Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, in the Senate of the United States: On the Fourth Day of March, in Reply to Mr. Grundy of Tennessee, Mr. Woodbury of New Hampshire, and Others; The Resolution of Mr. Foot, of Connecticut, Being Under Consideration The motion for the indefinite postponement of the resolution of Mr. Foot of Connecticut, relative to the Public Lands, being under consideration, Mr. Clayton of Delaware, addressed the Chair. Mr. President: If I need an apology for discussing topics extrinsic of not strictly relevant to the subject of the resolution before us, I shall find it in the example of honorable gentlemen, who, in going before me, have availed themselves, by general consent, of an opportunity to debate on this motion, the full merits of other questions of momentous interest to our country. While the argument was of a sectional character, and chiefly calculated to excite personal and local feeling, I desired no participation in it. But, although generally averse to any deviation from the ordinary rules of Parliamentary proceeding, and unwilling to originate any new subject of controversy even in the boundless latitude given to this discussion, I cannot be silent while principles are boldly advanced and pressed upon us, (no matter how inapplicable or inappropriate they may appear, ) which in my judgment are subversive of the interests of this nation, or hostile to the spirit of the Federal Constitution. The resolution of the honorable Senator from Connecticut has nothing imperative in its character. It lays down no new principle, and proposes no new course of legislation; but simply asks an inquiry into the expediency of either hastening the sales of the public domain, or of stopping the surveys for a limited period. The committee to whom the inquiry is proposed to be entrusted, is composed of five members, all of whom are Representatives of States within whose limits are contained large portions of the public lands. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.