e now a territory extensive enough to sustain two hundred
millions of people--embracing almost every climate, fruitful in almost
every species of production--rich in all the elements of national
wealth, and governed by a Constitution that has raised us to an
elevation of grandeur that the world has never before witnessed. That
we should separate to the destruction of such a Government, on account
of territory we have not got, and territory that we do not want, is
not, I believe, the patriotic sense of the South.

But this proposition does not stand by itself alone. It is connected,
and must be construed, with the provision relating to the acquisition
of future territory. The second section of the committee's proposition
provides that territory shall not be acquired by the United States,
unless by treaty, nor, with unimportant exceptions, unless such treaty
shall be ratified by four-fifths of all the members of the Senate. Is
not that guaranty enough for us? Should we not act unreasonably if we
required further guaranty in this respect? For myself, I should have
preferred that the consent of two-thirds of the Senate only should be
required, and that that two-thirds should comprise a majority both
from the free and slave States.

Mr. RUFFIN:--At the proper time I shall move such an amendment.

Mr. JOHNSON:--If such an amendment is proposed I shall vote for it. I
know there will be objections raised to it, but they will be far
outweighed by the advantages it will give to the South.

But the objection of Mr. BALDWIN is opposed here, and it is one which
must be answered. He says this is the wrong way to propose amendments
to the Constitution--that our action is inconsistent with that
instrument. He does not claim that it is prohibited by the letter, but
by the spirit of the Constitution. Where does he get the spirit but
from the letter? There are two methods of proposing amendments to the
Constitution provided by that instrument. Let us see what they are.

Mr. JOHNSON here read the article of the Constitution providing for
amendments, and continued:

One is where two-thirds of Congress deem it advisable to propose
amendments; the other is where the States themselves propose them. My
learned brother would have us believe that the members of Congress,
acting under their official oaths, must each be satisfied that each
amendment proposed is proper to be incorporated in the instrument,
before they should propose them; and