Excerpt from Speech of the Hon. Stephen R. Mallory, of Florida, on the Cuba Bill: Delivered in the Senate of the United States, February, 1859 No, sir; our rights in this confederacy are not to be held by the permission of a majority of States. They must ever depend, under the Constitution, upon our enlightened patriotism; and, so long as we shall have loyal hearts and strong arms, with the blessing of heaven we will maintain them against all odds, - as those will learn who undertake to invade them. Mr. President, this is no idle discussion. Whether we shall have a vote or not, the results are to be tangible for good or evil. If this bill shall pass both Houses of Congress, nay, if it shall pass but the Senate, I trust it will appear to Spain at least as a shadow which certainly tells of coming events. Nay, sir, whether it shall pass this, body or not, the effect Will be, inevitably, that by concentrating and enlightening public Opinion, it will prove to Spain that there is a destiny which shapes the ends of this country, to which she, no less than ourselves, must submit. Therefore, sir, I want the discussion; I believe the effect on the main question will be of vital consequence, whether the bill shall pass or not. 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.