to take any steps which will sever our connection altogether from the Federal Union. It is the duty of the Federal authorities to transport the mail amongst us, and I did not desire to give an excuse to those authorities to withdraw these mail facilities or to give to them any excuse during this period which is to elapse between now and the election in May, to treat us as having withdrawn from the Union.

It has seemed to be the opinion of the Convention that the ratification or rejection of the ordinance separating the State from its Federal connection, was a question to be passed on finally by the people at the polls, and accordingly the ordinance itself ordains that it is not to have effect until it receives that ratification; and I could not therefore, see the propriety of adopting another ordinance to go into effect in advance of that ratification, whereby this State would be severed altogether from its present connection. But regarding, as I most unquestionably do, the power claimed by the President to levy 75,000 militia for the purpose indicated in his response to this Convention, of waging war against the Confederate States, as plainly a usurped power, I have no difficulty at all in providing, as that ordinance proposes to provide, relief to the people of this Commonwealth from any supposed obligation to obey the military orders of the Federal authorities. I don't think that it would be proper, at this time, to go further than that ordinance proposes to go. There are a great many reasons why it seems to me we should confine our action within the limits to which that ordinance confines it. There are a great many reasons that I would not undertake now to explain to the Convention, why, it seems to me, we should forbear until the ratification or rejection of the ordinance by the people shall be known, to adopt any measure which is to withdraw the State from her present connection; and, in reply to the gentleman from Amelia, I have, therefore, to say that the operation of the ordinance is confined strictly to the military orders of the Federal Executive.

I shall move to amend that ordinance by adding the word "civil" so as to make it include civil as well as military matters. Before, however, offering that amendment, I will make a few remarks.

Mr. President, I know that in making this motion to amend, I make it under considerable disadvantages, because of the impression that my temperament is impetuous. I can only say to the members of this body, that it is utterly impossible for me to speak upon any question, especially of the character now before the House, without displaying a violent manlier, perhaps not generally consistent with the success of my efforts. I hope that, while my manner is excited, I will intelligibly convey, and dispassionately state my opinions and sentiments upon the subject now under consideration.

I feel, Mr. President, that I labor under disadvantage in being opposed to a gentleman of high intellect and superior capacity, having the confidence of the community. I know, sir, the serious disadvantages under which I labor, but in the face of all, I consider it an imperative duty upon me to stand by the interests of the State, and to protect it in time of need, so far as I am able to do so.

It is idle to suppose that there is now, or that there ever can be again any connection between the State of Virginia and the Federal Government. It is preposterous and idle to suppose, that we will ever again form a connection with a people who have unnecessarily imbrued their hands in our blood. I repeat, that it is impossible that we should unite again with such a people; and, that being so, where, I ask, is the necessity of keeping up an apparent connection with those people between this time and the period when the people are to decide upon the ordinance of secession? I appeal to the Convention to give me their attention for a moment.

It is as easy to dissolve our connection with the Federal Government in one particular as in all, or to bind all together or not at all. We are bound to submit to military if we are bound to submit to the civil authority. If we are bound to the civil authority up to the day of election, I should like to know why we should not be bound to the military authority? I see nothing that can result from our remaining subject to any obligation to the General Government except embarrassment, and I therefore think that we ought to free ourselves from it as soon as possible. Why can we not pass an ordinance to relieve the State up to the time of the election from every obligation to that Government? If it is legitimate to grant this relief in one particular it is in all. Why cannot this committee bring in an ordinance to postpone, if you choose, any obligation until the people decide whether there shall .Page277 be any obligation resting upon us or not? I see no difficulty in the way of such a course. Are we to go on and cause the people to stultify themselves by maintaining civil relations with a people with whom we are at war? It would be folly, criminal folly, to permit it.

The people of Virginia never can be carried back into connection with that Government except by revolution; and how far that can be successful remains to be seen. I have no misgivings upon the subject; my confidence in the power and ability of Virginia in union with the South to maintain herself is unbounded. This spirit of opposition to a re-union with the North I know pervades my section intensely. I hate to speak of any particular section of the State, because God knows I love every portion of it; and I pledge myself here now and all that I have, whether it is property or life, to go to the rescue of any portion of this State. I would readily sacrifice all that I have for any portion of the State. Why not place us in a situation where there can be no doubt in the mind of any individual as to where his allegiance is due? I appeal to the gentleman to come to the rescue with all the elements of power and wealth that are available. I am not speaking now impetuously, but I am speaking the sober sentiments which I have long felt, and which are well matured in my mind. I am giving utterance now to these sentiments to induce you to announce the fact that no man in Virginia owes allegiance to any other power than his own State Government. These are my opinions now, and I consider that this Convention would be acting in conformity with the sentiment of the people of the State if it would at once suspend all authority of the Federal Government over them, at least during the interval to the day of election.

Let us recognize the fact that we are separated from this Federal authority, and let us address ourselves to a consideration of the means by which we can form a connection, politically, commercially and financially, with those who have the means to sustain us-I mean the Southern Confederacy.

I will, with the permission of the gentleman, offer the following amendment:

"And the execution of all laws of the United States, except the laws respecting the transportation and the distribution of the mails in the Commonwealth, until the people shall have passed upon the Ordinance of Secession."2Apparently some such words as "shall be suspended" were omitted after "Commonwealth."

I submit the motion which I indicated at the opening of my remarks a while ago-that the word "civil" be included in the .Page278 Ordinance, so as to make the suspension of Federal authority apply as well to civil as military matters.

I have received a communication from the Executive which I propose to submit. It is as follows :

Would it not be well to refer these communications to some committee, so that they may be acted upon? No motion having been made to that effect, they were suffered to go on the table.

I will indicate more clearly the form of the amendment .Page279 which I submitted to the Ordinance, reported by the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] .

I propose to strike out the words "military orders of the Executive authorities of the United States," and insert "absolved from the Constitution, laws, and authorities of the United States of America."

The effect of that amendment, if it shall be adopted, it seems to me, will be to give immediate effect to the Ordinance of Secession. Now, sir, I do not propose to enter at all upon a discussion of the question of power; but when the Convention was full, when nearly all of its members were present, the Ordinance adopted on the 17th day of this month was propounded and adopted, with the express stipulation set forth in distinct terms, that its effect was to be suspended until its ratification by the people at the polls. Since that day a large proportion of the members of this Convention have left their seats and returned to their homes, and we stand now with a large number of vacated seats. In this condition of this body, it is proposed to retrace the action of the 17th day of April, in so far as to give that ordinance effect.

Now, sir, for one, I should require to have the excuse at least of a very urgent necessity to induce me to adopt the amendment. I have not heard it explained by the advocate of the amendment, that we are now under any such urgent, immediate necessity. The fourth Thursday in May is about a month off, and until the fourth Thursday shall come around, it seems to me we shall suffer no great detriment, be subject to no great evil by allowing this State to remain, in respect to all civil matters, still as a member of the Union. I do not understand, I repeat, what necessity exists for this hasty action. Conceding, as a question of power, that we have the power, I suggest to the Convention whether, under the circumstances, it is proper to exercise the power. According to the amendment proposed, we are to suspend all federal laws; to withdraw, so far as our action can withdraw, all Federal officers exercising functions within the limits of this Commonwealth, from their duty of obedience to the Federal laws. It is, in fact, a mandate addressed to the Judges of the Courts-to the Judges of your Federal Courts, and the officers attached to these Courts. It is a mandate addressed to the revenue officers. It is a mandate addressed to all postmasters and all mail carriers, by which they are to be commanded no longer to yield obedience to Federal laws, no longer to discharge the duties in these offices, which the laws impose upon them. I desire to know, sir, what necessity exists for this course; I desire to know whether we shall not be prejudicing our own interest greatly .Page280 more by the adoption of this amendment, than we can possibly prejudice the interests of the Federal government. Certainly it is a matter of some convenience to the people of Virginia, that the mails shall be carried within the limits of Virginia.

The States of South Carolina and Georgia have utterly repudiated all Federal authority, and yet the mails continue to be delivered in the States as usual.

That is an anomaly, a very strange anomaly-that the Confederate States, who have separated themselves from the Federal Union and assumed separate and distinct nationality, should yet remain indebted to the Federal Government for all their mail facilities. It is an anomaly occasioned by that construction of the Constitution by the Federal authorities which denies to any State, or any number of States composing this Union the right, by their own act, to withdraw from the association. But, sir, if the Convention will remember, we have received a very significant hint upon this very question of mail facilities from the President in his communication addressed to this Convention through the Commissioners sent to wait on him.

I understand that the Governor of the Commonwealth has issued some order to the postmaster in reference to arrangements contemplated to be made in the event of a stoppage of the mails by the Federal authorities. It may be well that the Convention should know what that order is.

If the gentleman has anything to communicate, I shall not occupy the time of the Convention very long. We will be very glad to hear him upon the question as soon as an opportunity is afforded him to give his views.

I was proceeding to say, that I thought we had received a very significant hint upon this question directly from the President himself because in the communication addressed by him to this Convention, he announces his purpose to withdraw from the Confederate States their mail facilities.

Now, sir, I am unwilling to put this State at this time in a position to justify or excuse the President of the United States, or the Executive authorities of the United States, in any act calculated so much to prejudice the people of this State as the withdrawing of the mail facilities would. So that I am of a decided opinion that during this short interval of one month we ought to confine the operations of that ordinance to those military orders against which the ordinance directs its mandate. I see a good reason why we should go thus far, because, .Page281 as I have already said, it may remove an impediment out of the way of these army officers who are yet attached to the army of the United States, yet holding commissions under the Federal authority who may be disposed to surrender those commissions and take service with us. If the ordinance remains inoperative until the ratification of it by the people, we remain, to all legal purposes, still a member of the Union; and if they give up their commissions in the Federal army, and take service here, they will not have that protection which the authorities of this Commonwealth ought to give them.

It seems to me that they will feel the absence of this protection and regard it as an impediment in their way, even if they desire to give up service in the one government and take service in the other. But I cannot see why we should extend the operation of this ordinance to the civil authorities. What inconvenience is to be created, what evil is to result from obedience to the civil laws for the period of one month?

I understand that a telegraphic dispatch has been received here this morning, stating that the President has directed that no vessel shall be cleared to any of the Seceded States, and that one of our own vessels has been seized at New York. Are we to allow these acts to proceed without making preparations to counteract them? Now, in regard to the mails, there is an arrangement made which will meet the requirements of the State in that respect, in case the Federal authorities cut off the mail facilities.

The statement just given, and which was derived from me, is not correctly given.

As I stepped out a few minutes ago, I met a gentleman who was taking a telegraphic dispatch up to the Governor. I ascertained from the Governor that it was to inform him that the President of the United States had issued orders to the Collectors at New York to clear no vessels coming to the Seceded States. It stated also that a vessel belonging to Messrs. Crenshaw & Haxall was captured on her way to New York.

I know nothing about these telegrams; but if any suggestion comes to me to furnish a strong reason against the proposed amendment, it is found in the very statement just submitted. It is said that the President has issued orders of a hostile character directed towards the seceded States. These orders are necessarily designed to prejudice the interests of these States; and the proposition here is, before we shall be in the condition of these States properly, to take action which would subject us to all of these inconveniences; to take a .Page282 position in which the President may be well excused in the exercise of all power belonging to the Executive authority, to embarrass us in every way-to embarrass our commerce, to cut up our trade, to destroy our mail facilities. We are inviting this hostile action, and yet I have not heard from my friend from Amelia [Mr. HARVIE] , or any advocate of this amendment a suggestion of any evil likely to follow to the good people of this Commonwealth for the space of one month frOm leaving the civil laws in operation. Why, sir, you have the Federal Courts; and for whose benefit have these courts been created? I apprehend for the benefit of the people of Virginia. Who are interested in the business of these Courts? I apprehend the people of Virginia; and yet you propose at this time to deny to our own people all the benefits which they are receiving from the execution of the civil laws of the United States. I cannot see the propriety of this act. If gentlemen will point out to me any evil likely to follow from a continued application of these laws; any danger to be apprehended to the public weal; any danger to the public safety, I will listen to the objections. I can see none-I can apprehend none. On the contrary, as I have said, I can see, and do apprehend that great inconvenience, great evil, great injury is likely to result from the operation of the proposed amendment.

So far as the military power goes, I am content to take the responsibility now of suspending that power-now, because I can see danger that is likely to result even for this short space of one month, if we suffer our people to remain subject to the military orders of the President. Therefore it is, that the ordinance proposes to confine its operation to the source of danger; and if we protect ourselves from danger likely to occur, it seems to me we go far enough. I cannot see the propriety of going further, and, for the mere sake of a temporary ordinance, to subject ourselves to the inconveniences and the evils that, it seems to me, must necessarily follow from it.

I therefore trust it will not be the pleasure of the Convention to adopt the amendment; but if we pass the ordinance, that it shall remain confined, as it is according to its terms, to the military power, because that is the only service from which I apprehend danger.

The PRESIDENT laid before the Convention the following communication from the Governor, in reply to the resolution offered by Mr. HARVIE, inquiring whether the Governor had acted upon the ordinance directing him to extend an invitation to worthy natives and residents of Virginia, in the service of the United States, to enter the service of Virginia:

I think there is an answer to the whole argument of the gentleman from Fauquier [Mr. SCOTT] , in that paper. I understand that the information we have asked for cannot be communicated to this HOUSE, because the Federal authorities have discontinued the mails, so that we are unable, under the laws of the United States, to have our mail matter transmitted through our own territory without .Page284 being intercepted by the Federal authorities. That is not a military but a civil order from the Federal functionaries. The Federal Government is disregarding its civil obligations, and we are asked here to observe our civil obligations to the Federal Government. This is the situation in which we are placed. I am no lawyer, but it strikes me that it is a principle of law which justifies the nullification of contract the moment any of the parties to it violate its stipulations. Upon this principle, are we not fully justified in repudiating our civil obligations to the Federal Government, in view of their disregard of their proper obligations to us?

And the telegraphic despatch, which I have read since I took my seat, shows that we will be subjected, if possible, to all the pains and penalties attaching to the "robbery" of the Federal property. I imagine that an indictment would lie against us, under the United States law, for the acts we have already perpetrated; and are we to run the risk of such an ordeal, by yielding obedience to the civil authority of that Government? I think it would be foolish policy to leave ourselves in such a condition.

As regards the mail facilities, they are now virtually withdrawn.

In the manner in which they are now regarded, with the espionage practiced under the sanction of the Federal authorities, they are rather a disadvantage than otherwise. No letter is now safe that passes through the hands of Post-Office officials, and it were better, in my opinion, for the interests of the South that the entire mail system within its limits, as it exists under Federal auspices, should be abolished, than continued as it has been recently. I am informed this morning that the mail facilities have been stopped; and the effect of continuing the civil obligations upon our people will be to render them amenable to criminal prosecutions without yielding anything like a collateral benefit.

Will the gentleman let me make a suggestion? In all the Southern States, where ordinances of secession were adopted and the laws of the Federal Union were revoked, it was necessary at once to provide other laws to take their place; and we must be entering upon a pretty wide field of duty when we revoke all the present laws of the United States, within the limits of Virginia, and supply such as will be necessary to take their place. If the ordinance, amended as the gentleman proposes, was to be adopted, it would operate as a jail delivery, if there are any persons charged with crime in the Federal Courts, and you would expose your mail to be opened and robbed.

I consider it robbed this morning by the Federal authorities.

It is impossible for us to revoke all the Federal laws, without considerable inconvenience, unless we furnish other laws in their stead.

The gentleman is furnishing what is only necessary to be done after the ordinance of secession is ratified.

I know very well that the gentleman seeks to entangle me in a web of legal technicalities; but he has failed, it seems to me, to have either met the question of power or of expediency.

Now, I move, to lay the whole subject upon the table; and I do so with the understanding that there is no obligation resting upon me in respect to the Federal Government in any connection; for I admit none, and shall recognize none. My obedience is due and shall be rendered exclusively to the State authorities and laws; and I shall use every means in my power to give effect to those laws and to maintain their authority.

I move to lay the ordinance on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

I have an ordinance here, to cover the message from the Governor in regard to the telegraphs. It reads:

"Be it ordained, that the Governor be authorized to contract for such lines of telegraph and agencies as he may think necessary."

I think it is better to refer that to a committee. This is great power to confer upon any official.

I hope that it will not be sent to a Committee. We are in revolution, and war is upon us; and if this ordinance is sent to a Committee it cannot be acted upon until Monday. I hope, therefore, that we will adopt it at once.

That question is divisible. I move that it be divided, the question to be first on the part relating to the telegraphs.

I will amend it as follows:

"Be it ordained, That the Governor is hereby authorized to contract for a line of telegraph from the city of Alexandria, by way of Strasburg, to the town of Winchester, and for an Express line from the city of Richmond to Baltimore, by way of Aquia Creek, and to defray the expense thereof from the appropriation heretofore made, or from such loan as may be authorized by this Convention."

I merely want to state, in regard to the invitations extended to Col. Lee and Gen. Johnson, and the other officers invited, that if they are not accepted, I will on Monday morning move that .Page286 an invitation be forwarded to the President of the Confederate States, to come and take charge of the military operations of the State of Virginia.

The ordinance offered by Mr. RANDOLPH was then adopted.

Mr. SCOTT, of Powhatan, from the committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following resolution, which was adopted :

"Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy as to the ordinance directing the volunteers to be called into service, be so far removed as that the first section of said ordinance be published."

Mr. MACFARLAND offered the following resolution, which was adopted :

"Resolved, That the Committee of Finance inquire into and report upon the expediency of authorizing the banks of the Commonwealth to issue one and, two dollar notes."

Mr. RANDOLPH offered the following resolution :

"Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs is hereby instructed to inquire whether it is probable that Messrs. Joseph R. Anderson & Co. will be able to execute their contract for furnishing the machinery required by the State, for the manufacture of small arms, at the armory in this city, and if not, what steps should be taken in reference thereto."

The resolution was adopted.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution :

"Resolved, That the President appoint a committee of five members, to prepare and report to this Convention, an address to the people of Virginia, setting forth the reasons that impelled this Convention to pass an ordinance of secession, and why the people should ratify the same."

I move to lay that resolution on the table.

I beg leave to report back the schedule to the ordinance of secession with some modification, and move that it be printed with the ordinance.

I think if this provision is adopted affording facilities for those in the military service of the State to vote, it ought to be made part of the schedule.

I move therefore to amend it by providing, that such "as may be absent from the counties or corporations of their residence on the day of election in the military service of the State, may vote for the ratification or rejection of the ordinance at such place or places within their encampments, or as the commander at such encampment shall.Page287 designate, whether the said encampment shall be within the limits of the State or not."

I withdraw the motion I have just made with a view to enable the gentleman to offer his amendment.

I now offer that amendment.

It was agreed to.

I now move that the ordinance and schedule be printed.

The motion was agreed to.

I hold in my hand some resolutions which I desire to offer, and ask that they may be laid upon the table and printed. I shall, at a subsequent time, move to give them proper reference.

The main object of these resolutions is to call the attention of the Convention to the subject of some conference with the slave States remaining in the Union, with a view to co-operation. It seems to be a matter entirely lost sight of, while it appears that several of the States have already appointed delegates to attend the Convention, to be held next month, at Frankfort, Kentucky.

I beg leave now to offer the resolutions:

"Whereas, the assumption by the President of the United States, of powers not granted by the Constitution, and the lawless attempts to enforce the same by levies of armed forces threatening the overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the safety of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hath constrained this Convention to adopt a conditional ordinance of secession, and, until the same can be acted upon by the people at the polls, to withdraw all military obedience of the citizens of Virginia from the Federal Government, and place all the military power and means for defence in the hands of our State authorities : and, whereas, it is expedient and necessary, so long .Page288 as this usurpation by the Federal Executive authority may be continued, for this Commonwealth to secure the safety of the people by thorough armament, by maintaining her authority in all places within her borders, and conferring with the people of sister States in order to form alliances and restore peaceable and efficient civil government: to the end, therefore, that the first purposes of this Convention may be accomplished and peace maintained, as much as possible; in the meantime, it is hereby

"1. Resolved, That all seizures of forts, arsenals and dock-yards of the United States and public property therein, within the limits of Virginia, which have been or may be made by the authorities of this State, it is not with intention to begin, declare, or provoke hostilities with the Federal authorities, or permanently appropriate the value of any property thus seized; but that such seizures will be made and regarded solely as temporary and defensive.

"2. Resolved, That all military preparations and movements now made by the authorities of the State, shall be construed and regarded as intended only to meet the sudden and extraordinary emergency which has arisen, and not in any way to invite or approve a civil war with the people or authorities of other States, a result which we should deprecate as a calamity and reproach to the whole people of the States.

"3. Resolved, That from the necessity above indicated, and without intending to determine the future position, relations, or policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia, we will send to a Congress to be held at Frankfort, in the State of Kentucky, on the last Monday in May next, delegates, to meet like delegates from the States of North

Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, with power and duty to devise and recommend to the several people of said States, and of any other States, and the Southern Confederacy of States, any and all measures proper to be adopted for present safety and future government, to which Congress, the said Confederate States of the South, and the other States of our former Union that may so elect, are invited to send Commissioners.

"4. Resolved, That the Governor of this Commonwealth is hereby authorized and instructed to repel, by all means in his power, any and all attempts to invade the rights or soil of this Commonwealth, by the Federal or any other authority; and such steps as he hath already taken to this end, are hereby sanctioned and approved."

My friend, doubtless, knows that I would not withhold from him any courtesy that I would extend to any gentleman .Page289 here or elsewhere, but, sir, the resolutions that he moves to have printed, are entirely foreign to the sentiments of this body; and I therefore move that they be laid upon the table.

I certainly did not ask that the resolutions be printed, as any expression of the opinions of the Convention at this time.

I rise to a point of order. A motion to lay on the table is not debatable.

It is not debatable.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution—"Resolved, that a committee of five be appointed to meet the Commissioner from the Confederate States expected in this city, and to confer with him in relation to such temporary alliance as the present condition of Virginia and the said Confederate States shall require."

The resolution was agreed to.

I move the following as a substitute for that resolution :

1. Resolved, That Virginia should, as soon as practicable, unite with and become one of the Confederate States.

2. Resolved, That this Convention will proceed to appoint Commissioners to negotiate with the Commissioners of the Confederate States, for such a union and for a temporary alliance until said union can be formally ratified, and that the Commissioners on the part of Virginia, report to this Convention for ratification, the result of said negotiations.

Pending the consideration of these resolutions, the Convention, on motion of Mr. BLAKEY, took a recess until 5 o'clock, P. M.

1.6. SIXTH DAY

The Convention assembled this day at 10 o'clock, A. M., in obedience to a call from the Governor of the Commonwealth.

The proceedings were opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. McComas, the delegate from Cabell.

I beg leave to lay before the Convention the following communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth:

I beg leave to submit the following report from the Committee on Military Affairs:

I would move to amend the sixth section by striking out the words, "for twelve months," and insert "during the war," so that that part of the section will read : "The non-commissioned officers, musicians, artificers, farriers and blacksmiths shall be enlisted during the war unless sooner discharged," &c.

I think that the adoption of this amendment would very much tend to promote this organization. To prescribe so short a period of service as that mentioned in the report will but serve to render the organization inefficient and give it the character of a mere temporary movement, liable to be broken up at the very moment that it is entering upon the period 'of 'its greatest efficiency. It may be that the war may terminate before a year is out. If so, the obligation to serve longer will cease; but in any event you will have a guarantee of their services during its existence.

With the modification I have suggested, sir, I think the plan should be adopted in full. I think that the period mentioned in the report is too short, and not calculated to promote the success of the organization. We cannot rely upon the militia, nor upon the militia officers of the State, in a crisis like this; and I therefore think that we.Page319 should adopt this plan of organization. I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to adopt the amendment which I have offered, for with it I believe the plan would be more perfect.

I know very little in regard to this report, except what I gather from gentlemen of experience; but, as a member of this Committee, I think that the first great object which should be attained now is, to establish some kind of efficient organization at once. All of us have seen within the last two three days the great evil of the want of some fixed purpose in a certain direction. Everything around us has seemed to have been in confusion. All our forces seem to be scattered and tending to different directions, instead of all being concentrated into one body, which can only be done by some fixed organization. It is possible that the plan proposed by the committee may not be the very best plan that could be proposed. A better plan may be worked out after weeks of consultation, but such a process is unsuited to the present emergency. We must take now the best scheme that the limited time allowed will enable us to perfect; and I regard the plan submitted by the committee as sufficient to meet the pressing emergency now upon us. Time and experience will suggest whatever modifications it may be necessary to make. Permit me to say that the objection which has been made by the gentleman from Lee and Scott [Mr. JoHNsToN] to this scheme is not a valid one, and rather serves as an argument in its favor. The principal thing we need now is an efficient organization of the different departments in our military service. We need a prompt and efficient organization of the Quartermaster's Department, a prompt and efficient organization of the Commissary Department, and an enlargement of the Adjutant General's Department in particular. All these things are provided for by this ordinance; and in addition to that, we provide that certain officers shall be appointed, whose services shall be devoted also to the volunteer service. This ordinance also provides for the appointment, in addition to the Major General commanding the military and naval forces of the State, of four Brigadier Generals, a number of Colonels, Majors, Captains, &c. These are to be furnished to us principally from the regular army. A plan of enlistment of our soldiers is going on gradually. It is not to be supposed that we can secure a force of ten thousand men at once. It is possible that in a few weeks we may find ourselves in the Southern Confederacy, and then our forces will probably be concentrated into the army of the Southern Confederacy. When the true sons of Virginia now in the Federal army come here, we can tell them that they are to have .Page320 permanent appointments in the Provisional army, instead of the volunteer service. Our volunteers need to be drilled, and this very deficiency shows the necessity of organizing this Provisional Army, which will always be available, whenever an emergency arises. We have in the volunteers of the State young men of qualifications; young men of education and intelligence, who come forward with all the ardor of patriots upon the call of their country, and with a zeal and a courage which carries them forward to engage in any enterprise, however hazardous; and when you look upon these young men-these gallant volunteers who have just come from the colleges and counting houses of the merchants-a feeling of sadness must arise, and a natural desire to obviate the necessity of calling such youths into the field to be pitted against the offscouring of Northern cities. The organization which the committee proposes, will, in a great measure, supply the need which forces a resort to the volunteer system, and spare to the country the class of enlightened youths to whom I have just referred. I have no doubt that many of these gallant youths will fall in this conflict, and, of course, their places must be taken by others. This organization will provide for that necessity, and, as I said, obviate to some extent the necessity for a resort to this call upon our gallant youths. There is another thing to be suggested. Under the ordinance providing to call into the field the volunteer forces of the State, the volunteer companies from all parts of the State will be called into service immediately. You must recollect that under the laws of the Commonwealth, now regulating the volunteer system, persons enlisting in the volunteer service only enlist for two years.

Four years. I have just seen the law upon that subject.

My impression is that the code has been amended, and that the period of enlistment is two years. Be that as it may, the argument applies in other respects. Many of these volunteer companies have been in existence now for a period of three and four years. The term of service of many of them will soon expire, and thus they will be freed from the obligation to serve any longer. Their places must be filled by men drawn together under the provisions of this ordinance. I think the question ought to be considered maturely, yet rapidly. The exigency calls upon us imperatively to come forward and waive all merely legal technicalities in view of the great crisis which is now upon us. This I hold to be pre-eminently the duty of the volunteer companies whose term of service, according to law, has expired. They should waive this privilege of exemption, at least until .Page321 this new organization is in force. An unrelenting enemy is about to press upon us, who will be satisfied with nothing but to overrun our people and destroy and desecrate our homes. This all here must admit to be the purpose of the North in waging this unjust, unholy war. The idea of the people of that section is the subjugation of the South; but, so far as our people are concerned, they never, I imagine, entertained even for one moment so ridiculous and groundless an apprehension. Such an idea never has entered, and never will enter, the minds of the true citizens of the old Commonwealth.

But, sir, we should prepare to meet the crisis like men. This organization has been planned for us by gentlemen of experience and of skill. Let us adopt this ordinance; and if there are defects in it, they will become readily apparent when the plan is put in operation, and can then be easily remedied. Let these gentlemen who are rushing to us from the army of the United States be provided for. Let the enlistments go on gradually. Let three or four recruiting stations be established in the State, and when the voice of Virginia shall be held on the 4th Thursday in May ratifying the separation of Virginia from the Federal Government, we can form such combination and alliances as will prove most beneficial to the State.

Let it be seen when that period arrives, that Virginia comes with an efficient force armed cap a-pie, and ready to be transferred to the Confederate Government, of which she is to become a member.

In regard to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Scott and Lee [Mr. JOHNSTON] that the enlistment shall not be for one year, but during the war, unless sooner discharged, the difficulty I have is that the war can hardly as yet be considered as existing. I have no doubt that a war is about to be waged against us, and whilst I am perfectly willing to adopt the amendment of the gentleman, I am satisfied that some other expression would be more appropriate at this particular juncture.

I trust that no needless objections will be urged to the scheme. I know that my experience in military matters does not entitle me to speak upon the advantages or disadvantages of that scheme; and that what I say here is but a reiteration of what has been said here for the past two or three days.

But let us have some organization, some system that will enable us to accept the aid of those who are tendering their services to us.

All will, doubtless, agree that it will not do to depend in this emergency upon the militia of the State, or the militia officers of the State.

We know that most of these are incompetent to perform the duties which they would have to perform in this crisis, especially, the inferior officers-Captains and Lieutenants; and, I have no doubt, it will be the pleasure of the committee to propose an ordinance to this Convention before it shall adjourn, that all positions as officers in the militia be vacated and re-filled. But this rule should not, in my opinion, apply altogether to the field and general officers of the State. There are many of these in various sections of the State who are perfectly competent to perform the duties assigned to them. I should be wanting in self-respect, if I were to admit the full scope and latitude of the charges made by some gentlemen, that all militia generals of the State are incompetent to perform the duties assigned to them. I believe that most of them are incompetent, and that is the only length I can go in the admission of incompetency, with reference to that class of officers.

But, sir, we cannot trust the militia of the State. We must depend upon the volunteer and regular army. We can get as many of these, perhaps, as may be necessary; but we should have a regular army as a nucleus around which volunteers are to collect from which to form another army. We propose, therefore, to form a regular army of ten thousand men to be increased or diminished, as circumstances may demand. But the gentleman from Scott and Lee [Mr. JOHNSTON] , says, we ought to enlist into the regular army during the war, instead of for one year. That was a matter of investigation before the Committee; but it was believed that before the end of the year, this army would be incorporated with the Southern army, and thus, necessarily subjected to its regulations; and it was, therefore, supposed that enlistment for this term would suit such an arrangement. I am ready to admit that if this army was necessary to perform all the duties during the war, it would be better to extend the period of service, or adopt the plan proposed by the gentleman from Scott and Lee.

I supposed that when we were called here to-day, there was some very pressing exigency that required us to be here. I find, however, that we are called to consider a report from the Military Committee. The report is here, but there seems to be no concurrence between the members of the committee themselves in respect to it. This makes it difficult for us to decide how we are to vote. The chairman of the committee does not concur in the report. The gentleman from Scott and Lee [Mr. JOHNSTON] , a member of that committee, does not concur in it, and neither, I understand, does the gentleman from the city of Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] . In this .Page323 state of things, it is extremely difficult for the members of this Convention to decide how they shall vote, and what plan of organization to adopt.

There is one thing perfectly certain, that, for the present exigency, you are bound to depend upon volunteers. You cannot depend upon enlisted soldiers or the militia for the present exigency.

But, sir, I ask is it proper for us to be here to-day to consider a scheme for a regular army which cannot render any actual immediate service, inasmuch as it cannot be organized within many weeks, nay, perhaps months to come. I therefore move that all these propositions shall go back to the committee, that they may consider them a little more maturely, and that they may concur with more unanimity than they exhibit here to-day, in whatever proposition they should present. To-morrow will be Monday, and by the time the House meets I hope the committee will have decided upon some definite plan upon which the Convention can act at once. My motion now is to recommit the report.

I wish to inquire whether it is necessary to have our debates here to-day reported? I think we had better dispense with this reporting service, for if our proceedings here are ever brought to light, they will show in what state of confusion we are, and how little we seem to know as to how this emergency should be met. I propose, therefore, that we dispense with the services of the reporter.

I shall oppose any such motion as that.

I wish the gentleman from Greenbrier [Mr. PRICE] , would withdraw his motion in order that I might offer this amendment by way of a substitute for the first portion of the report. I want to say to the gentleman that the position I take here is not at all inconsistent with the position I took on the committee. We assembled here in a very sudden manner this morning, and it is not to be wondered that some conflict of opinion between the different members of the committee should exist.

I should like to know from the chairman of the Military Committee, before I vote upon this question, whether there exists any necessity for immediate action upon this subject. I have gathered from the debate to day, that it is desirable now that the Governor should have it in his power to appoint officers of this proposed provisional army, who would take command of the volunteer forces of this Commonwealth. If this is so, I do not see any harm in adopting this ordinance. It has been explained to us, .Page324 that this subject of enlisting soldiers will be entirely under the control, hereafter, of the Governor and military officers; and that all that can be done under this ordinance will be to appoint the officers. It has been proposed to have two sets of officers, and that the officers of the regular army shall be charged with the duty of seeing to the volunteers. This I regard as a good plan, and one that should be speedily adopted.

I cannot vote for the recommitment of the report except with the assent of the committee itself. I think myself, that there is too little reliance disposed to be placed by the Convention upon the responsibility of the members of this Committee. I think at this time, at all events, we might take a great deal upon trust. I do not see that in this matter any harm can be done by acting upon it now; and unless the committee desire to have the subject recommitted I will vote against the motion.

I have a single suggestion to make. I suppose it would be out of order to make a motion to amend. When this proposition shall be disposed of, I shall offer a further amendment; the object of which is, to authorize the Governor to appoint the officers authorized to be appointed by this ordinance as the exigencies of the service may require.

I desire to make a statement to the Convention in behalf of the committee of which I am a member, which I think will show the necessity for prompt action, and furnish a justification for the assembling of the body this day.

We are all aware that the condition of things is perilous, that our forces are without a competent military head. This morning Governor Letcher was tendered the services of a fine military commander, and at once accepted them, and appointed him to Norfolk. He would not take the service until the Governor assured him that an ordinance somewhat of the nature of the one now before the Convention would be passed to day. For instance, it was necessary, in order that he might carry on operations at Norfolk, that there should be a Quartermaster's Department; and this deficit involves the necessity for the prompt action which is now sought. Although this ordinance may not in all respects meet the views of members, although it may be by no means perfect, yet it is tht best that could be done under the peculiar circumstances in which the committee was placed.

If defects shall be made apparent in the future operation of the system, it is the easiest thing in the world to remedy them. We are aware that we shall soon have here the services of a military Commander- .Page325 in-Chief, who, as members here well know, will have the whole organization of the army in charge; and he will, of course, immediately remedy any defect that may exist. It is apparent, upon further reflection, that we are in no condition to enter upon a campaign; that we should have an efficient military commander at once, who would enter upon the duty of organizing our forces and putting the different military departments, which we are now seeking to create, on an efficient war footing. We could not obtain the services of a military commander, if he was not assured that a Quartermaster's Department would be organized to-day; and in view of that fact, I am satisfied the Convention will overlook any little defects that may exist in the ordinance, and adopt it promptly, leaving to competent military gentlemen to remedy these defects hereafter.

I know that there is a pressing necessity for this body to act promptly growing out of the perilous condition of affairs in our State. It is necessary that they should act now; and, if in the future we can determine by the advice of such military men as will come to our aid, that something better than this ordinance embodies, is needed; there is no man here who will not go for such a measure.

But let us have some system, now, though that system may not be perfect, and though it may be liable to the objections which some gentlemen here have referred to. It is the best we can do on the present occasion; and our policy, as it seems to me, is to adopt it, and trust to future developments to remedy these objections.

I trust, therefore, that the Convention will forego all minor objections and adopt this ordinance. Col. GWYNN is now in Norfolk in charge of our forces at that point, and, as I said, only assumed command upon the assurance of the Governor, that an ordinance of this character would be adopted to-day.

It seems to me that the view presented by the gentleman from Prince William [Mr. HUNTON] , is a very striking one, and the first that has been presented to justify the haste in which we are called together. I will suggest that the differences of opinion which have sprung up here, have all been such as do not come within the Governor's province. Nobody doubts the necessity for the organization of these different departments. No one has made objection to them; and if the gentlemen of the Military Committee will withdraw anything beyond these, the whole matter will be disposed of in five minutes.

But, sir, it is in the difference of opinion that has arisen here with regard to the organization of a regular force, to be hereafter organized .Page326 more at leisure, as the foundation of a regular army, that the chief difficulty exists; and I suggest to the gentlemen of the committee that they separate that which is pressing and necessary, and about which there is no manner of dispute, from that in regard to which differences of opinion have arisen. There is no press, as I understand, for this matter of enlisting troops, and it might therefore be passed over for the present. Let us all unite in carrying out other branches of the ordinance which are of immediate necessity. It seems to me that the suggestion of the gentleman from Prince William [Mr. HUNTON] brings us directly to the particular point involved. I would suggest that we adopt the part suggested by the gentleman, namely : that relating to the organization of a Quartermaster's Department, and lay the balance of the ordinance over for future consideration.

I do not desire to embarrass the action of the Convention by any means; and if my motion is calculated to do so, I will withdraw it. I want to concur with the military men; but I want them to concur with themselves when they present an important scheme here.

In regard to the concurrence of the Committee, I believe that report received the vote of all except one.

The gentleman from Scott and Lee [Mr. JOHNSTON] , has offered one amendment and proposed at the proper time to offer another. The gentleman from Franklin [Mr. EARLY] has also indicated his purpose to offer an amendment, so that this does not look much like unanimity.

In order that the Convention may act upon the proposition in reference to which the Governor is pledged, I will withdraw my motion to recommit.

I am ready to vote upon the whole proposition of the Committee; and to give it my support. If, as the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] , very properly remarked, we are here for the purpose of deliberating, and if it is the duty of members to make any suggestion they deem calculated to promote the efficiency of this body, and to give a salutary influence to its action, I hope it is no violation of modesty upon my part to make a suggestion by way of inquiry.

I desire most respectfully to inquire of my friend, the Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, why is it that some volunteer troops have not been concentrated at some point within the State. It seems to me that it would be exceedingly proper to concentrate directly .Page327 the volunteers which are around Richmond, in the city. I understand that the Armory at Harper's Ferry has been burned and that damage has been done to the Navy Yard at Portsmouth. I think, sir, that orders might be given to the volunteer troops to concentrate in or around Richmond ready to move to any point to which they may be ordered. Otherwise, when such an order is given, they will be found scattered in different parts of the country, and of course unable to meet as promptly as if concentrated at one point.

Would it not be well to have some 12 or 1500 troops concentrated at once in the city of Richmond so that they may be instantly ordered to any point necessary?

The Military Committee have nothing to do with the planning of the campaign or marching of troops. All that the committee have to do is, to put in the power of the Governor the means of calling out troops.

I had supposed the committee would not be very formal, and that they probably had taken occasion to consult with the Governor in reference to matters appertaining to their peculiar duty. I had supposed that they might have conferred with him on this subject, and have the inquiry which I made.

I recognize the necessity of having some efficient staff corps organized. I think it is necessary to provide for some efficient general officers to take charge of our operations and of all the forces that may be in the field. We have now five or six Generals of militia in the field, and the Governor has, I understand, appointed two Major Generals of volunteers to take command at once.

I did not yield the floor to afford the gentleman an opportunity of making a speech.

I desire to know whether there is any purpose to order volunteers to the city of Richmond?

I cannot answer the question. I believe there is, however. The Governor said there was a purpose of that sort entertained, but I do not know when they are to be concentrated here, nor how.

I can only say, that I made this inquiry for the best purpose in the world, and not for the purpose of taking up the time of the Convention. I will state, that if such a force is ordered to Richmond, quarters could be obtained at the Fair Grounds.

I beg leave to submit the following communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth:

I move that that nomination be unanimously confirmed.

The question on this nomination was put and decided in the affirmative.

I move now that that action be immediately communicated to the Governor.

I move the following as a substitute for that motion :

"Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention furnish the Hon. John J. Allen, Col. F. H. Smith and Capt. M. F. Maury with a copy of the ordinance appointing them members of the Advisory Council of the Governor of the Commonwealth."

The resolution was adopted.

It is important that the Governor should at once know of the confirmation of Capt. Maury, and, as the communication referred to would require some time on the part of the Secretary, I trust it will be the pleasure of the President to instruct the Secretary to communicate immediately to the Governor the action of the Convention on Capt. Maury's nomination.

The report of the Committee was again taken up.

I wish to make a statement to the Convention as to the reason, in my opinion, why this ordinance is reported this morning.

It is the scheme of a gentleman of considerable distinction in the State as a military man, and it is a pet scheme of his, which he has been maturing for a year or two. The Committee, after considering it for a short time this morning, agreed to report it, because they thought the necessity of our position required imperatively that something should be done. I acknowledge the necessity. We stand in need of some competent general officer, with an efficient staff. There are some five or six major generals of militia in the field, and the Governor has also called into service two major generals of volunteers; but, according to my view of the ordinance adopted the other day in .Page329 great haste, he has not now any authority to appoint a major general of volunteers. That ordinance authorized him to call into service as many of the volunteers of the Commonwealth as may be required to repel invasion, &c., and to receive them in companies and organize them into regiments, brigades and divisions. I wish to state that this creates a new volunteer service, in which they may be called into service for any length of time. The organization of the companies is to take place now, and new companies already organized may tender their services if they choose.

I propose to offer an amendment to this ordinance by way of a substitute for the first portion of it.

It reads as follows :

"Be it ordained, That the Governor of the Committee be authorized and required to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of this Convention, two major generals and four brigadier generals for the military forces of the State, who shall be assigned to duty with the military forces which shall be called into the actual service of the State, in preference to all major and brigadier generals of the volunteers and militia, and shall take rank and precedence over them, but shall be subordinate to the commander of the military and naval forces, provided for by the ordinance on the 19th inst."

I do think it is time to speak out boldly and plainly. I do think that the necessities of the country require that we should have efficient men and we ought not to be governed by any sentiment of delicacy with regard to persons already in the service. My opinion is that the necessities of the State require that all the Generals of Militia should be decapitated. I offer my own head on the block as a willing victim for the good of the Commonwealth.

I offer this proposition as a substitute for the first part of the report, and I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to adopt it. If we do publish an ordinance to raise an army, we cannot tell to what extent officers may be commissioned. It will impede the organization of volunteers, and that is the force that we must now rely upon; and if it is necessary hereafter to organize a regular army, the volunteer system will prove the most efficient aid to effect that organization. This amendment provides for the appointment of Generals to command all these forces; and, in my opinion, there will be Generals enough to command all the forces that may be called into the field.

It seems to be the general opinion that the time for action has arrived, and I therefore rise to call the previous question.

The call was sustained, and the main question ordered to be put, whereupon the vote was taken on the amendment of Mr. Early, and was decided in the negative.

I withdraw my amendment.

I call the previous question.

The call was sustained.

I would ask the gentleman to withdraw that motion. I will state, by way of argument, that I have prepared an amendment to the ordinance reported by the committee, which provides for the immediate consideration of everything that is necessary to meet the present exigency, leaving out that question as to which there is difference of opinion, and about which there is abundance of time for us to deliberate, under circumstances, when we can come to a wiser conclusion. And, it does seem to me, that it is unjust to this body to press upon it a proposition of doubt and difficulty, simply because there are features in it requiring prompt action. I think it is a fair and just ground to take, and one that we might all concur in; that we should act upon what is now of pressing necessity. I do not wish that we should here concur in a question of permanent policy; I do not wish that we should do anything to cause unnecessary delay; I do not wish that we should throw any obstacle in the way of the most efficient organization; but I appeal to the House to say, whether we are to have ourselves dragged into a system of the most serious consequences without the slightest opportunity for a consideration of it, when it is admitted that it is of no pressing haste.

Let us do to-day—Sunday as it is—all that is required to be done ; but do not press us into doing anything more. It strikes me that this system of hot pressure is entirely unnecessary, and that the amendment which I have prepared will furnish all that the exigency requires.

It reads as follows:

Be it ordained, That the Governor of Virginia is empowered and directed to organize as the exigency of the service may require :

1. A subsistence department, to be composed of one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, two majors, and four captains.

2. A quartermaster's department, of one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, two majors and four captains.

3. A pay department, to be composed of four paymasters, with the rank of major of cavalry.

4. A medical department, to be composed of one surgeon general with the rank of colonel of cavalry, ten surgeons, and ten assistant surgeons.

5. An adjutant general's department, to be composed of one adjutant .Page331 general of the rank of colonel of cavalry, with authority to the commander-in-chief to detail as many officers as assistant adjutant generals as the service may require.

This ordinance shall be in force from its passage.

The House will perceive that it embraces everything in the report except the disputed point about the standing army. There is not a member in the House, I believe, who will say that that point requires to be settled to-day. If so, why not separate these propositions and adopt those which are of pressing necessity.

Is your amendment the same as that part of the report of the committee which refers to the subjects embraced in your amendment?

Precisely, sir. I have said nothing about Major Generals, or Brigadier Generals. My amendment only embraces that which is required to be acted upon to-day.

So far as I am concerned, I think the proposition of the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] is a reasonable one. We don't care to-day about the appointment of Major Generals or Brigadier Generals, and our policy should therefore be to discharge that duty which is of imperative necessity, leaving to a future day the consideration of that which is not of pressing necessity now.

I desire to append to the ordinance, as an independent section, which will remove all difficulties suggested, the following:

"The force hereby directed to be raised shall be appointed and commissioned by the Governor at such times as the exigency of the service shall require."

I understand that the question now before the Convention is, shall the main question be put upon the adoption of the ordinance. An appeal has been made to the gentleman who called the previous question to withdraw it. Has any response been made to the appeal?

I made the call for the previous question, but I now withdraw it.

I now offer my amendment.

I call the previous question.

The call was sustained and the main question ordered to be put, when the vote upon Mr. BALDWIN'S substitute was put, and decided in the affirmative.

On motion of Mr. PRICE, of Greenbrier, the Convention adjourned at five minutes to one o'clock, P.M.

1.7. SEVENTH DAY

The Convention met at 12 o'clock. Prayer by Mr. ADDISON HALL, a member of the Convention from Lancaster and Northumberland.

The following is the Committee ordered to be appointed under the resolution offered on Saturday last by Mr. STAPLES, to prepare an address to the people of Virginia setting forth the causes which impelled the Convention to pass the ordinance of Secession, &c:

Messrs. S. G. STAPLES of Patrick, JAMES P. HOLCOMBE of Albemarle, WOOD BOULDIN of Charlotte, WM. M. AMBLER of Louisa, and JAMES W. SHEFFEY of Smyth.

I beg leave to announce the following Committee ordered to be appointed under the amendment offered by the gentleman from Madison [Mr. BLAKEY] , to a resolution offered on Saturday last by the gentleman from Gloucester [Mr. SEAWELL]1See note 3 on the Proceedings of April 20 for the resolution and amendment. in relation to the action which the Convention should take as to the approaching Congressional election in this State-Messrs. A. R. BLAKEY of Madison, J. T. SEAWELL of Gloucester,CYRUS HALL of Pleasants and Ritchie, C. C. FUGATE of Scott, and F. B. MILLER of Botetourt and Craig.

I beg leave to submit a communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth for the consideration of the Convention.

I move that the communication of the Governor, with the accompanying papers, be laid upon the table.

The motion was agreed to.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That a Committee of three be appointed to wait upon the Hon. A. H. Stephens, Commissioner from the Government of the Confederate States, and invite him to communicate, in person, with this body, at such time as may best suit his convenience.

I will ask the gentleman, from the county of Bedford, to add thereto an invitation to the Hon. R. M. T. Hunter and the Hon. James M. Mason, Senators from Virginia in the late United States Senate.

I don't want to connect an invitation to these gentlemen with the resolution I have offered.

The resolution was adopted.

The business in order now is the report of the committee on taxation.

I move that that report be laid upon the table.

I ask for the yeas and nays upon the motion.

The call was sustained.

I don't think there is a quorum present.

The chair will count to ascertain whether or not there is a quorum in the House.

The President counted and discovered that there were but 71 members present. Other members, however, soon entered the Hall, and after a few minutes suspension of proceedings, a quorum was found to be present.

The following is the Committee ordered to be appointed under the resolution offered by Mr. GOODE, to wait on the .Page335 Vice President of the Confederate States: John Goode, Jr., of Bedford, Jeremiah Morton, of Orange and Greene, and John T. Thornton, of Prince Edward.

Perhaps I owe it to the Convention to make an explanation for my call of the yeas and nays upon the motion to lay this report upon the table. I desire my people to know where the members are when the vote is taken.

The Chair has received a communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth which he begs leave to lay before the Convention. The Chair thinks it his duty to present immediately upon their receipt all communications received from the Governor.

The communication and dispatch were laid upon the table.

The report from the Committee on Taxation then came up, and the question being taken on the motion of Mr. Kilby to lay it on the table, was decided in the negative-yeas 39, nays 45, as follows:2The Journal adds Johnston, Sitlington, Spurlock, and Tayloe to the negative votes given here.

YEAS-Messrs. Janney [President] , James Barbour, Blakey, Borst, Bouldin, Bruce, Cabell, Chambliss, Conn, R. Y. Conrad, J. H. Cox, Critcher, Fisher, Flournoy, Garland, Gravely, Gregory, John Goode, Jr., A. Hall, Kilby, Leake, Macfarland, J. B. Mallory, Marshall, Marye, Morris, Morton, Neblett, Rives, Slaughter, Southall, Speed, Strange, Thornton, Tredway, R. H. Turner, Waller, White, Williams-39.

NAYS-Messrs. Aston, Baldwin, Berlin, Boyd, Campbell, Caperton, Cecil, Chapman, Coffman, Deskins, Dorman, Early, French, Gillespie, Gray, Goggin, Cyrus Hall, Ephraim B. Hall, L. S. Hall, Harvie, Haymond, Holcombe, Hull, Marmaduke Johnson, Kent, Lawson, McComas, McNeil, Miller, Moffett, Moore, Parks, Preston, Pugh, Sharp, Sheffey, Staples, Franklin P. Turner, Wilson, Woods, Wysor-45.

So the motion to lay on the table was lost.

The question then recurred on the amendment offered by Mr. Bruce of Halifax, which was pending when the Convention adjourned on Saturday. It reads—

"Provided, that slaves over 12 years of age, shall not be valued for more than $500, and that slaves under 12 years shall not be valued for more than $250."

I have not hitherto occupied much time upon this question; but I now desire to say a few words with reference to it.

Many of the Western members have left for their homes under the impression that the question would not be acted upon until the adjourned session. It was, however, brought up at the instance of some Eastern gentlemen, and it is for them now to say whether the action initiated by them shall be carried to a successful termination, or whether it shall fall still born, destined perhaps never again to be considered by this body. The West had no agency in bringing the matter forward now. They were willing to abide the understanding with which the committee on this subject was raised. They will not now press it, if it is not the pleasure of Eastern gentlemen to act upon it. If they do not pass it, they certainly cannot justify their action upon.Page337 the score of justice or fair play to the section which I in part represent. Indeed, the justice of this demand has been admitted by gentlemen from all sections.

The principle of ad valorem taxation is universally recognized as the only just and proper basis of taxation that can be determined. How, then, can any man object to it? How, moreover, can he object to the valuation by himself of his own property, for that is to be the rule save where a palpable diminution of the value of the property is discovered; and, then, the Commissioner of the Revenue steps in and makes his valuation. And even when it comes to this, the property holder must needs be fairly dealt with, for he elects his own Commissioner, who will be rather disposed to diminish than increase the value of the property.

For my part, I have no idea that we will get any more revenue through the ad valorem principle than we would by adopting a plan of specific taxes; but it is a just principle and should, therefore, be adopted without regard to the results which are to follow.

I will say, that I would be very much gratified if Eastern gentlemen would take up this matter and pass it. I have risked my all upon the question, which concerns the East. My property is on the Ohio river, and I am in danger of having all taken from me. I would be extremely gratified if our Eastern brethren would come forward and remove this only source of difficulty among our people.

I am afraid, at this moment, that men are working upon the minds of our people, upon this question, so as to alienate the people of the West from the people of the East. They are using this question as a lever to produce this estrangement; and I trust, therefore, that it will be the pleasure of the Convention to reject this amendment, and adopt the report. I am satisfied that the principle embraced in the gentleman's amendment would yield more revenue than that proposed by the Committee; but I hold to the ad valorem principle, and I trust that the Convention will adopt it. If they do they will remove the chief, if not the only argument upon which our enemies in the West have to rely. Do us justice in this matter, and we will meet them with effect.

I hope the Convention will not adopt this amendment. As I understand it, it fixes a valuation beyond which you shall not go, in assessing taxes upon negro property. It proposes to fix the value of negroes over twelve years of age at $500, and negroes under twelve at $250. I am opposed to that amendment, because it restricts the Commissioner of the Revenue from.Page338 transcending these limits, no matter how valuable the slave may be; whilst if the negro is worth less than the amounts set down, a reduction must be made in the assessment.

There is another reason why I shall oppose any amendment to the report of the Committee. That report proposes that negro property shall be placed upon the same footing with every other description of property. That is the true principle upon which taxation should be based, according to all admissions; and I trust, therefore, that the amendment may be voted down, and the report adopted.

I desire to make only a few remarks upon this question.

These gentlemen who have expressed opinions in regard to this amendment seem to me not to understand or appreciate the expenses incident to the raising of young negroes. I know from my own experience and observation, that a young slave is entirely helpless and a dead expense until he attains the age of eight years. I know, moreover-and the lists of mortality show it-that a large proportion of young negroes as well as young white people, die between the birth and the age of five years; and up to that period, the dictates of humanity absolutely require that they should not be separated from their mother.

I know, no man, at least in my section of the State, who is so unfeeling as to separate a child under five years old from its mother. Certainly no man in that section would voluntarily do it.

Now, sir, according to the notions of gentlemen here, these young negroes that are, as I have said, an expense to their owners, are to be valued as though they were separated from their mothers and rendering some service to their masters. They are valued, at the age of one or two, at perhaps $100, when at the very next moment after the valuation and assessment is made, they may die, leaving the owner liable for the tax upon them besides the actual loss of slaves. Slaves are not like cattle. They are not like lands,3This should perhaps be "lambs," which would fit the context better than "lands." nor are they like kids and young calves, that may be put into market and sold five or ten days after birth; that can be converted into money at once without doing any violence to the feelings of humanity, or without violating any Christian principle whatever. And gentlemen are insisting that these young negroes, before they are twelve years of age should be valued at their full market value, that is what they would bring from a negro trader upon the block. Negro traders are to be found in almost every county; and an individual who may be a resident of the county, and who would desire to purchase some favorite servant, when put upon .Page339 the block, must pay the same price at which he or she would be sold to the negro trader; and the consequence would be that the Commissioner of the Revenue, acting under his oath of office, would value the slave at the price it brought on the block.

But, say our friends on the other side, you elect the commissioner of the revenue, who is to assess the value of your property. I know that my friend from Wetzel [Mr. HALL] , who has used this argument, did not mean to cast reproach upon the slaveholding community by insinuating that they would not elect a man who would discharge his duty faithfully and strictly observe his official oath. Sir, I would not vote for any man as commissioner of the revenue who would be so false to his obligations as to assess my property at a lower rate than its value would justify. My experience, as well as the experience of every slaveholder, is that slaves are fluctuating in value. I have not paid more than $300 a piece for the best slaves I have when they were 21 years of age. Since that time they have gone up to $1,000, and even in some instances to $2,000. Now, however, they are very much depressed in value; and, if this war is to go on, I dare say they will come down below $500. I have known a most valuable man to sell for $250; and it may be that the depression consequent .upon the war would reduce them to nearly the same standard again.

Now, the proposition of the gentleman from Halifax is, that there shall be a maximum value for slaves above 12 years of age, and a maximum value for slaves under 12 years. I assure you, sir, that in my county slaves at the age of 13 or 14 will not bring more than $500 to-day. Species of property will not at all bear the ad valorem principle of taxation, according to the ideas of gentlemen as to the mode of valuation. If you tax that species of property according to the ad valorem principle, I have no doubt that what the gentleman from Halifax [Mr. BRUCE] predicted, will be realized. A slaveholder, who has a surplus of slave property, will sell the slaves, because he cannot afford to keep them in the State of Virginia, and the consequence will be to force this subject of taxation from the State. Instead of the people of the West and of all sections of the State being served by this principle, they will be injured by it. Why should this question be pressed now by gentlemen from the East or West, with the house now constituted, according to the last vote of but 84 members out of 152, and when, as the gentleman who brought in the report told you the other day, the understanding of the Convention at the time the committee was raised, was that it would not be acted upon until the adjourned session of the Convention? Why, then, should it be pressed at .Page340 this time? Why should a constitutional amendment be forced upon the State of Virginia by a body composed now of but 84 members out of 152? I am one of those who believe in the ad valorem principle. I have ever believed in it, and I do not mean now to make war upon that principle, but I ask gentlemen to forego action upon it now, under the disadvantages and embarrassments which beset us; and await a deliberate consideration of the whole subject by a committee composed of gentlemen from all sections of the State. They can mature such a principle of taxation as, I have no doubt, will be satisfactory to all our people; and the Convention can at its adjourned session act intelligently upon it. In the mean time, we shall have an opportunity of canvassing the wishes of our constituents in respect to this matter, and return here prepared to act promptly upon it. If this policy is adopted, I shall return to my people and advise them to agree to the ad valorem principle, if the committee should determine to report in favor of its adoption. These Western gentlemen can suffer no inconvenience from this delay, because, as was remarked by the gentleman from Kanawha [Mr. SUMMERS] , the principle recommended by the committee, cannot be enforced during the current year, even if adopted now. Now, sir, I take it for granted that if this Convention shall take a recess, it will re-assemble before two-thirds of the year has passed, and by that time our relations with the Federal Government, and the Confederate Government may have attained a stable and permanent character, thus enabling us to act in full view of the important events which may have transpired during the interval. When we shall have gotten clear of all the complications resulting from our recent actions, and shall have fully established our independence in union with the Confederate States, then will be the time to consider this question of taxation and to dispose of it effectually to the entire satisfaction of all sections. We can then meet together, free from the distractions and embarrassments which now surround us, with no hostile interests to mar our action; but like brothers engaged in a common cause, anxious to mete out its full measure of justice to every portion of the Commonwealth.

I beg leave to say that I am individually anxious to remove any cause of grievance that may exist in any part of the Commonwealth, and to promote union and harmony among all our people.

I trust that gentlemen from the West, nor East, who are interested in this matter, will not press it now; but that they will allow it to hold over until the adjourned session, when we can all return with a .Page341 full knowledge of our people's wishes on the subject, prepared to act as they may direct.

I am quite surprised to find the subject of taxation up again this morning in so thin a House as we now have. I am the more surprised after hearing the remarks of the gentleman from Kanawha [Mr. SUMMERS] , on last Friday; and after hearing, also, the remarks of the gentleman from Monongalia [Mr. WILLEY] , on Saturday last. The gentlemen who press the consideration of this subject must be convinced that this is not the, proper time to act upon it. I will say, that I am astonished that any Eastern man would say that negroes are not sufficiently taxed. I speak now the sentiments that I feel, and I tell these gentlemen-Eastern and Western-that when we convene here again, I will go heart and hand for an equitable tax on all descriptions of property. But this is not the time to consider this question. War is now upon us; and this is by no means an appropriate subject to be considered, when matters affecting the safety of our lives and property press upon us for consideration.

But there is no need for this haste which gentlemen evince in regard to this tax question. If the principle is changed, now, you cannot levy any tax under it this year. If we meet here in the Fall, or in June, we will be prepared to consider this question more maturely; but, being elected without any reference to this tax question, we are necessarily unprepared to vote upon it, inasmuch as we are ignorant of the feelings of our constituents upon the subject. I regard it as unjust to take it up now and act upon it with so thin a house. The fact is, we are acting here too precipitately, and without anything like due reflection. It would seem, sir, as if this Convention had lost its balance, for its course for the past few days has been by no means such as should characterize a body of grave, prudent and wise men, such as I have always believed this Convention to be composed of. I feel actually ashamed of a vote I gave on Friday last; but I have learned from my imprudence then to be more cautious in the future. I am not going into the subject of taxation, or any other subject, rashly again, and I trust that other gentlemen will observe like caution.

The amendment of the gentleman from Halifax [Mr. BRUCE] proposes to fix the maximum value of slaves over twelve years of age at $500, and those under twelve at $250. I do not consider that estimate exorbitant, but I complain of the inopportune time when this subject is introduced. I warn gentlemen from the West not to precipitate this matter at this time, because they will, I venture to say, have to be content with less now than they would be required to accept it at a .Page342 future time, and under more favorable circumstances than now surround us. I should certainly suppose that, in any event, some consideration should be given to the expense of raising negroes, in fixing the value of that description of property. When raised, they have to receive peculiar attention in the shape of comfortable dwellings, medical attendance and a series of other requirements not necessary for any other species of property. I am for an equitable tax, a just tax; but, as I have already said, this is no time to adjust it, and there is no pressing need for its adjustment, inasmuch as no levy can be made under the ad valorem principle this year, even if it was adopted now. I am really surprised that the Convention should entertain a proposition of this kind, at a time when we have need to employ all our available time in devising means by which to meet the expenses of this war which is now at our doors. I am surprised at Eastern gentlemen voting to take up this report, when the gentleman from Kanawha [Mr. SUMMERS] says that the time has not arrived to consider and act upon it. I trust that the Convention will be governed by the opinion of that gentleman in this matter. It is rendered against the interest of his own section, and should, therefore, carry weight and influence with Eastern gentlemen who are, unaccountably to me, interesting themselves so zealously in behalf of this project.

I trust we will not act upon this question now. I said to the gentlemen from the Northwest the other day that they lost nothing by the exemption granted to negro property, for the East is assessed to the extent of about $460,000 a year tax upon merchants' licenses. So that, gentlemen of the West, while negroes have not paid their proper proportion of tax, you have a full equivalent for that draw-back in the tax upon merchants' licenses.

I now move to lay the whole subject on the table.

I call for the yeas and nays upon that motion.

The call was sustained, and the vote being put, resulted-yeas 48, nays 38-as follows:4The Journal adds Spurlock to the negative votes listed here.

YEAS-Messrs. Janney [President] , Ambler, James Barbour, Blakey, Borst, Bouldin, Branch, Bruce, Cabe11, Caperton, Chambliss, Conrad, James H. Cox, Critcher, Fisher, Flournoy, Garland, Gravely, Gregory, Jr., Goggin, John Goode, Jr., Addison Hall, Harvie, Holcombe, Marmaduke Johnson, Kilby, Leake, Macfarland, James B. Mallory, Marshall, Marye, Sr., Morris, Morton, Neblett, Price, Richardson, Rives, Slaughter, Southall, Speed, Strange, Thornton, Tredway, Robert H. Turner, Waller, White, Williams, Woods-48.

NAYS-Aston, Baldwin, Berlin, Boyd, Campbell, Cecil, Chapman, Coffman, Deskins, Dorman, Early, Echols, French, Gillespie, Cyrus Hall, Ephraim B. Hall, L. S. Hall, Haymond, Hull, Peter C. Johnston, Lawson, McComas, McNeil, .Page343 Miller, Moffett, Moore, Parks, Preston, Pugh, Sharp, Sheffey, Sitlington, Staples, Franklin P. Turner, Tayloe, Wilson, Wysor-38.

So the Convention agreed to lay the report and amendment on the table.

The Committee to wait on the Hon. Alex. H. Stephens, have performed that duty, and they have been informed by him that he will address the Convention to-morrow at 1 o'clock, P. M. I deem it proper to state that his address had better be delivered in secret session.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the 33d rule be and the same is hereby so amended, as to prohibit all debate upon a call of the previous question.

The resolution was adopted.

I offer the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the Governor of Virginia be requested to inform the Convention what number of volunteers has been tendered to him, for the service of the State; what companies have been accepted, from what cities and counties, what companies have been ordered into service, and what volunteer or other force has been ordered to the city of Richmond or other points, so far as he and his council may deem such information compatible with the public interest."

I propose very briefly to explain my object in proposing the adoption of that resolution.

A very important subject was brought before the Convention by the Military Committee on yesterday, which was the organization of a Provisional Army for Virginia. I think before we take up that question and act upon it, it is proper we should have information on the subject to which this resolution relates.

I am aware that in all parts of the State, volunteers are being raised; and it is important that members of the Convention shall know what has been the action of the Governor in relation to these volunteers, as far as he and his council may think such information proper.

It seems to me that it is better not to call upon the Governor for any such information at this time. The Governor, no doubt, is occupied by matters of much more importance than that. I move to lay the resolution on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

I beg leave, in behalf of the Military Committee, to report the following ordinance:

I will state that we had not a sufficient number of the committee .Page344 present this morning to act upon the question of organizing a provisional army, which was under consideration here yesterday; and we adopted the ordinance which was recommended as a substitute by the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] , with some slight modification relating to the organization of a corps of Engineers.

I thought that belonged necessarily to the part of the ordinance referring to the organization of the 10,000 men; and not knowing how far it may be necessary to refer to that matter, I consider it proper to forego any action upon it, believing that it fell within the principles of the part relating to the organiza- tion of the ten thousand.

A corps of Engineers is necessary, whether you organize an army of 10,000 men or not. The Governor and Council are anxious that the Convention should act upon this matter at once, and I trust that their wishes in this respect will be complied with.

The ordinance reads as follows :

I am no military man, sir. I know as little upon that subject as any other man upon the face of the earth; and my impression is, that a large majority of this Convention are just as ignorant upon the same subject as I am. [Laughter.] Now, sir, here is a plan involving the organization of an army for the State of Virginia before we have a head for that army; before we know whether this is to be part of the army acting in subordination to the chief officer of the Confederate States army. I don't think the government of the State of Virginia should appoint the officers of these departments. I think these appointments should be made by the Convention, or the Commander-in-chief, if we had one. It will be remembered that I gave notice on Saturday last, that unless we had ascertained that we could get within the limits of the State of Virginia a head for the army of the State, I should move to invite the President of the Confederate States to come here and take charge of the army. I am told that Col. Lee will be here to-day, but I hold that it is not certain whether he will offer his services or not to the State of Virginia.

I understand he will.

If that be so, I am satisfied. I heard that he was coming. I have not heard whether he will accept the commission to be tendered to him or not.

Will the gentleman allow me to say that Colonel Lee has resigned his commission in the United States army.

I beg leave to make this suggestion, that there is an obvious propriety in Col. Lee's not showing his willingness to accept high rank until he comes here, and it is properly tendered.

I hope the gentleman does not understand me as casting any imputation upon Col. Lee. If he is coming here it is the more necessary that we should consult him in regard to the organization of the army, for he will necessarily desire to have it established upon a footing in conformity with his own predilections and ideas. I think Col. Lee is more competent to suggest appointments to the Governor than the Governor is to make them. I do not want to restrict these appointments to the State of Virginia, or to those United States officers who have tendered their services to Virginia. I am, therefore, opposed to any action upon this question now. Without meaning to cast the least imputation upon Col. Lee or any gentleman connected with the service of the United States, I believe now, as I believed from the first, that the enunciation of Virginia's policy in the passage of her ordinance of secession on Tuesday was invitation enough to all her sons in the service of the United States to rally to her standard; and I now say that unless Col. Lee does not accept5Probably the speaker meant to say either "unless Col. Lee accepts," or "if Col. Lee does not accept... ."this position of Commander-in-Chief, it is the duty of this Convention to act without any further delay, and to call upon those who are already in the field to come here and organize this army. I shall, tomorrow, after Mr. Stephens concludes his speech, bring this matter to a point.

I came here yesterday [Sunday] , hearing you were in session, and when I got into the city, I witnessed a scene such as I never witnessed before, and such I trust as I shall never witness again. I saw the citizens of Richmond, without any cause, put in a state of excitement. I saw old men with their shot guns, hurrying down in the direction of Rocketts, to meet the United States steamer Pawnee, which was supposed to be on her way up the river, with a military force to attack Richmond. Had the r-port proved true, and the forces been landed, our citizens would have been cut to pieces like sheep in the shambles; and this, because we have no military leader, who would establish order and enforce discipline. Our people were, yesterday, in a state of perfect disorder, with no head to lead them, and the consequence would have been, had the enemy landed, as was apprehended, .Page347 that our people would have been decimated and our property ruined.

I am tired of this state of inefficiency in which we now are. I witnessed that spectacle on yesterday, with shame and grief. Such a condition of things ought not to be permitted to exist for one day. If there had been any assault on yesterday, it would have been better that our whole population here were beyond the Alleghany mountains, than that an attempt at resistance should have been made. In the latter instance they would have been spared for a future emergency. In the former, their annihilation would be almost certain.

I confess, sir, that I have entire confidence in those who compose the Military Committee, but I will beg leave to make this suggestion, hoping it may command the concurrence of that committee. Colonel Lee will be here at 2 o'clock, and I have witnessed indications which cannot be mistaken that there is a disposition on the part of this Convention to confer upon him the highest rank which it is in their power to confer in connection with the military and naval organization of the State. I desire to call the attention of the Convention distinctly to the consideration of a fact which, in my view, is a very important one. Colonel Lee, as I have said, will be here at 2 o'clock. We will have an evening session. Between the time of his arrival and our meeting here, the Military Committee will have an opportunity of conferring with him, and submitting their protege of6The text sounds confused here. The word protege may be a rendering of protege, but Mr. Macfarland seems to have been referring to the ordinance for the organization of staff departments (pp. 344-345) rather than to a person. If he was speaking of that ordinance, he may have described it as a pro jet, or draft. In any event, the text should certainly read "for his opinion . ." or "to his opinion.. .."his opinion and approbation. I submit if something will not be gained by adopting that course. It would seem to be due to the high position intended for Colonel Lee, when his arrival is so near at hand, that he should be consulted upon the details of any military scheme that we should adopt. I would say to all sides of the House, that, as Colonel Lee will be here at 2 o'clock, nothing will be lost really in point of time. By awaiting his arrival we shall gain the counsels of a mature soldier, while, at the same time, we will be showing to him a very becoming respect. I may add here, that gentlemen ought not to be surprised at the failure of any intimation on the part of Colonel Lee, that he will accept any rank that may be tendered to him. Propriety required that he should seal his lips upon the subject until a tender came through some authorized channel. It is my privilege to know him, and what his merits are in other particulars. He is distinguished by modesty and reserve, and could not, in my opinion, bring himself to accept a position tendered to him otherwise than in strict conformity with official usage.

I think, that in view of these simple considerations, by common .Page348 consent, the matter should be passed over for the present with a view to its being taken up in the afternoon session.

I submit a motion to pass it by.

I fully concur with the gentleman in the views he has taken. The committee was not aware that Col. Lee would be here to-day; but whether he comes or not, it is all important, in my estimation, that these departments should be organized if we are to have an army in the field. Whether it be connected with the Southern army or not, I repeat that we should have these. departments. An Engineer corps is all important; and you will find, when we have the advice of Col. Lee, that he will agree to it, because it is absolutely necessary. We would not have acted upon this matter, I believe, if we knew that Col. Lee would be here to-day, and I shall therefore concur in the motion just made.

We passed, on yesterday, amidst the stampede, "an ordinance to provide for the organization of Staff Departments for the military forces of the State." It will be recollected that I was opposed to this action in regard to a standing army. My desire has been all the time to wait until we had an efficient military chief who could prescribe a proper system of military organization. I am very much afraid that this action is to be forestalled, because, as I stated yesterday, we have a large number of major generals and brigadier generals in the field.

We now have four Major Generals and three Brigadier-Generals. while there is a command for a Brig. General in the field; and on yesterday the Convention came very near establishing a regular army, which could not be got into the field until these questions are settled.

It was stated by a member of the committee, that General Gwynn was sent to Norfolk with an assurance that an ordinance would be passed yesterday or to-day, providing for a staff department. We passed such an ordinance on yesterday, but it appears we left out what was the most important of all-an engineer's department. Yesterday evening I metMr. RANDOLPH on his way down the river. He informed me that he did not expect a war vessel as high up as Richmond; but that he intended, however, to sink hulks and thus intercept her passage up, if any such movement was contemplated. He deemed this course the only safe one in case of any such attempt, inasmuch as he could not fire upon a vessel with any good effect. He asked me to speak to the Governor about the organization of a corps of engineers, who would superintend the construction of a line of .Page349 breast-works at suitable points along the river, and thus afford a good opportunity for effectual resistance.

The little experience of yesterday shows that you have omitted from the ordinance the most important feature of all. That ordinance is already in force, and the Governor is going on organizing the staff under it, so far as relates to the particular departments detailed therein. The ordinance reported by the committee to-day merely reenacts the ordinance of yesterday, with the simple addition of an engineers department.

We have now, according to the ordinance passed on yesterday, an Adjutant General's Department, which may be merged into the Adjutant General's Department of the State; but it seems to me that we should have an Adjutant General's Department different from that. I think that we should at once organize this Staff department, and when Col. Lee arrives he will find provision made to effect this organization. I trust that some friend of the Governor will, if we pass this ordinance, request him not to make any appointment until he consults with some military head.

It is indispensable that we should immediately organize an Ordnance Department and an Adjutant General's Department. As to the Pay Department, I think it is more important to get the money than to organize a force to pay what is not now available. I was opposed to having more than four paymasters with the title of majors; but that is already ordained by the ordinance passed on yesterday. The ordinance now reported but re-enacts and makes more perfect the ordinance of yesterday, and I trust it will be the pleasure of the Convention to adopt it immediately.

I beg leave to inquire what effect would a re-consideration of the vote adopting the ordinance on yesterday have upon the action of the Governor?

I cannot tell exactly. I am afraid it will have the effect of nullifying that action. But, as I understand, the gentleman in charge of this report does not propose to interfere with any action already taken, but merely to make the addition of an Engineer Corps to the staff already provided for, so that whoever shall come to take charge of our forces, may have an efficient organization of all the Engineers and Staff Departments, which he can at once proceed to have placed on an efficient footing.

I never felt, sir, more embarrassment and difficulty as to the action which I should take than I do now. I don't want to show distrust of any human being on earth; and I have none. I .Page350 don't want to show distrust of any officer in Virginia from the Governor down. But I don't want things to be done without reflection and deliberation. I assure my friends here, whose views I have listened to upon this subject, that I have more confidence in their opinion than my own. I have entire confidence that the Governor of the State will do all that he can to promote the interests of the State; but I do not believe that there is any officer in this State who is competent to do what we require to be done, and to do it in the way that it ought to be done at this time. I think that before we make any progress, we ought to be satisfied that we do not make it in the wrong direction.

I will not appeal to the gentlemen of the Military Committee to move to suspend action under the ordinance passed on yesterday; but will suggest to them to call upon the Governor and request him not to take any action upon it that is not necessary for the immediate defence of the State, until we know whether Col. Lee will accept a commission in our army. I hope that gentlemen will not only not press any further action upon this Convention now, but that they will consent to suspend action under what has been done yesterday, in order that we may fully understand what we do. Perhaps the better course would be now that the Governor be called upon and requested respectfully not to act upon the. ordinance adopted yesterday. I shall make a motion to that effect, but I would prefer that the committee should take that position, and thus relieve me and every member in this House from the embarrassments upon us.

The Chair would suggest the propriety, if it is the pleasure of the Convention to pass by the consideration of the subject, to move to lay it upon the table.

I wish to make a few observations, which I hope will be of some service to the Convention.

It will be recollected that on the night after the passage of the ordinance, when the gentleman from Richmond [Mr. RANDOLPH] , offered his ordinance authorizing the Governor to call out the military forces of the State, I took occasion to make some remarks, and offered a substitute for the first part of his ordinance, which he accepted. I suggested to him, and also to my friend from Augusta [Mr. BALD-WIN] , the propriety of having the whole matter referred to a committee; but those gentlemen were in such haste that they could not wait to subject the proposition to such an ordeal at that time. A great deal of the difficulty by which we now find ourselves surrounded results from having passed that ordinance. We have invited the.Page351 officers of the army and navy under that ordinance, with the assurance that their relative rank in the army and navy should not be reversed, while we all agreed that there were some men in a superior grade who were not competent to command a brigade, when there were others inferior to them who were fully competent to do so.

I observe in the papers of this morning that Philip St. George Cocke has been appointed Major General, and that all the officers, without regard to rank, are to be under his control, although he has been taken from the rank of Captain.

I would like to know the effect of that action.

Gen. Cocke is not appointed Major General. He is merely appointed Brigadier General.

I said yesterday I understood that the Governor made two appointments of Major Generals, and I believe I remarked that he had no power to make any such appointments at this time, because we sent forth the ordinance passed here on the night of the 17th inst., inviting all officers of the army and navy of the United States who were natives or residents of Virginia, to retire from that service and take service with us. My opinion is that the Governor has no power to make any appointment until the army is organized into brigades and divisions. I am sorry to see any of these officers forestalled. I offered on yesterday an amendment to the ordinance reported by the committee, which, in my view, would have set us right in this difficulty; but that amendment was rejected.

Now, what I desire particularly to impress upon the Convention is, that we shall not act precipitately. It is better for us to do these things deliberately. Even if we hear the firing of the cannon, let us try and preserve our composure and go through this ordinance deliberately. If we pass this ordinance, in my opinion we will have then furnished to the authorities the means of organizing an efficient army, and providing for its equipment, and if the authorities do not exercise the power thus conferred upon them with discretion, it will not be our fault. All we can do is to furnish them the means of calling an army into the field. I am sorry the Governor has undertaken to forestall the officers of the army by making the appointments of the Major Generals. I have no doubt he has done what he believes to be for the good of the Commonwealth. Some officers of the United States army have arrived to-day; and I trust that no further appointments will be made until others have an opportunity of coming here. In the meantime, all we can do is to pass an ordinance to enable the Governor to put them in service when they do come.

I think that, after the lights that have been given to the Convention by several gentlemen here, the attention of the Military Committee should be called to the facts as they occurred on yesterday.

On Sunday morning a message was conveyed to each member of this Convention, that, under extraordinary circumstances, we were to come here to receive some unknown communication. Not the slightest intimation was given what it was that we were so suddenly called together to act upon. We came together, sir, and a report was made by the Military Committee; and, after that report was made, as was well remarked by a gentleman who commented upon it [Mr. PRICE] , no two members of that committee agreed upon that report. Attention was called at the time to the fact that no two members of that committee seemed to agree to that report.

The gentleman is very much mistaken in that matter. I read the report, section by section in committee, and I don't know that there was any objection at all to it. I moved an amendment, it is true, which was not suggested in the committee, and this probably is what the gentleman alludes to.

I do not allude to what took place in committee. I am speaking of what took place on this floor.

Now we must of necessity rely upon the gentlemen of that committee to present to us, properly matured, whatever scheme they submit to us for action. They called us here hurriedly yesterday, and presented a report, whereupon members of that committee itself offered amendments to that report. Then it will be borne in mind, that when an amendment was offered by the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] , I addressed myself to the members of that committee, and asked if all was included in that amendment which was absolutely necessary for us to act upon at so extraordinary a session. The reply was that it did contain all that was necessary for us to action.

Now, sir, acting in the good faith which, for one, I place in the members of that committee, I voted for it. They said it was absolutely necessary that we should adopt it, and we did adopt it.

Now, what is the condition of things this morning? We are told that a most important, a most pressing, a most vital measure, which ought to have been contained in that report, was not touched by the ordinance which we did pass.

I think it is just to the committee that I should say that, in all probability, I am to blame for the misapprehension on .Page353 that subject; for the ordinance which I submitted, I assured them, was a transcript of their ordinance, with the exception of the provision organizing the army. I did not advert at all to the provision relating to the Engineer Corps. I omitted that, not with any intention to deceive any one at all; but I thought every one understood that that belonged more to the organization of the army than to the organization of the staff. I think it most probable that I misled the Military Committee in giving the answer which I did give to the inquiry, whether my substitute embraced all of the original report, save that which related to the organization of the army.

I want it distinctly understood, that I am making no sort of attack upon the Military Committee; I am merely repelling a charge upon the Convention, and calling attention to the fact, which is in the knowledge of all here, that if the blame is to be placed anywhere, it ought to be placed upon members here who must rely upon these gentlemen in whose hands so important a charge is committed. And it is unjust to the members of this Convention, that we should be held responsible for errors committed, when these errors were committed by those in whom we have placed confidence. For one, I wish to clear my shoulders of acting in the way in which the gentleman from Franklin [Mr. EARLY] , characterized our action. If I complained at the course pursued on yesterday, I was as calm as I ever was in my life, and was as anxious to do what those who conducted our movements said was necessary to do as any man in this Convention. If an error is committed let it be placed where it properly belonged. Do not, when you bring in immature projects here-when I confide in you, and when you have committed an error-do not come back upon me and say that it is my error. I am not willing to be placed in that position. For one, I am willing to place all confidence in you. If you have committed the error, take it yourselves. Do not place it on me.

I feel it due to the committee that I should make a brief explanation of its action.

The gentleman is entirely mistaken in throwing the blame of this matter upon the Committee on Military Affairs. It is well known that the Committee that acted upon this ordinance yesterday was a pretty full Committee, and at the time the ordinance was submitted it was submitted, as I thought, with the unanimous consent of the Committee. One of the members of the Committee, the gentleman from Franklin [Mr. EARLY] , proposed an amendment to it in the Convention. I proposed a small amendment, which I did not press, .Page354 so that, in fact, the only amendment proposed by any member of the

Committee was that offered by the gentleman from Franklin [Mr. EARLY] .

I beg to know if Gen. JOHNSTON is not a member of the Committee; and did he not propose an amendment?

He withdrew it.

I beg to ask if Mr. RANDOLPH did not express his disapprobation of the report?

If any dissatisfaction was expressed here by him, I forget it. It was not expressed in committee.

In regard to the ordinance that was passed on yesterday at the instance of the gentleman from Augusta [Mr. BALDWIN] , I believed then, and did believe until this morning, that it included all of the reported ordinance except the part relating to the organization of 10,000 men. That was my impression until informed to the contrary to day by Col. SMITH.

I move to lay the whole subject on the table.

I desire to correct an error into which I had fallen in the course of my remarks a few minutes ago. I stated that the Governor had appointed Philip St. George Cocke to the office of Major General. It turns out, however, that the appointment is to a Brigadier Generalship. I deem it due to the Governor and the gentleman upon whom this appointment was conferred to make this correction.

I was called out of this House a short time ago by a gentleman of as much chivalry as any in the service of the State of Virginia, and asked by him whether it was not his duty to resign on the spot? He stated that he was an officer older than Gen. Cocke, who was taken and put in the most important position in Virginia, over the heads of those who should properly be over him. He said, "I will fight with brick-bats if necessary, but I don't want to be degraded by having one inferior in rank put over me." That is the condition of things which has been brought about by premature action; and the experience thus furnished affords, in my opinion, sufficient reason why this practice should be discouraged.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

I offer the following resolution: "Resolved, That the operation of the ordinance organizing a Staff department for the military forces of the State, passed the 21st of April, be suspended until the further order of the Convention."

The resolution was agreed to.

I now move that the resolution just adopted be forthwith communicated to the Governor.

The motion was agreed to.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution :

"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to enquire into the expediency of suspending the collection of debts under process of law for a given period of time, and report to this body."

I think it would be proper to remove the obligation of secrecy, so far as relates to the appointment of a Council of State and the reception of the Commissioner from the Southern States, are concerned.

I offer the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy be removed, so far as relates to the appointment of a Council of State and the reception of a Commissioner from the Confederate States."

The resolution was adopted.

I beg to substitute this resolution for the one passed a while ago, to suspend the operation of the ordinance authorizing the Governor to organize a Staff Department.

"Resolved, That the Governor be requested to suspend any further appointments under the ordinance adopted on yesterday, until the adoption of further steps by this Convention."

I move to reconsider the vote by which the resolution offered by me a few minutes ago, was adopted.

The motion was agreed to, whereupon the above resolution was offered and adopted.

I offer the following resolution :

"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to inquire into the expediency of providing for the transportation of the mail in Virginia, in the event that the present arrangement for the transportation of the same shall be suspended by the Government at Washington."

I think it is very important that we should look into this matter in due time, so as to avoid the inconveniences which would inevitably result to our people by a sudden stoppage of the ordinary mail facilities. If it is the pleasure of the Convention, I desire not to be put on that committee.

The resolution was rejected.

I beg leave to offer the following resolution.

"Resolved, That the ordinance of secession be ordered to be enrolled .Page356 forthwith, and to be open to the signatures of members from the time of enrollment till the final adjournment of the Convention."

I offer that at this time from an apprehension that members may leave here without opportunity of signing the ordinance. Here are members who voted against it, but who, perhaps, before their departure would desire to change their votes and sign the ordinance. This proposition, if carried out, will afford, all who may desire, a full opportunity to do so.

I would ask if it is proper to sign that until the people shall have voted upon it. I think not, and I therefore move to lay the resolution on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

When that ordinance is enrolled upon parchment, and is to be transmitted to posterity, I wish it to appear that the signatures have been put to it in open session.

I think there is a rough draft of it, and such of the members as voted against it, and would now be willing to sign it, could put their signatures to that rough draft.

The motion to lay on the table was rejected and the resolution adopted.

There was a communication sent from the Governor to this body on Saturday, of a very important character; and no disposition has as yet been made of it.

It relates to the military and civil contingent fund. The Governor says that this heretofore has only amounted to $2,800, and he suggests the propriety of increasing it to $100,000.

I ask that the communication be at once referred to the Finance Committee.

The motion was agreed to.

I move that the Convention take a recess until half past seven o'clock.

I move to adjourn till five o'clock.

This motion was lost and Mr. PARKS' motion adopted.

And then the Convention took a recess until half past 7 o'clock, P. M.

1.8. EIGHTH DAY

The Convention assembled at 12 o'clock. Prayer by the Rev. Dr. Jeter, of the Baptist Church.

I beg leave to submit a communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth:

This dispatch was, on motion, laid upon the table.

I received a communication from the Council appointed to advise the Governor, which I beg leave to submit for the consideration of the Convention :

I move that that communication be referred to a special Committee of five with a request to report as soon as possible.

The motion was agreed to.

The PRESIDENT announced the following Committee under that resolution: Messrs. J. P. HOLCOMBE of Albemarle, J. M. SPEED of Campbell, WOOD BOULDIN of Charlotte, J. G. HOLLADAY of Norfolk county and R. Y. CONRAD of Frederick.

I am informed that Major General Lee is now in the Capitol, and will present himself whenever it shall be the pleasure of the Convention to receive him.1The section of the Proceedings for April 23 concerning the reception of General Lee (the paragraph with the President's announcement that Lee was in the Capitol, and the following text down through the paragraph beginning "The chair was then vacated ..." ) was printed in the Enquirer on April 25, in the Journal of the Convention for April 23, and then in the full report of the Proceedings of April 23 which was published in the Enquirer on November 5. There are a few inconsequential differences among the three versions; the versions in the Journal and the Enquirer of November 5 are nearly identical. The version of the Proceedings printed in the Enquirer on November 5 is given here, unless another version is specified.

I would inquire whether appropriate seats have been assigned for the Vice President of the Confederate States and the other invited guests?

Yes, sir. The Chair would suggest that the invited guests be first introduced into the Hall and assigned their seats before Major General Lee is invited into the Hall.

I would suggest, in conformity with the suggestions of gentlemen around me, that the Convention ought to receive Major General Lee standing.

The Chair would merely ask the attention of the Convention to the suggestion.

Mr. JOHNSTON then introduced Judge Allen, a member of the Advisory Council.2This paragraph and the one just below it are placed immediately after the paragraph describing the entrance of Mr. Stephens, in the Enquirer of April 25. Their position here is the one they have in the Journal.

Mr. CRITCHER next introduced Colonel Smith, of the Virginia Military Institute.

I would suggest whether it would not be proper to receive the Vice President of the Confederate States standing.

It will be so understood by the Convention.

At this stage of the proceedings, the Hon. A. H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States, entered the Hall, accompanied by the Governor, and was introduced to the PRESIDENT by Mr. JOHNSTON, a member of the committee appointed to invite and conduct that gentleman to the Hall.

Mr. MORTON introduced Capt. M. F. Maury, late of the United States navy, who, with Col. Smith, constitute the other members of the Advisory Council.

Every delegate was on his feet during this ceremony.

The Governor and Mr. Stephens were assigned seats on the right of the PRESIDENT, and the three members of the Advisory Council on the left.

At this time, Major General Lee entered, leaning on the arm of Mr. JOHNSON, of Richmond, chairman of the committee appointed to conduct the distinguished military chief to the Hall. As they reached the main aisle,

Mr. President, I have the honor to present to you and to the Convention, Major General Lee.

Major General Lee : In the name of the people of your native State, here represented, I bid you a cordial and heartfelt welcome to this Hall, in which we may almost yet hear the echo of the voices of the statesmen, the soldiers and sages of by-gone days, who have borne your name, and whose blood now flows in your veins.

We met in the month of February last, charged with the solemn duty of protecting the rights, the honor and the interests of the people of this Commonwealth. We differed for a time as to the best means of accomplishing that object; but there never was, at any moment, a shade of difference amongst us as to the great object itself ; and now, Virginia having taken her position, as far as the power of this Convention extends, we stand animated by one impulse, governed .Page371 by one desire and one determination, and that is that she shall be defended; and that no spot of her soil shall be polluted by the foot of an invader.

When the necessity became apparent of having a leader for our forces, all hearts and all eyes, by the impulse of an instinct which is a surer guide than reason itself, turned to the old county of Westmoreland. We knew how prolific she had been, in other days, of heroes and statesmen. We knew she had given birth to the Father of his Country; to Richard Henry Lee, to Monroe, and last, though not least, to your own gallant father, and we knew well, by your own deeds, that her productive power was not yet exhausted.

Sir, we watched with the most profound and intense interest the triumphant march of the army led by General Scott, to which you were attached, from Vera Cruz to the Capital of Mexico; we read of the sanguinary conflicts and the blood-stained fields, in all of which victory perched upon our own banners; we knew of the unfading lustre that was shed upon the American arms by that campaign; and we know, also, what your modesty has always disclaimed, that no small share of the glory of those achievements was due to your valor and your military genius.3This paragraph and the one just below it are placed immediately after the paragraph beginning "When the Father of his Country ..." in the Enquirer of November 5. Their position here is the one they have in the Enquirer of April 25 and in the Journal, and seems to be the logical position.

Sir, one of the proudest recollections of my life will be the honor that I yesterday had of submitting to this body the confirmation of the nomination made by the Governor of this State, of you as Commander-in-Chief of the military and naval forces of this Commonwealth. I rose to put the question, and when I asked if this body would advise and consent to that appointment, there rushed from the hearts to the tongues of all the members, an affirmative response that told, with an emphasis that could leave no doubt, of the feeling whence it emanated. I put the negative of the question for form's sake, but there was an unbroken silence.

Sir, we have, by this unanimous vote, expressed our convictions that you are, at this day, among the living citizens of Virginia, "first in war." We pray to God most fervently that you may so conduct the operations committed to your charge, that it will soon be said of you, that you are "first in peace," and when that time comes you will have earned the still prouder distinction of being "first in the hearts of your countrymen."

I will close with one more remark.

When the Father of his Country made his last will and testament, he gave his swords to his favorite nephews, with an injunction that they should never be drawn from their scabbards except in self defence .Page372 or in defence of the rights and liberties of their country, and, that if drawn for the latter purpose, they should fall with them in their hands, rather than relinquish them.

Yesterday, your mother, Virginia, placed her sword in your hand, upon the implied condition that we know you will keep to the letter and in spirit, that you will draw it only in her defence, and that you will fall with it in your hand rather than the object for which it was placed there shall fail.

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention: Profoundly impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, for which I must say I was not prepared, I accept the position assigned me by your partiality. I would have much preferred had your choice fallen on an abler man. Trusting in Almighty God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, I devote myself to the service of my native State, in whose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword. [Applause.] The chair was then vacated, and some time was spent in the introduction of delegates to Major General Lee, and the tender to him of congratulations by the members.

Gentlemen of the Convention—I have the honor to introduce the Hon. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, Vice President of the Confederate States, who comes charged with a special mission from the Confederate States to the Government of Virginia.

1.9. NINTH DAY

The Convention met at 12 o'clock. Prayer by the Rev. Dr. Jeter, of the Baptist Church.

I desire to offer a report on the subject of elections as an addenda to the election schedule already adopted by the Convention:

7. The qualified voters of the Commonwealth who may be absent from the counties or corporations of their residence on the day of election in the military service of the State may vote for the ratification or rejection of the said ordinance at such place or places within their encampments or as the commander at such encampment shall designate, whether the said encampment shall be within the limits of the State or not. For each place of voting he shall appoint a superintendent, three commissioners, and as many clerks as shall be necessary, who, after having been first duly sworn by him, shall perform the duties required of, and be liable to the penalties imposed upon, such officers under the election laws of this State.

8. The officers conducting the said election shall, on the day after the election, or as soon thereafter as may be, deliver the poll-books to their said commander, who shall forthwith forward the same to the Governor of this Commonwealth, who shall count the said votes in ascertaining the result of the said election in the State.

9. That the election for members of Congress for this State to the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, required by law to be held on the fourth Thursday in May next, is hereby suspended and prohibited until otherwise ordained by this Convention.

In order to make the schedule already adopted and the addenda correspond, it may be necessary to amend the schedule in one respect. I suppose it will be to re-consider the vote by which it was adopted. I make a motion to that effect.

The motion was agreed to.

I will read the schedule as it was originally adopted :

"1. It shall be the duty of the officers conducting the elections directed by law to be held on the fourth Thursday in May next, at the places appointed for holding the same, to open a poll to take the sense of the qualified voters of this Commonwealth upon the ratification or rejection of "An ordinance to repeal the ratification of the.Page417 Constitution of the United States of America by the State of Virginia, and to resume all the rights and powers granted under said Constitution," adopted in Convention at the city of Richmond on the seventeenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.

"2. The poll book shall be headed "The Ordinance of Secession," and shall contain two columns, one headed "For Ratification," and the other "For Rejection," and the names of those who vote for the ratification of the said ordinance shall be written under the former heading, and the names of those who vote for its rejection shall be written under the latter heading.

"3. The said officers shall make return of the number of persons voting for each proposition, at the time and in the manner provided by law in the case of other elections; and shall forthwith deliver the returns, together with the poll books, to the clerks of their respective counties and corporations; and it shall be the duty of such clerks, respectively, to transmit immediately to the Governor of the Commonwealth copies of the said returns so delivered to them.

"4. The Governor shall, without delay, make proclamation of the result, stating therein the aggregate vote for and against the ratification, to be published in such newspapers in the State as may be deemed requisite for general information; and if a majority of said votes be cast for the ratification of the said ordinance he shall annex to his proclamation a copy thereof, together with this schedule.

"5. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause to be sent to the clerks of each county and corporation as many copies of this schedule and ordinance aforesaid as there are places of voting therein, using special messengers for that purpose when necessary. And it shall be the duty of said clerks to deliver the same to the sheriffs for distribution, whose duty it shall be forthwith to post the said copies at some public place in each election district.

"6. The expenses incurred in providing poll-books and in procuring writers to enter the names of the voters therein shall be defrayed as in the case of the election of members to the General Assembly.

Done in Convention, in the city of Richmond, on the 24th day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and in the eighty-fifth year of the Commonwealth of Virginia."1See note 1 on the Proceedings of April 20.

I now propose to insert at the conclusion of the 6th clause, and before the concluding clause, the following:

7. The qualified voters of the Commonwealth who may be absent from the counties or corporations of their residence on the day of election in the military service of the State may vote for the ratification .Page418 or rejection of the said ordinance at such place or places within their encampments or as the commander at such encampment shall designate, whether the said encampment shall be within the limits of the State or not. For each place of voting he shall appoint a superintendent, three commissioners, and as many clerks as shall be necessary, who, after having been first duly sworn by him, shall perform the duties required of, and shall be liable to the penalties imposed upon, such officers under the election law of this State.

8. The officers conducting the said election shall on the day after the election, or as soon thereafter as may be, deliver the poll-books to their said commander, who shall forthwith forward the same to the Governor of this Commonwealth, who shall count the said votes in ascertaining the result of the said election in the State.

9. That the election for members of Congress for this State to the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, required by law to be held on the fourth Thursday in May next, is hereby suspended and prohibited until otherwise ordained by this Convention.

I ask for a division of the question.

The vote was accordingly taken upon each section separately, and they were severally adopted.

I move further to amend by adding after the words "as there are places of voting therein" the words "and three copies to each of the military commanders hereinafter referred to."

The amendment was adopted.

The schedule, as amended, was then adopted.

Mr. HAYMOND, from the Committee of Elections, reported as follows:

I will state, in relation to this compensation, that we had a great deal of trouble in obtaining the returns, and, by a vote of the committee, we authorized the employment of Mr. Grime to assist us. He did so, and was engaged in that service for a week. The committee concluded that $4 a day being the compensation usually allowed, was reasonable.

The report was agreed to.

I have been requested by one of the assistants of the Clerk of the House of Delegates to ask you to authorize the door-keeper to let the first door of the Capitol, which communicates with the Clerk's office, to remain open. There is a great deal of business necessary to be done in connection with that office, and he has a great difficulty in getting into it. I merely make the suggestion. You can issue the order or not, as you choose.

While up, I will offer the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the several courts of this Commonwealth be, and are hereby authorized to suspend the sessions thereof, and all proceedings therein, insofar as to them may seem proper, in view of the condition of public affairs, until otherwise ordered by this Convention, or by the General Assembly: Provided, however, that the county and corporation courts shall continue to exercise their ordinary jurisdiction in cases of probate and administration, and for like purposes-and their proper police authority for the maintenance of the peace and for arming and equipping troops as may be authorized by law or by this Convention. And provided further, that all the courts shall be open for the trial of criminal causes, involving the life or liberty of the accused, for applications for bail, and for writs of habeas corpus; and for all proceedings in behalf of the Commonwealth for the collection of the public revenue."

I ask that this resolution may be adopted and referred to the appropriate committee. I don't know the style of the committee, but there is a committee in existence having kindred subjects in charge. I hope it will be referred, with instructions to report forthwith.

There is a committee appointed in regard to the suspension of debts, which was raised under a resolution offered by Mr. HULL, I believe.

Let it be referred to that committee.

I now move that the injunction of secrecy be removed, so far as relates to the schedule just adopted.

I will suggest that the ordinance of secession be published with it.

I will so amend th; motion as to embrace the ordinance.

The question was then put on Mr. MONTAGUE'S motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

I beg leave to submit the following communication from the Governor of the Commonwealth:

I propose to offer the following resolution-

I deem it due to myself, to the Convention and to the subjects embraced by it, to state that I do so at the instance of a distinguished member of the Convention. I do not ask that the usual courtesy extended to the mover of a resolution, be extended to me by placing me first upon the committee. I prefer that the honor should be conferred upon some other.

The resolution has reference to the subject embraced by the communication just received from the Executive.

The following is the resolution:

"Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed by the President, to consider and report upon the general objects and policy most .Page421 proper to be followed in our present circumstances, with reference to the hostilities in which the people of this Commonwealth are likely to be engaged."

I want to state one thing. We have a commander-in-chief now who must plan our operations, and before we can determine what course of policy we should adopt we ought to have the advice and counsel of that officer. A committee might be raised to consider this subject; but a great deal of mischief may result from the development of any policy at this time.

On last Saturday night there was a company organized here for the purpose of going to the banks of the Potomac and putting up a battery there. That fact was published in the newspapers on the following Monday. I saw on yesterday a gentleman who went on that expedition, and he said when they got there, they found the steamship Anacostia with troops, ready to prevent any undertaking for the defence of that section. All our military operations ought to be secret.

Sir, we are now in a very deplorable condition in many particulars. We ought to ascertain what are our military resources. The commander-in-chief ought to have an opportunity to ascertain what means we have before we develop any policy. I ascertained from the gentleman having charge of the ordnance department that there are about 40,000 percussion caps in that department. He has telegraphed North and South and has ascertained that none can be found anywhere. 40,000 caps would not last an army of 1,000 men an hour; and after that supply is gone we would be left without any means of using the arms that have percussion locks. I understood from the same gentleman that our flint muskets are in a very bad condition, most of them being manufactured thirty or forty years ago.

I throw out these considerations for the benefit of the gentlemen who may be appointed on that committee. I am myself opposed to any committee; but it seems to me, that the best thing we can do is to provide for the organization of an effective military force.

I do not intend to throw any obstacle in the way of the purpose of the gentleman who offered the resolution; but it seems to me that before we adopt a resolution embracing so many important subjects as this does-a resolution which it seems to me is directly connected with all the interests of the State at large, and the relations of the State not only with the United States, but the Confederate States also, we ought to await the report of the committee appointed to confer with the Vice President, of which the gentleman from Charles City [Mr. TYLER] , is the chairman. That .Page422 committee will, in all probability, be prepared to make a report during the day, and when that is done, we can judge better of the propriety of the course recommended by that resolution. The effect of the adoption of the resolution now, if I understand the purport of it, would be the appointment of another committee, which would have before it for consideration substantially what has already been committed to the committee appointed in connection with the mission of the Commissioner from the Confederate States. The duties of that committee, should it be appointed, cannot be performed, at least to my satisfaction, until I am put in possession of the report of the committee, to wait on the Vice President.

I make this suggestion to my friend from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] , without intimating a purpose to throw any obstacle in the way of the accomplishment of this object. I would much prefer that this subject would not be presented for the present.

I am very much surprised that a resolution of this character has been proposed to the Convention. You have just appointed a Commander-in-Chief. He has not had an opportunity of knowing anything about your resources, or of examining the country which he is to protect. He has had no opportunity of knowing the number of forces that you can place at his disposal; and now you propose here under this resolution to plan the campaign for that Commander-in-Chief. You propose to decide upon the policy whether this war is to be a defensive or an aggressive one. Is not that planning the campaign? We, in fact, propose to appoint a committee who are to govern the Commander-in-Chief, whom you have appointed to take charge of the military and naval forces of the State.

Now, sir, do you intend that you shall tie his hands? And yet, if your committee undertakes to decide the questions referred to in that resolution, you do tie his hands. You force that Commander-in-Chief, no matter what his views may be, to form all his plans in conformity with your ideas and not his own.

Why, sir, is he not the person to decide whether your course shall be simply defensive or aggressive? Does not that decision depend upon the means at his command? Are you going to decide this question before you give him an opportunity of knowing what he will have in his power to do? Why, sir, you cannot tell this day or a week hence, whether you will be able to move one thousand men or five thousand men to any one given point.

The gentleman says you have not more than forty thousand percussion caps.

I bought myself for the State four hundred thousand percussion caps and I imagine that is a mere remnant of that number.

I don't know anything about this matter of my own personal knowledge; but a gentleman here says that the manager of the Ordnance Department stated to him that there are but forty thousand caps now in that Department. Now, this very fact that you have two gentlemen differing as to this matter, shows you the folly of your undertaking to decide upon the question upon which it is proposed you shall decide through this committee. Here you yourselves do not seem to be informed with respect to this important matter of percussion caps. Sir, viewing this policy in the light which I view it, I regard it in effect, as taking the power out of the hands of the Commander-in-Chief and placing it in the hands of a committee of the Convention. You supersede the Commander-in-Chief by your action, and he is merely to execute your orders.

Now, sir, I give the utmost deference to gentlemen in this Convention, but I must say, that I do not think that any committee of seven men ever existed, or will exist, who, under these circumstances, ought to be trusted with such a power. It is of necessity a power which ought to be intrusted to one man, and one man alone.

Now, sir, I do implore gentlemen to pause in time. Do not let us commence our career by binding the very hands in which we placed the sword for the purpose of defending our lives. The result of this policy of granting to a committee a power which properly belongs to the Commander-in-Chief, will be inevitable collision, which must end in confusion and perhaps defeat and ruin. I hope the resolution will be withdrawn, and that we will stop the inauguration of a system which, if persisted in, must end in destruction to our cause.

If gentlemen had not misconceived the purport and language of the resolution of the gentleman from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] I am sure it would not have met with the opposition which has been made to it.

The resolution, as I understand it, proposes to raise a committee to declare what the general aim or purpose, and what shall be the general policy in the hostilities in which we are about to be engaged.

Well now, sir, this is not the wild inquiry which gentlemen had supposed. We are now preparing for hostilities upon a large scale. It must be with some purpose; with some aim or object-and what is it, sir? I presume the response from every member here will be, that it is for the purpose of peace; of being allowed to separate from the.Page424 government with which we have hitherto been connected peaceably-that this is the general purpose and aim of these hostilities in which we are about to be engaged.

The other inquiry is, what shall be the general policy; and I apprehend, sir, there will probably be as little difference of opinion upon that subject as upon the other. It has been indicated by the gentleman over the way [Mr. AMBLER] somewhat to my surprise, I must be permitted to say, that that policy was assumed by him to be an aggressive policy.

I utterly disclaim that any language which I used, could be distorted into any such meaning. The whole tenor of what I said justified rather an opposite conclusion.

I am delighted to hear that disclaimer, because I was compelled, as I thought, to draw the inference I did from the remarks of the gentleman. I take it back most cheerfully. I will state, by way of justification for the inference which I made, that the gentleman said, in referring to our means to carry on a war, that we were not able now to determine whether we should pursue an aggressive policy or not.

What I said was in reply to what had been said by the gentleman from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] in regard to that very fact.

I do not mean to pursue that matter farther; but I will say that I am very glad to hear the disclaimer of the gentleman. I repeat that I suppose there will be as little difference of opinion on this floor as to the general policy to be pursued in this manner as there was upon the other question, as to what is to be the ultimate aim and end of our hostilities, and that is, that our general policy shall be a defensive policy; that we shall stand upon the defensive from first to last, except so far as, in the course of events, aggression may really become defensive.

Well then, sir, I suppose that upon another question of general policy there will be as little difference of opinion-that is, that these hostilities, if unhappily we are engaged in them-shall be conducted in the mode and manner, at least, of civilized warfare, and that we are not to go in, as I am sorry to see, seems to have been begun by some of the citizens of this Commonwealth, for seizing upon private property and private persons, wherever found in our Commonwealth, from the Northern States. This, I take for granted, the committee will declare to be the general aim of this war, and as the general policy upon which the hostilities shall be pursued.

Now, my friend over the way [Mr. AMBLER] , uses one argument which apparently has some force in it, against anything like interference with the Commander-in-chief who was appointed yesterday to conduct these hostilities. He supposes that any programme which may be laid down by this committee might be an improper interference with his functions.

Now, sir, this is not a time for any disguises; and although, perhaps, under ordinary circumstances I would not be permitted to state it, I will mention here that this very inquiry is instituted at the request of Major General Lee himself. He stated, and properly stated, in a private conversation yesterday, that whilst he took the responsibility of conducting all the military operations, there were political and moral considerations which he had a right to be advised upon by the representatives of the people of Virginia. He, I am sure, must be utterly averse to this irregular action-this uncivilized action of seizing upon private property-the property of peaceable individuals, who have come here before any declaration of secession was made on our part. He must be averse to pouncing upon an officer of the army of the United States who happened to be on our soil without a suspicion that we have been engaged in war.

All these irregularities must be abhorrent to the mind of any regular soldier; and yet, if the people of Virginia are permitted to pursue this practice without any control or declaration from this Convention, the general in command may find some difficulty in suppressing this spirit among the people. It is the proper duty of the representatives of the people to declare what ought to be done in these cases.

With respect to the general aim of the war, if our general object is merely to have a peaceable separation from these other States; if our general policy, which is almost a natural sequence to that, shall be a defensive one, it is important that the general in command should know that that is the purpose and position of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in order that he may conduct his operations in accordance with the general sense of the people and the general policy which they desire to be pursued. If he could get some expression of opinion from this Convention in reference to this general object, I am satisfied the clear mind of my friend, if he will only reflect for a moment, will see that this general declaration cannot by possibility in any way control or interfere with the operations of Gen. Lee. We should proclaim, as soon as possible, that we are not for invading any other State; that we are claiming nothing of any other State; that we are asking only our own, and to be permitted to remain in possession .Page426 of our own in peace, and, therefore, we do not desire any aggressive hostilities which are unnecessary, but desire only to defend our own soil, our own people and all that is within the limits of Virginia to the utmost of our power. By making this declaration, he will have distinctly before him all that will be important to him in conducting his operations. He cannot be cramped in any way by any declaration of this sort.

I am in favor of the proposed inquiry, for the reason I have stated, that this is his own deliberate opinion and desire upon the subject. I am satisfied that that statement alone will induce the gentleman to withdraw the opposition which he has at first view, and, with all respect, I think somewhat hastily, raised to this resolution.

I regard this matter as of very great importance, and I therefore, with some distrust, presume to present to this Convention one or two remarks.

My own idea is, that this movement on the part of my friend from Campbell [Mr. SPEED] is, to say the least of it, exceedingly premature. I concur fully in the view of the gentleman from Louisa [Mr. AMBLER] , that its effect must be, if it have any at all, to embarrass the operations of him upon whom we have conferred the important trust of conducting our military operations.

But, independent of this view, there is to my mind another very strong reason why we should not interfere with this matter, and that is, that we are not now in a condition to act definitely upon it. I take it for granted, that Virginia intends to form an alliance of some sort with the Southern Confederacy. This is inevitable. We cannot avoid it, if we would. Well, sir, if that be so; if we are obliged to form this alliance either from feelings of regard to them, or from interest, is it not exceedingly improper for us to take any step here in advance of what may be the general policy in conducting this war? Virginia does not intend to carry on this great conflict by herself. She must look for aid from the Southern Confederacy, and in the event of a union with the States of that Confederacy, which I regard as inevitable, it may happen that the very plan upon which we might determine, would be entirely overruled by the military authorities of these States. This consideration, presents to my mind an insuperable difficulty; and I would therefore take no step until we hear from the committee appointed to confer with the Vice President in regard to the alliance, which we expect to form with the Southern Confederacy. We ought not to move until we know to whom we are to be allianced.

Gentlemen seem to be startled at the idea of the word "war." It has .Page427 no fears for me. We intend to procure our rights. We have asserted them by the passage of the ordinance of secession, and we intend to resist aggression from any quarter; and if it be necessary in order to procure our rights and defend them, and to purchase a peace, that we should pursue an aggressive war, I am for aggression to any extremity; and I believe now, although no military man, that the most effectual way of procuring a peace is to carry on an aggressive war, and if need be, to assail the Capital itself.

The idea of the gentleman from Frederick [Mr. CONRAD] that this would be an improper and lawless proceeding, I think, has no force. Our military operations are now under the control of the military men. You cannot prevent the outburst of the feelings of the people by any declaration you may make here. Let those who have them in charge control them. Let us see who are to be our allies; what connections we are to form. Let our leaders determine upon some great plan of operations; let the war be an aggressive one and we shall soon have peace.

We have appointed a commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of Virginia. We have communicated to the Confederate States that we have seceded from the United States, and we have proposed to them to enter into an alliance offensive and defensive. That proposition has been promptly responded to. As fast as steam could bear the distinguished commissioner from the Confederate States hither, he has come, and frankly proposes to enter into any alliance offensive and defensive or into any union that may be acceptable to Virginia.

We present the highest spectacle of moral sublimity of having, under a threat of coercion from the Federal Government to involve the country in a war, with 75,000 men, called for to carry out that threat, and Virginia called upon for her quota, seceded from the Union, and defied the menace. In the face of these threats, Virginia, as an independent State, solitary and alone, without promise to be sustained in a war, has taken this position; and in that condition, we are assured of a readiness upon the part of the Confederate States to stand by us, to unite with us in the defence of a common right, in the defence of a common liberty: for I believe, sir, to-day the purpose of the powers at Washington is, to wage not only an aggressive war upon the South, but an exterminating war-not only a war to subvert and overthrow the State rights, but to subvert and overthrow liberty itself. In this state of things, we have appointed, for the purpose of strengthening us in our position a commission, at the head .Page428 of which is the distinguished ex-President of the United States [Mr. TYLER] , and others whose names I cannot now call to mind, but in whose discretion and wisdom we have entire confidence. The commission is to decide whether our destiny shall be to carry on this conflict alone, or unite in an alliance offensive and defensive, or a union with the Confederate States. They will determine what our future policy is to be, whether we shall stand alone in this conflict or be assisted by those having a common interest and a common destiny with us. We are called upon by the Executive of Virginia, who has taken it into his own hands to convene troops here from different portions of the State without authority from us, to declare what shall be the course or policy that Virginia shall pursue-whether it shall be aggressive, or whether it shall be defensive.

I maintain that it is not now for us to decide whether our course shall be aggressive or defensive. I say that depends first upon the question whether we shall form an alliance with the Southern Confederacy, what the character of that alliance is to be, and what are the terms upon which we enter it. That alliance forbids that we shall determine the policy of Virginia. If we enter into such an alliance, we are to consult the authorities of the Confederate States as to the policy which is to be pursued.

I think, therefore, it is premature for us to be called upon by the Governor to take the responsibility of deciding in this attitude of affairs whether our course shall be an aggressive or defensive one.

There is another reason why we should not declare what our policy is to be. We have appointed a Commander-in-chief to whom we have entrusted the military and naval power of the Commonwealth, and now if we enter into an alliance offensive and defensive with the Confederate States, I take it that it will be a matter of consultation between the Confederate authorities and Virginia what course she shall pursue. I am no military man; but I maintain that in this emergency the true defense of Virginia, the true defense of the South, the true mode of conquering a peace is, with all the power of the Confederate States and with all the power of Virginia at once, without delay, as soon as we can accumulate forces sufficient, to expel from an usurped throne the detested tyrant who sits on it at Washington.

That, sir, is my view of the true policy of Virginia. But, sir, we are not here to determine what that policy shall be until we first know what are our relations to the other States of the Southern Confederacy. If we are to fight alone we should be forced to adopt the policy of a mere defensive war, but if there is to come to our aid.Page429 the power of the Confederate States and all the slave States of the South, then we may find that the best mode of defense, the best mode of securing a peace, the best mode of preventing the subjugation of the South is to carry the war into Washington, and to defend our rights upon the borders of Maryland. I believe to-day that with the power at our command we have the means of driving from the borders of the slave States those who are engaged not only in a war of aggression against us, but who are animated by a purpose of pursuing that aggression to the end of extermination.

Gentlemen talk about civilized warfare. Why, sir, what course of policy has been exhibited by the powers at Washington? They are disposed to destroy everything in the shape of property that falls within their control rather than that it shall fall into our hands, before even we have declared any war against them, and whilst we are acting on the defensive.

It seems to me, sir, that it is premature in us to adopt a resolution appointing a committee to determine whether our course shall be aggressive or defensive, until the committee appointed to confer with the Vice-President shall determine what our relations with the seceded States are to be, and until they shall have determined by a conference with the Commander-in-chief of our forces what our policy shall be.

There is another policy to which I desire to call the attention of the Convention. The gallant State of Maryland has stood in the breach between us and the power of the North; between us and the hordes of the Goths and Vandals who were pouring down to the capital of the country to concentrate their forces there for the purpose of subjugating the South; and is it to be tolerated by bold and proud Virginia; by the men of the South who are animated by the true spirit of patriotism and of freedom; that that gallant State shall stand alone, and be overrun by these Northern hordes?

Did the gentleman suppose that I uttered any sentiment against the defence of Maryland?

I hope the gentleman does not entertain any such sentiment as that; but when I hear a defensive war talked of; and when I see our brethren of Maryland standing like a bulwark between us and these hordes of the North; I say that every impulse of a manly heart demands that we in the South shall stand between her and these hordes, cost what it may; and I maintain that for efficient defence it is necessary we shall meet the enemy at the threshold; and that we shall roll back the tide from the outer border, ere it rushes .Page430 down with irresistible power upon us, if in connection with the Confederate States and in conference with the Commander-in-chief, that policy be deemed proper, as in my heart I believe it is.

I am opposed, therefore, to the raising of a committee intended to commit this State to a defensive war, when aggression may be the true mode of defence-when aggression, as the gentleman might call it, or as some might suppose it, may stay the march of troops into the Capital where they are being concentrated for the purpose of making a descent upon our own State at a favorable time, and, if possible, of subjugating us. For one, I am in favor of driving them from that position and intercepting the advance of any more troops within the borders of Maryland.

I have but one in whose veins my own blood flows, and I am ready to yield him up, if need be, as a sacrifice to my country, and if it becomes necessary, in addition to the personal peril, that we leave this body and engage in the conflict, I am willing to pour out the last drop of blood that flows in my own veins in defence of Southern rights and Southern liberty, which are now assailed, and which, if not promptly defended, must be extinguished in eternal ruin.

Sir, I say it is impolitic and unwise. It would, in fact, be criminal in this Convention to say what the policy of Virginia should be until we have determined what our relations with the Confederate States shall be, and until we shall have consulted those to whom our military defence shall be committed, under the union or alliance which it is intended to form.

I would move, therefore, that the resolution of the gentleman be laid upon the table, if it does not interfere with further discussion. If it does, I will not make that motion.

I would suggest that a guard be provided by the Governor to keep persons outside the building at a distance.

I hope not, lest it may be supposed that we are apprehensive of our personal safety.

I will state that yesterday evening I went round the Capitol and listened for a time in front of the windows of the Hall, but could not hear a word.

I am satisfied they cannot hear members speaking on this side of the building. They may hear members speaking on that side. If the windows are let down, there need be no apprehension of being heard.

There will be no necessity of letting the windows down, as far as I am concerned.

I would ask the withdrawal of the motion of the gentleman from Smyth [Mr. SHEFFEY] for the purpose of correcting a statement which he made in regard to the Governor of the Commonwealth.

I withdraw my motion.

I think a great deal has been said on both sides in which there is a great deal of truth. This whole debate seems to have been brought on on account of the Executive recommendation. It is, in my judgment, entirely premature. The Governor sends us a request that we shall give him information upon this subject. My friend from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] moves a resolution accordingly; but I suppose it is not known to the Governor that we have now regularly authorized commissioners who are conferring with the commissioner from the Confederate States, and who will determine the policy which we shall pursue in the future. I would say for one, that I recognize it as a supreme political and military necessity that we should have possession of the city of Washington as soon as possible. But we cannot determine upon that until we know the relations in which we stand to the Confederate States. I hope, therefore, the gentleman from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] will withdraw his resolution and await a development of the plans which these commissioners shall determine upon.

But the gentleman from Smyth [Mr. SHEFFEY] made a remark that the Governor called a volunteer force here without our authority, and now asks us to determine what our course of policy will be. Sir, we passed an ordinance of secession, from which we removed the obligation of secrecy and which was published in the newspapers. This, no doubt, has led to active movements on the part of the Federal authorities, which required a corresponding effort on our part. It occurred to me, that there was a special reason on the part of the Governor for this application to us. I am reliably informed that a force of 13,000 men is on the march to Harper's Ferry; and it is perfectly certain that there will be no means of camping that number, or of otherwise providing for them. But we cannot undertake to give a definite response to the communication of the Governor until we ascertain what the committee will do.

May I ask that the subject under consideration be passed by for a moment.

I am perfectly willing that it shall be passed by.

I am instructed by the committee on the suspension of debts, to report the following ordinance.

I move that the report be laid upon the table and printed, and that the injunction of secrecy be removed so far as regards it.

The motion was agreed to.

I beg leave to submit a report from the finance committee on the subject of small notes. I have no objection to its being laid upon the table if discussion will arise from it.

I move to lay that ordinance on the table for the present.

The motion was lost-ayes 24, noes 47.

I understood this report was introduced with the distinct understanding that if there was any discussion upon it it would be laid upon the table.

The committee have no objection to laying the report upon the table. It is a matter of some moment, and, perhaps, it is better that a little time should be given to consider and examine it. But I will beg leave to say that if the Convention intends to take action on the question, it should be done as speedily as possible, for many public bodies are now engaged in issuing small notes, and if it is ascertained that such an ordinance as this is to be passed, this system will be discontinued.

The question was on laying the ordinance on the table, and the vote stood-ayes 21 noes 54-no quorum voting.

As gentlemen seem to be so much surprised at the course the matter has taken, I will, with the consent of the Convention, withdraw the report for the present.

I thought it was an express understanding between him and myself that he would merely submit the report; not to act now upon it.

I beg leave to say that there is no departure from the understanding by me. I understood him to say that the report was to consume no time; and that which it has consumed was perfectly accidental.

May I make a statement to the Convention?

The committee that has been in session all day in regard to our relations with the Confederate States, will be enabled to report to-day; and they have sent me here to suggest that when the Convention adjourns, it will not adjourn finally for the day, but that it will come back this evening to consider the subject, as it is important that the result should be communicated to Montgomery at once.

I will make a point of order. A count was just now made by which it was ascertained that there is less than a quorum present. Is it competent for the house to do anything in the absence of a quorum?

The chair would put no question until it was ascertained that there was a quorum.

I will remark that there are a number of the members engaged on committees, and it is probably in consequence of that that a quorum is not present.

I would move that the Convention adjourn until 4 o'clock.

I want to put myself right with regard to the remarks that I made, which seem to be misunderstood by the gentleman from Frederick [Mr. CONRAD] .

I wished distinctly to place myself upon the ground that it was utterly impossible for us now to answer the questions suggested by the gentleman from Lynchburg [Mr. SPEED] , and the whole intent of what I said was to show the impropriety of making a response now. I did not mean to commit myself to any given policy. I argued against the policy of the Convention's committing itself to any policy in the state of profound ignorance in which the Convention of necessity is, and maintained that the result of the adoption of the resolution, as proposed, would be to commit the Convention to a policy which would of necessity bind the hands of the Commander-in-Chief. I propose to get rid of this whole difficulty by a response to the communication of the Governor. I will now submit the following resolution:

"Resolved, in response to the communication of the Governor, inquiring what is to be the policy of Virginia in her military operation, That this Convention is not prepared to answer further than to say, that it is the true policy of Virginia to defend her own soil and institutions, and to co-operate with all the slaveholding States, and the Confederate States in defending and protecting their soil and institutions; and that she desires to form a union with the said States; but in the meantime Virginia should devote all her power to carry out the general objects and policy herein indicated."

This response, I think, is fully as far as we are prepared to go now in indicating what our future course should be. It avoids any interferences with military questions, avoids hampering any of our military officers, gets rid of all the objections to the resolution as it stands, and leaves us free to answer all questions as they may arise.

I move that as a substitute for the original resolution.

I am satisfied that all that subject will be dealt with by the committee that is now holding its session with reference to an alliance with the Confederate States.

I move, therefore, to lay the whole subject on the table.

Will the gentleman withdraw his motion, for a moment, until I offer an amendment to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Louisa [Mr. AMBLER] ?

I will withdraw it if the gentleman renews it.

I will renew it.

I now offer the following resolution as an amendment to the amendment:

"Resolved by this Convention, That it is the object of Virginia, under existing circumstances, to effect and secure a separation from the non-slaveholding States of the recent Union, and to defend from aggression and subjugation, herself and her sister States of the South; and her policy is to effect that object by such military movements, offensive or defensive, as may, in the estimation of those to whom she has entrusted the command of her forces, be deemed judicious and expedient."

I will accept that in place of the substitute that I offered.

In conformity with a promise which I made to the gentleman from Monroe [Mr. CAPERTON] , I move that the whole subject be laid upon the table.

I feel, Mr. President, that, after the indications that have been given of a desire to have this matter disposed of, I am acting, perhaps, in opposition to every member present, in making a claim to be heard even for a moment.

I wish to disabuse the Convention of any impression which may have entered the mind of any member of it, that I had any other motive in offering this resolution than that of accomplishing what I believed to be for the public good, by fair means.

I hope that the gentleman will not consider anything that I have said, as by any means intending to impugn his motives. Nothing was farther from my mind.

The various objections made justified the inference that I was about to repel. I observed members rising in haste to say that this motion was premature, urging that it was premature, and, that it was an improper interference with the authority of the Major General, and that, in fact, the resolution was offered with a purpose .Page436 to direct matters in regard to which he alone is responsible, and in respect to which he is the most competent judge.

In the face of the declaration, that this precise application was contemplated on yesterday in pursuance of a conference that led to the knowledge that some such proceeding as this would be most agreeable to the Commander-in-Chief, we are told that it is premature -premature after a declaration to the Convention that this precise line of proceeding was not only agreeable to, but invoked even by the Executive.

You are told by one gentleman that this proceeding was instituted in pursuance of a plan of the Governor himself, who, as was stated, brought troops here from every portion of the State, and now appealed to the Convention as to what line of policy he would pursue. I presume the object was-I don't know the fact and would not charge or intimate that it is so-but the objections made in that connection were calculated to furnish grounds for such an inference, to create the impression that this movement was made in the interest of some persons or party, that persons and parties here might feel it to their interest to oppose it; and in that connection the idea was thrown out, that the object was to commit this Convention to a line of defensive policy.

Sir, I repudiate, so far as I am concerned, any such purpose. The only view I had was to carry out a suggestion which I thought was conceived in wisdom. Why, then, is this movement premature? One objection is that it interferes with another committee; that we are not prepared now to indicate what line of policy we shall pursue, as if this was an application to indicate in detail what is to be our line of policy; and this objection comes from one who himself offers a resolution by way of a substitute which does indicate what is to be our line of policy.

Sir, the objections made to that resolution of inquiry, which is to be subjected to the deliberations of seven gentlemen, to be selected by yourselves, whose action is afterwards to be reviewed by this Convention when it comes before us in the form of a report, do not commend themselves to my favor; and it strikes me that these objections arise from some other motives than those which were presented here.

Now, sir, why should this substitute prevail? I am surrounded here by kind friends who volunteered to give me a kind advice to accept the substitute of my friend from Halifax [Mr. FLOURNOY] . Why accept it? Does it answer the very point of inquiry which has been suggested .Page437 to you by the Governor of the Commonwealth? He is in daily conference and consultation with three wise and prudent gentlemen, in regard to whom we have expressed our opinions favorably; and he, no doubt, has a good opportunity of knowing what is best to be done for the interests of the State. What possible harm can the appointment of this committee do? What injury can the public suffer by this inquiry? It has not occurred to me how any possible detriment could enure to the public interest by any such proceeding, and those who have so strenuously objected to the resolution, have failed to show the grounds of their preferences for the form of proceeding which they advocate over that proposed in my resolution. Why not let the committee be appointed?

It is said that we are in conference with the Commissioner from the Confederate States, and that we would be interfering with that proceeding. I cannot believe that any such result would follow from the adoption of this resolution. If this committee is appointed the two reports can be brought, and we might then consider them in connection. But, surely, when such action as this is refused at the hands of this Convention-action merely involving inquiry, which inquiry may be pregnant with the most vital consequences to the military operations of the country, we may well suspect the motives which actuate gentlemen in their opposition to so simple a proposition. I trust that the resolution will not be set aside by an affirmative vote upon a proposition declaring that we are not now prepared to indicate our policy. I do not ask that our policy shall be now indicated; but surely it cannot do any harm, if a committee of gentlemen shall confer upon this subject. I find that in place of advocating the raising of a committee, one gentleman asks that you shall indicate a policy, which is, of course, vastly more objectionable than that which he opposes. Another gentleman-near the gentleman from Halifax-tells you to take the form of proceedings, which he lays down; but it can readily be seen that that is no response to the call made by the Governor, nor does it meet the emergency of the occasion.

I will not trespass further upon the Convention. I am not here to make declaration of attachment to the country. I would cheerfully contribute whatever I could, to the success of our cause; and all that I do, sir, I trust is prompted by the high considerations of public good and none other.

This is a subject as to which I know very little, and in respect to which I desire to say very little. But I have my own opinion in reference to this matter.

If I understand this affair aright, sir, the information desired by the Commander-in-Chief, is information as to the policy which this Convention would think proper to be pursued. I take it for granted, therefore, that it follows as a necessary consequence, that an expression of opinion will not be a dictation such as would hamper, but rather enlighten that officer, and the better enable him to carry on his operations.

Perhaps, sir, there ought to be some response to that communication; and how can that be made, except by the action of the Convention, in the form of some declaration, to be communicated to the commanding officer by the Convention, or by a committee appointed to confer with him. It seems to me that these are the only modes of response that could be resorted to, either by a declaration of the Convention itself or through a committee.

Now, sir, I profess to be no military man, and I believe that I never could bq; but there is a certain common sense stand point which, I take it, every man ought to be capable of taking. Sir, your officer is presumed to be in entire ignorance as to the policy which this Convention is likely to pursue. It seems to me, from the remarks of gentlemen who have addressed this Convention, that everything is to be at a stand still, in a military point of view, until the negotiations now pending are completed. When are they to be completed? Is there any assurance upon this point? We are told that a committee is appointed to confer with the Vice President of the Confederate States. These negotiations may occupy some days-how many we know not; and, in the meantime, all military operations are to be suspended; nothing is to be done because the commanding officer is ignorant as to what the Convention requires to be done. It strikes me that there is to be co-operation between Virginia and the Confederate States and the other slave States in some manner or form. It seems to be manifest, also, from the declarations of the Vice President of the Southern Confederacy, that Virginia is to be the main theatre of military operations, and that we are not only to prepare for defensive but offensive warfare. Can there be any impropriety in informing that officer that we are to prepare immediately for defence, and prospectively for offence? We have appointed a Major General, and if Virginia is to be the theatre of operations, and he be the competent officer that he is said to be, and which I hope and believe he is, it seems to me that he may, during the pendency of these negotiations, be preparing to take his position so as to further the policy we may adopt. If I understand the object of appointing a committee, .Page439 it is to confer with the commander-in-chief so as to make out a policy. I shall be in favor of the appointment of that committee with a view to hold this conference, and in order that steps might be taken in advance of the consummation of the negotiations now pending. It seems to me that this is eminently proper. I can conceive of no objection to such preliminary steps being taken. If this officer be a competent officer; if the intimations thrown out by the Vice President be fulfilled, it seems to me that we should communicate the fact to him, that we are determined to act with the other Southern States, and to enter with him into an alliance offensive and defensive.

In view of the frequent expressions of opinion all around favoring the laying of this subject on the table, I will vote for that proposition.

I judge from the remarks of the gentleman from Frederick [Mr. CONRAD] , that there is some misapprehension as to the views of Gen. Lee. He said something to the committee on Military Affairs, and in conformity with his views, a resolution was directed to be reported. His idea is this: that aggression upon the private rights and private property of individuals, whether citizens of one side or the other, greatly aggravates the horrors of war and exasperates the feelings on both sides. The resolution was directed to be reported to the Convention, and it was placed in charge of the gentleman from Richmond City [Mr. RANDOLPH] , who was called into service yesterday with his company. That resolution reads as follows:

"Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the President, with directions to report upon the propriety of adopting measures to prevent the illegal and improper seizure of private property, and to restore any which may have been already seized, and which may not be needed for public purposes."

While I am up, I will simply state, lest the statement of the gentleman from Richmond city [Mr. RANDOLPH] , in reference to percussion caps, may be misunderstood, I have no doubt that the amount mentioned by the gentleman has been purchased; but I fear there has been a very wasteful disposition made of them. I have been to the Ordnance Department; and while I did not see the officer in charge, I ascertained that there is a great deficiency in this article.

In regard to the subject under consideration, I apprehend that the sole object of Gen. Lee in making this suggestion was to prevent any mischief being done by aggressions upon private rights and private property. This is the resolution, the substance of which was directed to be reported on yesterday.

It will, I think, meet the views of the gentleman from Frederick [Mr. CONRAD] .

On motion of Mr. TURNER of Jackson, the Convention took a recess until 4 o'clock, P. M.