pired. There were cries of "Go on, go on," | regard to California were discussed, upon which and by common consent he proceeded. Mr. Dayton modified his proposed amendment. He said that Virginia and Massachusetts were twin sisters, and had shared the horrors and perils of the Revolution; together resisted tyranny, and assisted in establishing a common government. It was their privilege to worship here, standing at a common altar, with clean hands and honest hearts, doing right to all and wrong to none. It is their hope to carry on a glorious national career, comforting, supporting, cheering one another through the trials of the day, and showing to mankind that nothing can corrupt, and only death can destroy their union. They were equal before the Revolution, and at the beginning of the Revolution; they were associates in 1777; they were united and equal in 1787, co-operating equally in every sense. Was Massachusetts agreed that they should still continue to be equal? We are admonished that republics which lose their liberty never revive. Although the spirit never dies, it does not reanimate. Would that there were here the spirit of the elder Brutus, who gave his son to the axe of justice, because he loved his country better than his son! Would that there were here the spirit of the younger Pitt or the elder Adams, who in the midst of suffering never forgot his country, and who in his dying hour prayed that God would remember the land of his birth! Would there were the spirit of the enthusiastic Frenchman, who, while listening to Mirabeau when vindicating human rights, saw him fall and dying for want of blood, and who ran to him, stripped his arm, and said: "Take it from me; let me die, that Mirabeau and the liberties of my country may not perish." Give us that spirit, and our difficulties will pass away like the summer cloud. Leave the subject of slavery to the consciences and the counsels of those on whom the providence of God and the Constitution leave it. Leave it there now and forever, and stop while stop is possible, and the land of Washington will still be ours, an undivided heritage. The honorable gentleman's remarks were so eloquent, and delivered in a strain of such deep pathos, that many hoary statesmen, "whose eyes, Mr. Downs insisted that the Constitution does extend over the new territories; that it is competent to admit them as States; and that California must and will, perhaps within a year, be admitted as a State into the Union. Mr. Bell took occasion to make some remarks on a speech made by Mr. Berrien in answer to his arguments on the subject. Mr. Bell contended that the position he had taken was, that Congress may create a State without admitting it into the Union; that the people of the territory may erect themselves into a State; but that Congress alone can create a State of this Union. Mr. Berrien disavowed any intention of misrepresenting the remarks of the Senator from Tennessee. He objected to Mr. Dayton's amendment, because it does not declare that the Constitution is extended as a panoply for the protection of the rights of the people over the territory. Mr. Underwood argued that the Constitution of itself extended over the territories of the United States, and referred to some point of Mr. Webster's argument of Saturday, which he desired to answer. Mr. Webster explained that the Congress was subservient to the Constitution in their regulations for the territories; that the Constitution applied to the governing power of Congress, not to the territory itself. The discussion was then continued, when Mr. Butler having said that the Northern States have not observed, but have broken the compromise of the Constitution, which called up Mr. Webster, who said: If the honorable Senator from South Carolina is prepared to reduce what seemed to be a general charge to a particular charge, and if he shall undertake to specify or particularize any case in which the Legislature of the State whose representative I am here has forborne to observe, or has broken, or attempted to break or violate the compromises of the Constitution, it will be my duty to meet that question, and defend the State in which I live. I do not intend to go into that, sir, at all at present. Other States can answer for themselves. It is of some importance that we should seek to have clear ideas and correct notions of the question which this amendment of the honorable Senator from Wisconsin presents to us; and especially that we should seek to get some conception of what is meant by a proposition of law to extend the Constitution of the United States to a territory. The debate on this bill was resumed in the Why, the thing is utterly impossible. All the Senate on the 24th of February, and we give legislatures in the world, in this general form, some extracts from it in order to lay before our could not accomplish it. There is no conreaders Mr. Webster's opinion as to the ex-gruity; there is no case for the action of tending of the Constitution of the United States legislative power in such a regard as that. over a new territory. The amendments with The Constitution-why, what is it? As we have said before, the foregoing is but a sketch, a mere skeleton of the speech, and conveys but a faint idea of its merits. When Mr. McDowell resumed his seat, there was a general cry for the committee to rise. We ex tend the Constitution of the United States, by | law, to a territory. Well, what is the first principle of the Constitution? Why, is it not that all within its influence and comprehension shall be represented in the legislature which it establishes; shall have not only a right of debate, but a right of vote; that all shall have representation in both houses of Legislature? Is not that the fundamental principle of the Constitution? Does it not all rest upon that? Can we, by law, extend that to a territory of the United States? Everybody will see that it is altogether impracticable. Well, the amendment goes on in the same way, and says further, that the revenue laws shall, as far as they are suitable, be applied to this case. Now, I should like to know whether that qualification of the honorable member, as he understands it, applies, as far as it is suitable, to the Constitution itself? or whether he understands that qualification as applicable only to the revenue laws of the United States, which he proposes to establish in the territory? Mr. Walker. I would say this, sir, that whatever may have been said in the discussion of that point, it certainly was not my meaning to frame the amendment to extend the Constitution to this territory in those respects in which it is not applicable, but only those in which it may be applicable. Mr. Webster.-Then it comes to this, that the Constitution, as far as practicable, is to be extended to the territory, and how far it is practicable is to be left to the President of the United States; and therefore the President of the United States, after it is a territory, is an absolute despot over that territory. He is the judge of what is suitable and what is unsuitable, and what he thinks suitable he applies, and what he thinks unsuitable he refuses to apply. He is omnes in hoc. It is to say in general terms that the President of the United States shall govern this territory as he sees fit until Congress makes further provision. If that be it, it is leaving the territory exactly under the military rule which now subsists over it. In its general sense there is no such thing as extending the Constitution of the United States over a territory. The Constitution of the United States is established over the United States, and over nothing else. It can be established over nothing else than the existing States, and over new States that shall come in hereafter; when they do come in then, they come under the Constitution. The debate was continued for several hours, in which Mr. Calhoun, with his usual eloquence and ability, argued that the adoption of this proposition, that the Constitution of the United States does not extend to the territories, will have the effect of narrowing the controversy in a very great degree between the North and South on the slave question; but contended, in opposition to Mr. Webster, that the Con stitution of the United States extended over all its territories. We are sorry that our want of space precludes us from giving even a slight sketch of the many interesting debates which occupied the time of the House in regard to this subject, until the very last hour of the session; indeed, so as to jeopardize the passage of the Civil and Diplomatic Appropriation Bill altogether, when, at 5 o'clock on Sunday morning, Mr. Bright moved that the Senate disagree to the California amendment of the House, and recede from their own amendment, thus clearing the bill of the last obstruction. The question was put, and the motion was carried, 38 to 7-sweeping everything out of the bill relating to a temporary government for California and New Mexico; and thus, at a quarter past five, was the bill for the Civil and Diplomatic Appropriations finally passed. The House bill, for extending the revenue laws to California, was then, on motion of Mr. Dix, taken up and passed. The following is the bill, the sole result of all the arguments and discussions which engrossed the attention of Congress during so many weeks. THE BILL RELATING TO CALIFORNIA. An act to extend the revenue laws of the United States over the territory and waters of Upper California, and to create a collection district therein. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, that the revenue laws of the United States be and are hereby extended to and over the main land and waters of all that portion of territory ceded to the United States by the "treaty of peace, friendship, and limits, between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic," concluded on the 2nd day of February, in the year 1848, heretofore designated and known as Upper California. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that all the ports, harbors, bays, rivers, and waters of the main land of the territory of Upper California, shall constitute a collection district, by the name of Upper California; and a port of entry shall be, and is hereby established for said district at San Francisco, on the bay of San Francisco; and a collector of the customs shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to reside at said port of entry. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, that ports of delivery shall be, and are hereby established in the collection district aforesaid, at San Diego, Monterey, and at some convenient point within the territory of the United States, to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury, as near as may be to the junction of the rivers Gila and Colorado, at the head of the Gulf of California. And the collector of said district of California is hereby authorized to appoint, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, three deputy collectors, to be stationed at the ports of delivery aforesaid. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, that the collector of said district shall be allowed a compensation of $1,500 per annum, and the fees and commissions allowed by law; and the said deputy collectors shall each be allowed a compensation of $1000 per annum, and the fees and commissions allowed by law. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, that, until otherwise provided by law, all violations of the revenue laws of the United States, committed within the district of Upper California, shall be prosecuted in the district courts of Louisiana, or the supreme court of Oregon, which courts shall have original jurisdiction, and may take cognizance of all cases arising under the revenue laws in the said district of Upper California, and shall proceed therein in the same manner, and with the like effect as if such cases had arisen within the district or territory where the prosecution shall be brought. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, that this act shall take effect from and after the 10th of March next. INAUGURATION SPEECH. On the 5th of March, at 12 o'clock, General Zachary Taylor, President of the United States, delivered the following Inaugural Address to the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives of the United States, and a vast concourse of citizens assembled in front of the Capitol. INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Elected by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution; and, in compliance with a time-honored custom, to address those who are now assembled. The confidence and respect shown by my countrymen, in calling me to be the Chief Magistrate of a republic holding a high rank among the nations of the earth, have inspired me with feelings of the most profound gratitude; but when I reflect that the acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed, imposes the discharge of the most arduous duties, and involves the weightiest obligations, I am conscious that the position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities. Happily, however, in the performance of my new duties, I shall not be without able co-operation. The legislative and judicial branches of the government present prominent examples of distinguished civil attainments and matured experience; and it shall be my endeavor to call to my assistance in the Executive depart me. ments individuals whose talents, integrity, and purity of character will furnish ample guaranties for the faithful and honorable performance of the trusts to be committed to their charge. With such aids, and an honest purpose to do whatever is right, I hope to execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests of the country, the manifold duties devolved In the discharge upon of these duties, my guide will be the Constitution, which I this day swear to preserve, protect, and defend. For the interpretation of that instrument, I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority, and to the practice of the government under the earlier Presidents, who had so large a share in its formation. To the example of those illustrious patriots I shall always defer with reverence, and especially to his example who was, by so many titles, the Father of his country. To command the Army and Navy of the United States; with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties and to appoint ambassadors and other officers; to give to Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be necessary; and to take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed-these are the most important functions entrusted to the President by the Constitution; and it may be expected that I shall briefly indicate the principles which will control me in their execution. Chosen by the body of the people, under the assurance that my administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular section or merely local interest, I this day renew the declarations I have heretofore made, and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain, to the extent of my ability, the government in its original purity, and to adopt as the basis of my public policy, those great republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence. In reference to the army and navy, lately employed with so much distinction in active service, care shall be taken to insure the highest condition of efficiency; and in furtherance of that object, the military and naval schools sustained by the liberality of Congress, shall receive the special attention of the Executive. As American freemen, we cannot but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings of civil and political liberty; but, at the same time, we are warned by the admonitions of history and the voice of our own beloved Washington, to abstain from entangling alliances with foreign nations. In all disputes between conflicting governments, it is our interest, not less than our duty, to remain strictly neutral, while our geographical position, the genius of our institutions and our people, the advancing spirit of civilization, and, above all, the dictates of religion, direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and friendly relations with all other powers. It is to be hoped that no international question can now arise which a government, confident in its own strength, and resolved to protect its own just rights, may not settle by wise negotiation, and it eminently becomes a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens, and upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honor able diplomacy, before appealing to arms. In the conduct of our foreign relations I shall conform to these views, as I believe them essential to the best interests and the true honor of the country. The appointing power vested in the President imposes delicate and onerous duties. So far as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indispensable prerequisites to the bestowal of office; an absence of either of these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal. It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional measures to Congress as may be necessary and proper to secure encouragement and protection to the great interests of Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures; to improve our rivers and harbors; to provide for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt; to enforce a strict accountability on the part of all officers of the govern ment, and the utmost economy in all public expenditures; but it is for the wisdom of Congress itself, in which all legislative powers are vested by the Constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic policy. I shall look with confidence to the enlightened patriotism of that body, to adopt such measures of conciliation as may harmonize conflicting interests and tend to perpetuate that union which should be the paramount object of our hopes and affections. In any action calculated to promote an object so near to the heart of every one who truly loves his country, I will zealously unite with the co-ordinate branches of the government. In conclusion, I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted our common country. Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which has led us from small beginnings, to the eminence we this day occupy; and let us seek to deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation in our councils-by well-directed attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of opinion-by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles-and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own wide-spread republic. LIST OF THE NEW CABINET. On the 6th of March a message was received from the President, after which the Senate went into Executive Session on the following nominations: JOHN M. CLAYTON, of Del., Secretary of State. WM. M. MEREDITH, of Pa., Secretary of the Treasury. THOMAS EWING, of Ohio, Secretary of the Home Department. WM. BALLARD PRESTON, of Va., Secretary of the Navy. JACOB COLLAMER, of Vt., Postmaster General, GEORGE W. CRAWFORD, of Ga., Secretary of War. REVERDY JOHNSON, of Md., Attorney General. FOREIGN MISCELLANY. THE British Parliament has hitherto been principally_engaged with matters relating to Ireland. From a return to the House of Commons of all persons who have been committed or detained in Ireland since the passage of the act suspending the habeas corpus, by warrant of the Lord Lieutenant or Chief Secretary, it appears that, from the 26th July last, the date of the first warrant, to 18th December, 118 persons had been committed to prison: of these 83 were discharged, principally on bail, and the remainder were still in custody. A formal application was made by Lord Clarenden to the Home Secretary, on the necessity of further continuing the powers of the act. After stating it had been his earnest endeavor to limit its operation as much as possible, and contrasting the present tranquillity with the terror that reigned throughout Ireland at the time the act went into operation, he says, " But on the part of those engaged in the late treasonable movement, no indication of sorrow or repentance for their misdeeds has been observed: their regret is confined to their failure, and their hopes are directed to a more successful issue on the first favorable opportunity; nor is there any reason to believe (and on this point I have collected information from various persons on whose judgment and local knowledge I could rely) that the recent orderly conduct of the people in the districts where disturbances prevailed or were threatened, proceeds from any improved feeling as regards either the law or the Executive Government. * * * That the country has been too long trained to a system of agitation to be at once weaned from such a course, and nothing but a continued enjoyment of that peace which the absence of all political excitement has now created, the improved habits it will generate, and the social advantages it will not fail to produce, can save Ireland from wasting her energies in the strife of rival factions, instead of exerting them by industry for the improvement of the country," and that to secure this repose, and to preserve the country from that agitation which has for many years disturbed its tranquillity, scaring away capital destroying confidence, and rendering impossible the steady application of industry, he was strongly impressed with the necessity for a renewal of the act. Sir George Gray, the Home Secretary, accordingly introduced a bill, on the 6th February, on which Mr. John O'Connell moved, as an amendment, for a committee of inquiry; but the bill was brought in on a division of 221 against 18. Mr. J. O'Connell, who is desirous of resuscitating the defunct Repeal Associa tion, moved, at subsequent stages of the bill, an amendment to preserve the right of meetings to petition for the enactment, repeal, or alteration of acts of Parliament, or for the redress of grievances, or for other constitutional objects; but in this he was equally unsuccessful, and the bill passed the House on the 19th February, on a division of 166 to 11, continuing the provisions of the previous act until the 1st September next. A select committee has also been appointed to inquire into the subject of the Irish Poor Laws, the Government considering it unwise to act upon so difficult and complicated a question without full inquiry. Since 1847, all the relief afforded has been through the medium of the Poor-law, and the same agency is proposed to be continued; but to avert starvation in some parts of Ireland, it is still necessary that some of the unions should receive assistance from the public treasury, and for this purpose the House has voted a grant of £50,000; and the Government, in reply to members who objected to the principle of such grants, refused to give a pledge that this should be the only sum asked for. In the last year the amount raised by the Irish Poor-law was £1,600,000, and in some districts this has borne so hardly upon the landlords that it is impossible for them to pay the present rates; and it has likewise created so great a panic in the minds of tenants, that the money due to the landlords for rent has beed used for purposes of emigration to a very great extent. The trial of Charles Gavan Duffy has resulted in the discharge of the jury, who disagreed. The cases of Smith O'Brien and others are carried to the House of Lords by writ of error, | where they will be disposed of after the Easter recess. The Ministry has also introduced a proposition for altering the British Navigation-laws, giving up the restrictions on foreign vessels by which the monopoly of the colonial trade, the trade of long voyages, and the direct European trade, was attempted to be maintained; also for permitting foreign-built vesels to acquire a British register when owned and manned by British subjects; and to modifying the restrictions on the coasting trade, by allowing British or foreign vessels, when sailing from a British to a foreign port, to carry their cargoes from |