SSiifflSllfB.'ilStlHBIliiw CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM JK2253 W-G/r"" '"•"'^ A political text-book for 1860 6 olln 3 1924 032 663 175 Cornell University Library The original of tinis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032663175 PQLLTIGIL TEXT-BOOK FOR I8 6 0: OOMPEISING A BEIEF VIEW OF ' / PRESIDENTIAL I^IWATIQWS AW ELECTIONS: INCLUDINa I ALL THE MTIOML PLATFORMS EVER YET ADOPTED: ALSO, A KESTOIIY O^ THE STRUGGLE KESPEOTIlfG ' ' SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES, AND OF THE ACTION ®F OOISrgRESS AS TO THE FREEDOM OF THE PUBLIC LANDS, ■^ WITH THE MOST NOTABLE SPEECHES AND LETTERS OF MESSES. LINCOLN, DOTJGLAS, BELL, CASS, SEWARD, EVEEETT, BRECKINEIDGB, H. T. JOHNSON, ETC., ETC., TOUCHING THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY; AND RETUENS OF ALL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SINCE 1836. COMPILED BY HORACE GREELEY AND JOHN F. CLEVELAND. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE TRIBUNE ASSOCIATION, 1860. t«ncy or proving his insincerity. To verify and correct IT ADVERTISEMENT. the citations of a frQthy declaimer is sometimes th© easiest and most convincing refutation of his speech. If a trace of partisan bias is betrayed in the thread of narrative which par- tially unites the successive reports, bills, votes, etc., presented in this work, the error is unintentional and regretted. Our purpose was to compile a record acceptable and convenient to men -of all parties, and which might be consulted and trusted by all. Whatever is original herein is regarded as of no use or merit, save as a necessary elucidation of the residue. Without apology, there- fore, or further explanation, the Text-Book is commend^ed to the favor of the American public. Kew-Tobk, August Itt, 1860. CONTENTS PAGS Abolition Cont. at Warsaw, N. T., 1839. 12 Abolitionists (Garrisoniaus) foi' Disunion. 173 "Acceptance of Presidential candidates. . . . 210 Adams, Charles Francis, of Massachusetts, President Buffalo Coavention, 1848 ; Nominee of do. for Vice-President 17 Adams, Governor, of South Carolina, re- ' commends in a Message the reopening of the Afri- can Slave-Trade 208 Adams, John, of Massachusetts, chosen President 1T96-7 : Reelection defeated 1800-1 9 Adams, John Qcinot, of Massachusetts, , elected President 1S24 ; defeated candidate for do. 1828 10 Allen, Charles, of Massachusetts, offers Resolve in Whig National Convention, 1848 15 American National Convention, 185G.... 23 American National Cooncil, 1856 23 Anti-Masonic National Conventions of ISSOand 1881 '. 10 Anti-Slavery Ordinance of 1784., 51 Anti-Sl avert Qbdinanoe of 1'787 52 AsuMiTN, George, of Massachusetts, Presi- dent Republican National Convention, 1860 26 .Atchison', David R., of Missouri, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Convention, 1852 20 Banks, Nathaniel P., of Massachusetts, defeated for Vice-President in Rep. Conv., 1856. . . 22 Supported for Vice-President in Republican Na- tional Convention, 1860 23 Bates, Edward, of Missouri, President Whig National Convention, 1856' 25 Candidate for President before Republican Con- vention, 1860 27 Letter to the Missouri delegates to the Republl can Convention 1 93 His letter in support of Lincoln and Hamlin,. 109 Barbour, Philip P., of Virginia, beaten Spr Vice-President 10 Barbour, James, of Virginia, President first National Republican Convention 11 President Whig National Convention, 1839 12 Barnburners of New- York retire from Ds- mocratic National Convention 15 Nominate Van Buren and Dodge for President and Vice-President 17 Bartlett, G. B., of Kentucky, President Amencan National Council, 1856 23 Batakd, James A., of Delaware, defeated for Vice-President in Democratic Convention, 1856 24 Presides over Seceders* Convention at Charles- ton 41 29 76 8)3 194 196 12 14 172 24 22 149 187 211 Bell, John, of Tennessee, nominee of she Union party for President, 1860 His Compromise Proposition " .' His letter accepting the nomination for Presi- dent ', Benjamin, Jddah P., of Louisiana, on Pop- ular Sovereignty His opinion of Douglas ■ ] ] .', Birney, James G , of Michigan, Abolition candidate for President in 1S40 Liberty Party candidate for President in is44.. BoNHAM, Millidge L., of South Carolina, for Dissolution BoYD, Linn, of Kentucky, defeated for Vice-President by Democratic Convention, 1836. . Breokinridge, John C, of Kentucky, nominated^ Vice-President by Democratic Con- vention, 1856 Elected Vice-President 1856 !.'.!.'!'.!!'.! Speech bn aeneral Politics at Frankfort Ky., in 1839 Gives casting vote against Free Homestead bill Accepts nomination for Presidency Bronson, Judge Greene C, on Slavery, letter affirming Slavery to e.xist only by positive law Brown, Aaron V., of Tennessee, de- feated for Vice-President in Democratic Conven- tion 1856 Buchanan, James, of Pennsylvania, beaten for President in Democratic Convention, 1.S41 Beaten for President in Democratic Conven- tion, 1S43 Nominated for President by Democratic Con- vention, 1836 Elected President of Ihe United States, 1856.".'.! Message on Lecompton ^ Special message on do Veto of Homestead bill ■ ....!."! Burr, Aaron, chosen Vice-President, lSOO-1 Butler, WiiiiAM 0., of Kentucky, Dpmo- cratic nominee and defeated candidate for Vice- President, 1848 Defeated for President and Vice-President in Democratic National Corfvention, 1852 20 Calhoun, John C, of South Carolina, elected Vice-President in 1824, and reelected in 1823 10. Cambreleno, C. C, of N. Y. on Slavei-y. . . 204 Cameron, Gen. Simon, of Pennsylvania, candidate for President before Republican Na- tional Convention, 1860 g7 Campbell, Lewis D., of Ohio, offers a re- solve in Whig National Convention, 1848 lis 13, 16 24 ,22 113 IIJ 101 16 CONTENTS. „ ., __ PAGB UARBotL, Gov. Wii.LiA'M, of Tennessee, President of the third Democratic National Con- vention, 184U 12 Cass, Gen. Lkwis, of Michigan, beaten for President in Democratic Convention, 1844 13 Democratic nominee for President, 1848: beaten 'for President, 184S ' 16 Beaten for President in Democratic Conven- tion, 1852 ■ 20 Beaten for President in Democratic T3onven- tion, 1S56 24 Nicholson Lettei- on jPopular Sovereignty 179 Chapman, Gen. John G., of Maryland, President, Whig National Convention, 13.52 18 Chase, Salmon P., of Ohio, candidate for President before Republican National Conven- tion, ISGu 27 Proposes to Allow People of Kansas to prohibit Slavery gl -Clat, Cassids M., of Kentuolfy, supported for Vice-President in Republican National Con- vention, 1860 23 Clay, Henry, of Kentucky, beaten, for President, 1882.. 11 Defeated for President in Whig Convention at Harrisburg, 1839. Defeated for President in 1844 , :. 13 Defeated for President in Whig Convention, 1848 15 Clingmak, Thomas L., of North Carolina, for Dissolution 172 Clinton, Djj Witt, defea.ted for President 9 Clinton, George, choseu Vice-President, 1804 9 Cochrane, John, of New-York, presents Anti-Slavery Resolves to Mass Meetings 207 Constitutional U.nion Convention, I860 29 CEAwroBD, Martin J., for Dissolution 172 Crawford, William H., of Georgia,J)eaten in Democratic CaufHis foi" President m 181C; Democratic Caucus candidate for President, 1824 9 Beaten for President 1824 10 Curry, J. L. M., of Alabama, for Dissolu- tion 472 CosHiNO, Gen. Oaler, of Massachusetts, President of Democratic National Convention, I860 ... ; 29 Retires from the chair at Baltimore 47 Presides over tlie Seceders' Convention at Bal- timore 48 Dallas, George M., of Pennsylvania, nomi- nated for and elected Vice-President, 1844 13 Davis, Garrett, of Kentucky, defeated for President in the American National Convenl^on. . , 23 Davis Jefferson, of Mississippi, supported, I860, for -President in National Democratic Con- vention 41 His resolutions as they passed the Senate 194 Davis, John, of Massachusetts, defeated for Vice-President in Whig National Convention, 1844. 18 Davis, John W., of Indiana, President De- mocratic National Convention, 1852 20 Dayton, William L., of New-Jersey, Re- publican nominee for Vice-President, 1856; de- feated therefor 22 Dejarnette, Daniel C, of Virginia, for Dis- solution 172 Delaware Declariis for Free Territories ■ through Legislative resolves in 1820 62 Al3oinl849 , 201 Democracy of Maine for the Wilmot Pro- viso 201 Democratic National Conventions. — First at Baltimore In 1S32 10 Second .It Baltimore iffi 1885 11 'Ihird Democratic National Convention, 1840 . . 12 nan Fourth Democratic National Conveniion, 1844 . . 18 Fifth Democratic National Convention, 1848 18 Sixth Democratic National OonventloUj 18S2. . . . SO ^eventlr Democratic National Conventipn, lp6 . 94 Eigllth Democratic National Convention, IBoO . . 29 Mr, Avei-y'8 (N. C.) Majority Report, from Com- mittee on Platform; Mr. H. B. Psyne's Mi- nority Report from Committee on Platform; Senator Wm. Bigler's Compromise proposition 80 Mr. Avery's amended Majority Report; Mr. Avery's remarks in favor of game ; Mr. H. B. Payne of Ohio in reply " His extracts from Breckinridge, Orr, and Ste- phens ; Mr, Samuels's (of Iowa) Minority Re- po^. S3 MJlnQrityJlfeport adopted, 165 to 188; Alabama protests and withdraws 88 Mississippi withdraws *. 84 South Carolina, Florida, and Texas withdraws. . . 86 Arkansas retires 87 GeorEfia retires 88 Louis'iana withdraws; Speech of Wm.B. Gaulden of Geor^a in favor of the Slave-Trade 89 Fruitless ballots (57) for President ; Adjournment to Baltimore ; The Seceders at Charleston ; Se- nator Bayard, of Delaware, Chairman; They adopt the Avery Platform 41 They adjourn to Richmond ; They meet at Rich- mond June 11; They finally adopt Breckin- ridge and Lane ; The adjourned Convention at timore ; Gen. Cushing's opening Speech 42 Mr. Howard, of Tennessee, moves admission of origmal Delegates ; Mr. Eavanagh, of Minne- sota, moves to lay on table ; Previous question defeated 48 Proposition of Mr. S. ?. Church, of New-York; Report of Committee on Credentials 44 Minority Report of do. ; Admission of Douglas Delegates from Louisiana and Alabama 4£ Virginia, Nbrth Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland and California withdraw 46 Delaware, and part of Kentucky, and Missouri withdraw; Gen. Cushing resigns the Chair; Gen. Butler, of Massachusetts, offerl a pro- test 47 Democratic Platform (Davis's Resolu- tions), adopted by the United States Senate, affirm- x ing the duty of Congress to establish' a Slave Code in the Territories 194 Dickinson, Daniel S., of New-York, sup- ported for President in Democratic National Con- vention, 1860 , 41 Dix, Gen. John A., advocates Freedom for the Territories in the United States 207 Disunion Avowed by Southern Statesmen, in the event of the election of a Republican Presi- dent 17(1 Dobbin, James C, of North Ca,rolina, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic National Conven- tion, 1856 24 DonGE, Gen. Henry, of Wisconsin, nomi- nated for Vicff-President by New-York Radicals in 1848, but declined. . .' IJ DoNELSON, Andrew J., of Tennessee, nomi- nated for Vice-President by American Convention. 23 Indorsed by Whig National Convention, 1856 ... 'i5 DoroLAS, Stephen A., of Illinois, beaten for President in Democratic Convention, 1852, . . 20 Beaten for President in Democratic Conven- tion, 1856.' 14 Nominated nt Baltimore in 1860 43 Proposes to extend the Missouri Compromise to the Pacific 74 Mr. Douplas' reply to Lincoln at Preeport lao Mr, Douglas' 'Mlarper" Essay on Popular So- vereigntyin the Territories 132 ■ Speech at Springfield, 111,, Jun« 12, 1857 164 Speech on the John Brown raid, July 16, 1860, proposing a S-dition Law 153 He tells what .Popular Sovereignty has done for Slavery 159 A ccepts Nomination for Presidency 213 Extract from Speech in favor of Missouri Oom'- promisii .... 216 CONTENTS. vll FAOS Downs, Solomon V., of Louisiana, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic ConventioD, 1862 20 Etkrett, EnwAED, of Massaohtisetts, Union candi(iate for Vice-l'resident in 1860 29. His views on Slavery — His *' Enapsaclc " Speecll in Congress — Replies of Messrs. l\litchell,'Ran« dolph and Cambreleng— Mr. Everett on Geo- graphical Piirties — Later Views on Slavery, in Letters of 1687 and '89 204 Hia Acceptance of tiie Nomination for Vice- President of|Uie United plates 214 His views on the Sumner Outrage 215 Ellmakek, Amos, of Pennsylvania, Anti- Masonic' candidate for Vice-President, 188^ 10 Election Returns in Detail, of all tlie Poesidential Elections since 1836 216 Aggregate vote by States, for President, from 1824tol856 .• 289 Alabama vote for President 228 > " " Governor, Congress, etc. 1859 248 Arkansas vote for Pi'esident 284 " , , " Oongress,1858 248 California vote for President ', 237 " " Governor, 1869 248 Connecticut vote for President 228 " " , Governor, 1S60 240 Delaware vote for President 224 " " Governor, 1858 240 Florida vote for President 233 " " C.ingress, 1858 ,.. 248 Georgia vote for President .' 225 " " Congress, 1859 243 Illinois vote for President 220 ' " " Congress, 1858: 246 " " Legislature, 1858...; 247 Indiana vote for President 222 " •' Congress, 1858 246 Iowa vote for President. j . . ■. 287 ". ■ " Governor, 1869 247 Kentucky vote for President 283 " " Congress, 1859 .• '244 Louisiana vote for President. 282 Congress, 1859 248 Maine vote for Presirieqt 216 • " " Governor, 1859 240 Maryland vote Ibr President 224 " " Congress, 1858 241 Massachusetts vote for President , 217 » " " • Governor, 1859 240 Michigan vote for President 221 " " Ciiief Justice, 1869 246 Minnesota vote for Governoi',1859 248 Missouri vote for President 285 " " Congress, 1S5S..- 24S Mississippi vote for President. . . ., 229 '' » Governor, Congress, etc., 1869 248 New-Hampshire vote for President 216 " " Governor, 1859 240 ' New-Jersey vote for President 217 " "• Governor, 1859 241 New-York vote for President 219 ** " Sec. State, Controller, etc., 1859 240 I North Carolina vote for President 230 " " Congress, 1859 242 Ohio vote for Sresident. 218 " " Governor, 1859 246 Oregon vote for Congress, 1859 247 Pennsylvania vote for President....' 223 " " Congress, 1868 , 241 Rhode Island vote for President 216 " " Governor, 1860 240 South Carolina chooses Electors and Governor by Legislature 248 Tennessee vote for President 281 •I " Congress, 1859 244 ■■ Texas vote for President 288 " " Congress, 1859 243 Vermoitt vote for President 217 . 11 11 Governor, 1859 240 VirBinla vote for President ■ 226 i« " Governor, 1869 , 241' Wisconsin vote for President 2S7 11 'I Governor, 1869 247 FILLMORE, Millard, of New-York, defeated ftl Vice-President in Whig Convention, 1844 13 p^on Whig nominee for Vice-President, j3*s. ... 15 Elected Vice-Pi^esident, 1848 16 Defeated for President in Whig Nationa. ..jon- vention, 1862, 18 American nominee for Pi'esident in 1S56 28 Indorsed by Whig National Convention In 1856. 25 His views on Slavery— Buffalo Letter of 1883, and Albany Speech of 1856 202 Hia Letter to New-York Union Meeting,' 1360.. 208 FiTZPATRiCK, Ben JAHIN, of Alabama, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Convention of 18Se 24 Nominated by Democratic Convention, 1860. . . 48 Declines the Nomination .- 218 Plournot, Francis B , of Arkansas, tem- porary Chairman of Democratic National Con- vention, 1860 > 29 Floyd, John, of Yirginia, supported by South Carolina for President, 1832. 11 Free Homesteads — Action of Congress on granting free Homesteads to actual settlers 182 ^ Mr. Grow'a Ten-Year proposition defeated in the House 184 Mr. Grow introduces another bill which is passed in the House 185 The Senate refused to act upon it 187 Mr. Grow introduces another in 1860, which passes the House.... 188 Rejected by the Senate 189 A compromise bill agreed upon 190 Vetoed by the President 191 Veto sustained by the Senate 193 Frelinghhysen, Theodore, of New-Jersey, Nominated and defeated for Vice-President in 1844 13 Fremont, Col. John C, of California, Ee- publican noniinee for President, 1856 22 Defeatedfor President, 1856 28 ~ Declines a re-nomination, 1S60 23 Gartrell, Lucius J., of Georgia, for dis- solution 1T8 Georgia JjEGislature censures Senator Berrien for voting to confirm Mr, Everett as Min- ^ isterto England 215 Graham, William A.,, of North Carolina, Whig nominee for Vice-President, 1852 IS Defeated for Vice-President, 1862 22 Granger, Francis, of Now York, Presi- dent Anti-Masonic National Convention 10 Beaten for Vice-President, 1836 12 Guthrie, James, of' Kentucky, supported for President in National Democratic Conven-, tion 41 Hale, John P., of New-Hampshire, Free , Democratic nominee for President, 1652 21 Hamlin, Hannibal, of Maine, nominated for Vice-President by Republican National Con- vention, 1860 23 Renouflices the Democratic party in the U. S. Senate .^ ■. 209 Accepts nomination for Vice-President 211 Harrison, Gen. William H., of Ohio, noirf- inated and defeated for President in 1836 12 Nomijiated for President at Han-isbiu'g, Decem- ber, 1889 ; elected President in 1840 12 Hickman, John, of Pennsylvania, support- ed for Vice-President in Republican Convention, 1860 23 Houston, Gen. Sam, of Texas, supported for President in Union Convention, 1860 29 HuNTEK, Robert M. T., of Virginia, sup- ported for President by Democratic National Coti- vention, 1860 .> 41 Illinois Declares for Free Territories through Legislative Resolves 208 Jackson, Gen. Andre-w, of Tennessee, beaten for President in 1824 and elected in 1828. . . 10 Reelected President in 1882 11 CONTENTS. PAGE Johnson, Andrew, of Tennessee, supported for Presklent in Natioaal Democratic Conventbn ; Al Johnson, Hkrschkf. V., of Georgia, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Natiocal Conven- tion in 1856 : .' Si Nominated for Vice-President hy Democratic National Committee, 1860 48 Speech on Slavery in the Territories in 1848 ••• 168 Holds that capital should own the laborer, in a speech at Philadelphia in 1856. His Report afBrmingthe absolute right of holding slaves In the Territories 169 OHNSON, Richard M., of Kentucky, beaten in Convention for Vice-President, 1S82 10 Nominated and elected Vice-President in 1836 . . 12 -Beaten for Vice-President In 1840 12 Beaten for President in Democratic Convention, 1844 18 Johnson, William Cost, of Maryland, Pre- sident of Yoking Men's National Convention 11 Julian, George W., of Indiana, Free De- mocratic candidate for Vice-President, 1852 21 Kansas OnxRASES, Report of Howard and Sherman thereon 92 Killinger, John W., of Pennsylvania, offei's an Anti-Plavery resolve hi the American Convention, 1856 : 2S King, Leicester, of Ohio, President of Lib- erty Party National Convention, 1848 13 King, William R., of Alabama, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Convention of 1848 ; . . . . 16 Democratic nominee for Vice-President in 1852. 20 Elected Vice-President ui 1862 j 22 Lane,. Gol. Hknry S., of Indiana, Presi- dent of the Republican National Convention, 1856. 22 Iane, Gen. Joseph, of Oregon, beaten for President in Democratic Nati6zlal Convention, 1BB2 20 Nominated for Vice-President by Seceders at Baltimore in 1860^ .«. 48 Accepts nomination'; 212 AW, George, of New-Yorlc, defeated for -President in American National Convention, 1S56. 23 Lawrence, Abbott, of Massachusetts, de- feated for Vice-President in Whig Convention, 1S48. 16 Leake, '.Shklion P., of Virginia, for Disso- lution '. . . 1T2 Lee, Henry, of Massachusetts, supported by South Carolina for Vice-President, 1832 11 [iKMOTNE, Francis J., of Pennsylvania, Abolition candidate for Vice-President, 1S40 12 Letcher, John (Governor of Virginia), for Dissolution 172 Liberty Party National Contention held at Buffalo in 1S48 IS Lincoln, Ab-raham, of Illinois, defeated for Vice-President in Itepublican Convention, 1856, . . 23 Nominated for President by Kepublican Conven- tion, 1860 28 Speech at Springfield, 111., June IT, 1S5S 12T Discussion with Mr, Douglas at Freeport, III 129 Speech at Cooper Institute, New- York, 1860 . . . 144 Letter to Boston Committee on ithe Jefferson Bil'thday Festival ; Letter to Dr. Canisius on Naturalization 206 Accepts nomination for Presidency 210 IiDOAS, Gen. Egbert, President first Demo- ' cratic National Convention 10 Madison, Ja.mf.s, of Virginia, elected Presi- dent I8li8, and reelectjed in ltl2 9 Maine Democracy fob the WilmotTro- viso 201 Mangum, Willie P., of North Carolina, sup- ported by South-Carolina tor President in 1SS8 . . . 12 Maeoy, William L., of Now York, beaten for President in Dem. National Convention, 1S52. 20 Marsh, Efhraim, of New-Jersey, President ! American National Convention .\ 2S Mason, John T., of Virginia, beaten for Vice-President in Dem. Nat. Con. , 1848 16 Massach.dsetts Declares for Freedom through Legislative Kesolves; Whigs of Massa- chusetts for freedom 202 McLean, Judge John, of Ohio, defeated for • President in Republican Convention, 1856 ,. 22 Also, in itepublican Nat. Convention of 1860... 27 McKay, James J., of North Carolina, beat- en for Vice-President in Dem. Convention 1S48. . . I* McRea, John J., of Mississippi, for Dissolu- tion ■;. ', MissooRi Comphomise, Adopted , The Compromise Repealed, Mitchell, James C, of Tennessee, against Slavery " Monroe Doctrine." — Extract from the Message .of James flionj'oe on the influence of European Powers on this Continent Monkoe, James, of Virginia, elected Presi- dent in 1816 and reelected in 18£0 MooRE, SoYDENHAM, of Alabama, for Disso- lution ., Morgan, William, reyealer of Masonic Se- 'crets J Morehead, John M., of North Carolina, President Whig National Convention, 1S4S Morris, Thomas, of Ohio, Liberty Party nominee for President in 1844 .* National Kepublican (Clay) Conven- tiozis, at Baltimore, 1831 ; at "Washington, 1882. . . New-Hampshire Declares for the Wilmot Proviso through Legislative Resolves New-Jersey Legislature for Free Ter- ri^ory New-York for Freedom, — Resolutions of the Legislature against Slavery in the Territo- ries in 1820 , Ditto in 1S47-S-9 Gen. John A. Dix presents resdiutions to United States Senate The "SVhigs in State Convention declare for i'ree- dom. Address reported by Ja^es Brooks...' Free .Demociacy of New Yoi-k for Freedom. Re,^olu.tions pi esented by John Cochrane Ordinance of 1.'784 (Jefferson's) against Slavery ill Territories Ordinance of 1787 (Dane's) prohibiting Slavery in Noi"thwcst Ten-itoiy - O'CoNOR, Charles, New-York, defends Slavery as intrinsically just in a speech at Union Meeting, NewrYork, 18g9 His letter to Committee of Merchants Ohio Declares for Freedom thi-o^gh Legis- lative Resolves 172 64 8T 2111 9 173 10 15 14 11 208 61 60 2(j6 207 207 2D7 CI S2 164 16T Pennsylvanla., Legislature fcJr Free Territory .< '. PifiECE, Franklin, of New-Hampshire, nominated for President in Democratic Conven- tion, 1862. Elected President Defeated for President in National Con., 1S56 .. Receives one vote for President in National Convention, 1860 Pillow, Gen. Gideon J., of Tennessee, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Conven- Uon, 18.=i2 ; PiNCKNEY, Charles C, pf South CaroHna, beaten for Vice-President,]8:0; also for President in 1804 and 18U8. , Political National Platforms, — None adopted byfii-st Democratic Convention; Na*ion- al Republican Plaifoim , 22 24 CONTENTS. Ix ' PAQR No Platform' adopted by second Democratic Coaveption ; no Platfoi'tn adopted by Whig i Convention at Hat-iisburg, 1889} First Demo- cratic National PIdtform, 1S40 12 Whig National Platform, 1344 j 13 Democratic National Platform, 1344 . . a 13 Liberty Party Platform, \HU .' , 14 No Platform adoptud .openly by Whig Con- vention, 1848 15 Democratic National Platform, "1848 16 Buffalo Free Soil PUtform, 1348. 17 Whig National Platform, 1852 18 \ Democratic National Platform, 1S52.. 20 \ Free Democratic Platfoim, 1852 21 \ Republican National Platform, 1856 23 \ American National Platform, 1856 23 ^Democratic National Platform, 1856 ^4 Wbig National Platform^ 1856 05 Republican Nutiooal Platform, 1860 26 / Cpnstftutiorial Union Party Platfoi'ra, 1800 29 "Itemocratic (Douglas) Platform of 1860 8:i AMition thereto by Baltimore Convention. ... 4S Seceders' Platform adopted at Charleston 41 Tlii same readopted by the L-eceders' CBreckin- r\dge) Convention at Baltimore 48 Polk, JamIis K., of Tennessee, nommated for and elected President, 1S44 13 Popular Soverktgnty ix the Territoriks,' invented by Gen. Lewis Cass, in his Nicholson Letter 179 Prohibition of Slavery in the Teriiito- I'ies : Letter of Martin Van Buren thereon. . .,..., 181 FuGH, .James L., of Alabama, foi^ Dissolu- tion , 1T2 uiTMAN, Gen. John A., of _ Mississippi^ beaten for Vice-President in Democratic Conven- tion, 1848 16 Beaten for VicS"- President in Democratic Con- vention, 1S56 24 ANDOLPH, John, of Virginia, on Everett, 204 Eaynor Kennkth, of North Carolina, \de- feated for President in American Convention, 1856 28 Republican National Contention, 1856 22 REPnBLicAN National Convention, 1860 26 Revolution Proposed by William L. Yan- cey 1T3 Rives, Wm. C, of Virginia, defeated for Vice-President in Democratic National Conren- tioQ 12 RasH, Richard, beaten for Vice-President - in 1828 10 Rusk, Gen. Thomas J., of Texas, beaten for Vice-President in Democratic National Con- vention, 1852 26 '^ScaTT, Gen. Winfield, of New-York, de- feated for Piesident at Harrisburg, 1889 12 Defeated for President in Whig Convention, 184S 15 Nominated for President, ^852 ' 18 Letter accepting nomlnaiion for President, 1853 19 Defeated for President, 1853 23 Seceders' OoNVENrioN at Charleston, and Platform 41 Seceders' Convention at Baltimore nomi- nates John C. Bi'cckinridge for Pi-esident, and Gen. Joseph Lane lor Vice-President 48 Seward, Wat. H., of New- York, caadidate for President before National Kepublioan Conven- tiop, 18(30 2T Hia "-Irrepressible Conflict " Speech at Roches- ter. 160 Sergeant, John, of Pennsylvania, beaten for Vice-President in 1832 , 11 Defeiited for Vice-President in Whig National Convention, 1844 18 ^KGLEfoN, Otho R., of Mississippi, for Dis- •, solution ..•• 1T2 Slavery Extension op Rrstriotion, His- tory of.the struggle for „ 49 Origin and Progress of Slavery in America.... 49 British Dtfcislous aflfecting Slavery in the Colo- nies 50 Slavery under the Confederation -. ... 51 Jeffarson's Ordinance of i7S4, providing for the Government of the Tjjrritories and the exclu- sion of Slavery thereri'om M Yeas and Nwys tliereon in Continental Congress 63 Ordinance of 1787, prohibiting Slavery in. the North-west Terrltoiy ^. 52 The Federal Constitution on Sliivery. 6i) Constitutional Amendments affecting i^lavery; Cessions of Tfairitory by Slave Stacea ; E,irly attempts to override the Ordinance of '87 ... 58 Reports of jjohn Randolph of Ya., and Franltlin of N. C, in opposition thereto ; The first Mis- souri S-ruggle ' 54 Slavery Restriciion proposed by Qien. James Tallmadge of N. Y. ; Pr-iRpsition sustained by the House ; Remarks Uiereou by Mr. T. Fuller of Mass CB Remarks of Gren. Tallmadge of N. Y 56 Reply of Mr. Scott of Mo 67 Restriction negatived in the Senate 58 House refuses to concur; Second Missouri Stiuggle ; Mr. John W. Tuylor of N. Y. moves a, Committee; Memorial ol' Daniel Webster in favor of Siavejy Restriction 59 Resolves of Legislature of N. Y,, in favor of Slavery Restriciion 60i Resolves of N. J. and Pa 61 Resolves -of Delaware; Coumer Resolves of -Kentucky Legislature ; Ooaipromlse proposed by the Senate 62 Adopted in the Senate, and Bill pasoed ; House reTuses to concur ' 63 Senate asks a Conferexice f. ... ... 64 Compromise finally carried in ihe House by 90 Yeas (14 only from Free States) to 87 Nays (all from Free States) 64. The third Missouri -Struggle ; Enlargement of Missouri in 1836 ; Annexation of Texas 65j Address of John Q. Adams and other Whig members against such Annexation 66' Mr. CallToun's dispatch to Mr. King; Mr. John P. Hale propose? a division of Texas 69« Annexation project of Milton Drown of Tenn. ; Adopted, Yeas JllS, Nays. 101; Proposition of Mr. Foster of Tenn 70 Anh^ation carried in Senate, 2ti to 25; The Wilmot Proviso 71 The Olaytpn Compromise ; Mr. J. M. Root'a Re- solve for Slaveiy Restriction.; Piopositron of Isaac P. Walker of Wisconsin 72 ProiA>sit!on of Mr. Richard W. Thompson,, of Indrj Slavery excluded from Oregon Terri- tory 73 Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, proposes to extend the Missouri line of restriction to the Pacific 74^ Senate agrees, but House refuses ; The Oompro- mise of 1S5U; Gen. Taylor's recommenda- tions ; Gten. Sam If ouston's propositioa ; Hen- ry Clay's plan of Compromise ; John Bell's proposition 76' Objections to Mr. Clay's scheme by Foote of Miss, and Mason, of Va 73 Ditto by Jefferson Davis of Miss^ Mr. Clay , in reply ; Messrs. Downs of La., King of Ala., and Butler of S. C, in furtliev opposition to Mr. Clay 77 Mr. Foote of fijiss; moves a Committee of Thir- teen ; Jtfr* Clay reports fi-om saad Committee ; Mr. Jefferson Davis's Amendment 78^ Mr. Chase of Ohio moves a prohibition of Sla- very ; The Omnibus defeated as a whole, but passed in separate bills ; The Kansas-Nebraska Struggle Ti^ Mr, Atchison's remarks ttierpon; President Pierce protests against tlie renewal of agita- tion; Mr. Douglas's first Nebraska , Report.. . &(^ He amends his bill ; Mr. Chase pEoposea to au- thorize the people of Kansas to prohibit Sla- very therein; Opposed by Messrs. Bell, Doug las, etc., and defeated > 81 Mr. Clayton's '• Ameiican'^ amendment ; Mr. Chase moves that the people of the Ttirritory be authorized to elect; tlieir own Governor ; Defeated by 30 to 10; Mr., Seward's speech against the bill • 92* The. Kansos-lVebr^ska blU passes the St^nute bft f CONTENTS. PAGE The Kansas-Nebraska bill passes the Housq 85 Yeas 118, Nays, 10!t, thereon 86 The clause of said bill repealing the^Missouri Compromise ; President Pierce on Kansas Af- fairs in '55-'6 ; Mr. Douglas's Report on do., • March 12, '06 8T Minority Report of Mr, Oollamer of Vei-mont.. . 89 ' House ordei-s an investigation of Kansas frauds ; Report of Messrs. Howard and Sherman tliere- on 92 House votes to admit Kansas as a Free State. . . 107 Mr. Douglas reports a bill to pacify Kansas Iu7 Mr. TrumbulPs amendments thereto ; Do. Messrs. Foster's, Wilson's and Seward's "J Passage of Douglas's bill 108 Mr. Geo. G. Dunn's bill to reorganize Kansas.. 109 President Pierce's last Message on Kansas 110 Remarks of Messrs. Hale, Seward, MasoA, "Wil- son and Pugh thereon 112 President Bucliauan on the Lecoi^pton Constitu- tion 113 Mr. Douglas's speech against Lecompton 114 Action on Lecompton in Kansas 116 Mr. Huchanan's special Lecompton Message 117 Provisions of Lecompton Constitution respecting ^ Slavery 120 The Lecompton bill ; Passed in the Senate, but defeated in the House ; The Crittenden-Mont- gomery substitute 121 Yeas and'Nays on adopting substitute "... ' 122 Senate refuses to concur ; Mr. English moves a Conference Conunittee ; Carried by th^ Speak- er's casting vote ; The English Compromise bUl 123 Carried through both Houses ; The Wyandot Convention and Constitution 126 Mr. Grow proposes, and the House votes to ad- mit KansaS'Under the Wyandot Constitution; Senate refuses to act on the bill.. 126 Slave-Trade Ad7pcated in Democratic National Convention by Mr. Gaulden, of Geor^a. 89 Also by Governor Adams, of S. C, m Message to Legislature 208 Spkncer, Ambrose, of New-York, Presi- ikions on Slavery in the territories, Wilmot Proviso, &c, 361 The Bred Scott Decision 258 Slavery in New Mexico, with ibe action of Congress thereon. 254 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. NATIONAL OAUOUSES, CONVENTIONS, AND PLATPORMS. National Conyentions for the nomination of candidates are of comparatively recent origin. In the earlier political history of the United States, under the Federal Constitution, candi- dates for President and Vice-Preadent were nominated by congressional and legislative caucuses. Washington was elected as first President under the Constitution, arid reelected for a second term by a unanimous,' or nearly unanimous, concurrence of the A-merioan people; but an opposition party gradually grew up in Congress, which became formidable during his second terra, and which ultimately crystalized into what was then called the Republican party. John 'Adams, of Massachusetts, was prominent among the leading Federalists, while Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, was preemi- nently the author and oracle of the Republican party, and, by common consent, they were the opposing candidates for the Presidency, on Washington's retirement in 1796-7. Mr. Adams was then chosen President, while Mr. Jefferson, -having tile largest electoral vote next to Mr. A., became Vice-President. The first Congressional Caucus to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President, is said to have been held in Philadelphia in the year 1800, and to have nominated Mr. Jeffer- son for the first office, and Aaron Burr for the second. These candidates were elected after a desperate struggle, beating John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney, of South Carolina. In 1804, Mr. Jefferson was reelected President, with George Clinton, of New-York, for Vice, encountering but slight opposition: Messrs. Charles C. Pinckney and Rufus King, the op- posing candidates, receiving only 14 out of 176 Electoral Votes. We have been unable to find any record as to the manner of their nomina- tion. In January, 180S, when Mr. Jefferson's second term was about to close, a Republican Congressionar Caucus was held at Washington, to decide as to the relative claims of Madison and Monroe for the succession, the Legisla- ture of Virginia, which had been said to exert a potent influence over such questions, being, on this occasion, unable to agree as to which pf her favored sons should have the preference. Ninety-four of the 136 Republican, members pf Congress attended this caucus, and declared their preference of Mr. Madison, who received 83 votes, the remaining 11 being divided be- tween Mr. Monroe and George Clinton. The Opposition supported Mr. Pinckney ; but Mr. Madison was elected by a large majority. Toward the close of ,Mr. Madi.son's earlier term, he was nominated for reelection by a Congressional Caucus held at Washington, in May, 1812. In September of the same year, a convention of the Opposition, representing eleven States, was held in the eity of New- York, which nominated De Witt Clinton, of New-York, for President. He was also put in nomination by the Republican Legislature of New-York. The ensuing canvass resulted in the reelection of Mr. Madison, who received 128 electoral votes to 89 for De Witt Clinton. In 1816, the Republican Congressional Caucus nominated James Monroe, who received, in the caucus, ^5 votes to 54 for Wm. H. Crawford, of Georgia. The Opposition, or Federalists, named Rufus King, of New-York, who received only 84 electoral votes out of 217. There wag no opposition to the reelection of Mr. Monroe in 1820, a single (Republican) vote being cast against him, and for John Quincy Adams. In 1824, the Republican party could not be induced to abide by the decision of a Congres- sional Caucus. A large majority of the Repub- lican members formally refused to participate in such a gathering, or be governed by its deci- sion ; still, a Caucus was called and attended by the friends of Mr. Crawford alone. Of the 261 members of Congress at this time, 216 were Democrats or Republicans, yet only 66 res- ponded to their names at roll-call, 64 of whom voted for Mr. Crawford as the Republican nomi- nee for President. This nomination was very extensively repudiated throughout the country, aad three competing Republican candidates 10 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. were brought into the field through legislative I STew-Tork, presided over the delil erationa of the and other machinery— viz., Andrew Jackson, | Convention, and the nominees received each Henry Clay, and John Quincy Adams. The rC' . suit of this famous " scrub race" for the Presi- 1 dency was, that no one was elected by the people, Gen. Jackson receiving 99 electoral Totes, Mr. Adams S4, Mr. Crawford 41, and Mr. Clay 37. The election then devolved on the House of Eepresentatives, where Mr. Adams ■was chosen, receiving the votes of 13 States, against 1 for Gen. Jackson, and 4 for Mr. Craw- ford. This was the end of "King Caucus." Gen. Jacksdn was 'injraediately thereafter put in nomination for the ensuing term by the Le- gislature of Tennessee, having only Mr. Adams for an opponent in 1828, when he was elected by a decided majority, receiving 178 Electoral Votes to 83 for Mr. Adams. Mr. John C. Cal- houn, vi'ho had at first aspired to the Presidency, in 1824, withdrew at an early stage from the canvass, and was thereupon chosen Vice-Presi- dent by a very lirge electoral majority — Mr. Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, (the caucus candidate on the Crawford ticket,) being his only serious competitor. In 1828, Mr. Calhoun was the candidate for Vice-President on the Jackson ticket, and of course reelected. It was currently stated that the concentration of the Crawford and Calhoun "strength on this ticket was mainly effected by Messrs. Martin Van Buren and Churchill C.Cambreleng, of New- York, during a southern tour made by them in 1827. In 1828, Kiohard Kush, of Pennsylvania, was the candidate for Vice-President on the Adams ticket. / U. S. ANTI-MASONIC CONVENTION— 1830. The first political National Convention in this country of which we have any record was held -at Philadelphia in September; 1830, styled the United States Anti-Masonic Convention. It.was composed of 96 delegates, representing the States of New-York, Massachusetts, Connecti- cut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, iNew-Jeraey, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland and the Territory of Michigan. Francis Granger of iNew-York presided ; but no business was trans- acted beyond the adoption of the following resolution : Sesohje^f That it ia recommended to the people of the 'United States, opposed to secret societies, to meet in convention on Monday the 26tl] day of September, 18S1, &t the c.ty of Baltimore, by delegates equal in number to their representatives in both nouses of Congi-ess, to 'make nominations of suitable candidates for the otflce of President and Vice-President, to be supported at the jDC.xt election, and for the transaction of such other business as the cause of Anti-Masonry may requh-e. In compliance with the foi'egoing call, a Na- tional Auti- Masonic Convention was heldat Balti- more, in September, 1831, which nominated William Wirt, of Maryland, for President, and Amos EUmaker, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-Pre- sident. The convention was attended by 112 de- legates from- the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Con- necticut, New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware and Maryland — only Massachusetts, New-York and Pennsylvania being fully represented. John C. Spencer, of 108 votes. The candidates accepted the nomi- nation and received the electoral vote of Ver mont only. The Convention did not enunciate any distinct platform of principles, but ap- pointed a committee to issue an Address to the people. In due time, the address was published. It is quite as prolix and verbose as modern po- litical addresses ; and, after stating at great length the necessary qualifications for the Chief of a great and free people, and present- ing a searching criticism on the institution of free-masonry in its moral and political bearings, somewhat intensified from the excitement caused by the (then recent) alleged murder of William Morgan, for having revealed the secrets of the Masonic Order, the Address comes to the conclusion that, since the institution had be- come a political engine, political agencies must be used to avert its baneful effects — in other words, " that an enlightened exercise of the right of sulfrage is the constitutional and equitable mode adopted by the Anti-Masons is necessary to remove the evil they sufter, and produce the r^orms they seek." DEMOCRATIC OR JACKSON NATIONAL CONVENTION— 1832. There was no open opposition in the Demo- cratic party to the nomination of Gen. Jackson for a second terra ; but the party were not so well satisfied with Mr. Calhoun, "the Viee'-Prasi- dent ; so a Convention was called to meet at Baltimore in May, 1832, to nominate a candi- date for the second office. Delegates appeared and toolc their seats from the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu- setts, Connecticut, lihode Island, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, DelawarF, Mary- laud, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ten- nessee, Kentuclyy, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Gen. Robert Lucas, of Ohio, presided, and Me regular proceedings were commenced by the passage of the following resolution : Hesolved, That each State be entitled, in the nomina- tion to be made for the Vice-Presidency, to a number of votes equal to tlie number to which they will be entitled in the electoral colleges, under the new apportionment, in voting for President and Vice-President; and that tyrq-thirds of the whole nwnber of the votes in the Con- vention shall be necessary to constitute a choice. This seems to have been the origin of the famous ."two-thirds" rule which has prevailed of late in Democratic National Conventions. The Convention proceeded to ballot for a can- didate for Vice-President, with the following result : For Martin Van Buren : Oonneoticnt, 8 ; Tllinoh, 2 j Ohio, 21 ; Tennessee, 15 ; Ncrth Carolina, 9 ; Georgia, 11 j Louisiana, 5; Pennsylvania, 80 ; Maryland, 7; New- Jersey, 8 ; iNlississippi, 4 ; JKhode Island, 4 ; Maine, 10 ; Massaclmsetts, 14; Delaware, S; New-Hampshire, 7; New-Yovli, 42 ; Vermont, 7 ; Alabama, l^Iotai, 208. For Kichard M. Johnson: Illinois, 3; Indiana, 9; Kentuolty, 15— Total, 26. For Philip P. Barbour : North Carolina, 6 ; Virginia, 23 ; Maryland, 3 ; South Carolina, 11 ; Alabama, 6—. Total, 49. Mr. Van Buren, having received more than two-thirds of all the votes cast, was declarsd NATIONAL. CONVENTIONS , AND PLAT^FOKMS. U duly noTnin3.ted as the candidate of the party for Vice-President. The Convention passed a resolution cordially concurring in the repeated nominations which Gen. Jackson had received in various parts of the country for reelection as President. Mr. Archer, of Virginia, from the committee appointed to prepare an address to the people, reported that ■ ■ Tbe committee, having interchanged opinions on the Bubject submitted to them, and agreeing fully in the principles and sentiments which they believe ought 1 o be' eidljodied in an address of this description, if suph an address were to be made,, never-tjieless deem it I^dvisa- "hle under existing ciic«mstances, to recommend the adoption of the following resolution : Resolved, That it be recommended to the several de- legations in this Convention, in place of a General Ad- dress from this body to the people of the United States, to make such explanations by address, report, or other- wise, to their respective constituents, of the-otaject, pro- ceedings and result of the meeting, as they may deem expedient. ,, The result of thjs> election was the choice of General Jackson, who received the electoral vote of the fbllowing Sliates : Blaine IOl; New-Hampshire, 7 ; New-Yorlr, 43 ; New- J%i"Sey, 8 ; Pennsylvania, SO ; Maryland, 8 ; Virginia, 28; North Carolina, 15; Georgia, 11; Tennessee, 16; Ohio, 21 ; Louisiana, 5 ; Mississippi, 4 ; Indiana, 9 ; Illinois, 5 ; Alabama, 7 ; Missouri, 4— Total, 219. For Mr. Clay: Massachusetts, 14; Rhode Island, 4'; Connecticut, 8 ; Delaware, 3 ; Maryland, 5 ;' Kentucky, 15— Total, 49. For John Floyd, of Virginia : South Carolina, 11. For William Wirt, of Maryland : Vermont, 7. Mr. Van Buren received only 189 votes for Vice-President, Pennsylvania, wh'ich cast her vote for- Jackson, having voted for William Wilkins of that State foe Vice-President. John Sergeant, for Vice-President, received the same vote a? Mr. Clay . far President. South Carolina vote*for HeuTy Lee of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION— 1831. The National Republicans met in convention at Baltimore, Dec. 12, 1831. Seventeen States and the District of Columbia were represented by 1.57 delegates, who cast a unanimous vote for Henry Clay,, of Kentucky, for President, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-Pre- sident. James Barbour, of Virginia, presided, and the States represented were : Maine, New- Hampshire, Jlassacbusettsv Rhode Island, Con- necticut, Vermontj > New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana and Indiana. The Convention adopted no formal platform of principles, but issued an Address, mainly devoted to a criticism on the Administration of Gen. Jackson, asserting, among other things, that — The political history of the Union for the last three years exhibits a series of raeasui-es plainly dictated in all their principal features by blind cupidity or vindictive party spirit, niarked throughout by a disregard of good policy, justice, and every high and generous sentiment, and, terminaJ'ing in a dissolution of ^he Cabinet under circumslances more discreditable than any of the kind to be met with in the annals of the civilized world. The address alludes to the charge of incapa- city and corruption leveled against his imme- jdiate predecessor (J. Q. Adams) by Gen. Jack-; son in his Inaugural Address, and adds : , . The , indecorum of this deaun(jiatioa was hardly less glaring than it^' essential injustice; and can only ba paralleled by that of the subsequent denunciation of the same Administration, on the same authority, to a foreigD government. Exception is taken to the indiscriminate re- moval of all officers within, the reach of the Pre-. 'sident, Who were not attached to his person op party. As illustrative of the extent to ,, which this political proscription was carried, it is stated that, within a month after the inauguration of General Jaclcson, more persons were removed, from office than during the whole 40 years that had previously elapsed since the adoption of the 'Constitution. Fault is also found with the Ad-- ministration in its conduol; of our foreign affairs. Again the Addreps says : On the great subjects of internal policy, the course of the President has been' so inconsistent and varallatlng, that it is Impossible for any party to place confidence la his cliaracter, or to consider him as a true'and effective friend. By avowing his approbation, of a judicious tarifPi' at the same time recommending to Congress precisely thfli sama policy which had been adopted as the best plan ofi 'attaek by the opponents of that measure ; by admitting the constitutionality and expediency of Ihterhal Improve-' ments of a National character, and at, the same moment negativing the most impprtant bills of this description, ■which, were presented to him by Congress, the President . has shown that he is either a secret enemy to the systemy or that he is willing to sacrifice the most important na-' tjonal objects in a vain attempt to conci^ate the confiict- 'ing interests, or rather adverse .party feellngandvOpiniona. of different sections of the country. Objection is taken to Gen. Jackson's war on the United States Bank, and the necessity and usefulness of that institution are argued at con- siderable length. The outrageous and inhumaii treatment of the Cherokee Indians -by the State of Georgia, and the failure of the Natfonal Ad- ministration to protect thfem in their rightsj acquired by treaty with the United States, is also the subject of animadversion in the the Address. A resolve was adopted, recommending to the iyoung men of the National Republican Party to hold a Convention in the city of Washington on the following May. Such a Convention was accordingly held at the/ Capital on the 11th of May, 1832, over Iwhich William Co-st Johnson, of Maryland, pre- sided, and at which the |following, among other [resolves, were adopted: Sesolvedj That an adequate Protection to Amerlcaa Industry is indispensable to the prosperity of the coun- try ; and that an abandonment of the policy at tbif period would be attended with consequences ruinous to the best interests of the Nation. Resolmdf That a uniform system of Internal Improve- ments, sustained and su-pported by the General Goverp.? ment, is calculated to secure, in the highest degree, the harmony, the s^'ength and the permanency of tlie Re- public. Resolved, That the indiscriminate removal ,of public officers, for a mere difference of political opinion, is a gross abuse of power ; and that the doctrine lately boldly preached in the United States Senate, that " to th^ victors belong the spoils of the vanquished," is detri* ■ mental to the interest, corrupting to the morals, and dangerous to the liberties of the people of this coun- try. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1835. In May, 1835, a National Convention ropre»^ sentiug twenty-one States, assembled at Balti- le A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. more to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President. The Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, was chosen president, with half a dozen Tice-presidenta and four secretaries. A rule was adopted that two-thirds of the whole number of votes should be necessary to make a Domination or to decide any question connected therewith. On the first ballot for President, Mr. Van Buren was nominated unanimously, re- ceiving 265 votes. For Vice-President, Richard B, Johnson, of Kentucky, received 178, and William 0. Rives, of Virginia, 87. Mr. John-' son, having received more than two-thirds of all the votes cast, was declared duly nominated as the candidate for Vice-President. This Con- vention adopted no platform. THE' OPPOSITION IN' 1836. In 1835, Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, of Ohio, was nominated for President, with Francis Granger, for Vice-Presiident, by a Whig State Convention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and also by a Democratic Anti-Masonic Convention held at the same place. A Whig State Convention in Maryland also nominated Gen. Harrison for Pre- sident, with John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice. Gen. H. also received nominations in New York, Ohio and other States. Hugh L. White, of Tennessee was nominated by the Legislatures of Tennessee and Alabama, as the Opposition or Anti-Jackson candidate ; while Mr. Webster was the favorite of the Oppo- sition in Massachusetts, and Willie P. Mangum, of N. C. received the vote of S. C, 11. The result of the contest of 1836 was the election of Mr. Van Buren, who received the electoral Totes of the States of Maine, 10 ; Ne^-Hampshire, 7 ; Rhode Island, 1 ; Con- necticut, 8; New York, 42; Pennsylvania, 80 ; "Vii'ginia, ft; North Carolina, 15; Louisiana, 5; Mississippi, 4; Illinois, b ; Alabama, 7 ; Missouri, 4 ; Arkansas, 3 ; lUichi- gan, 8— Total 170. Gen'.' Harrison received the votes of Vermont. 7 ; New-Jersey, S ; Delaware, 3 ; Maryland, 10; Kentucky, 15; Ollio, 21; and Indiana, 9— Total, 73. Hugh L. White received the vote of Georgia, 11, and Tennessee, 15 : total, 26. Mr. Webster received the vote of Massachusetts, 14. WHIG NATIONAL CONVENTION,— 1839. A Whig National Convention representing twenty-one States met at Harrisbu,!^, Pa., Dec. 4, 18.'!9. James Barbour, of Virginia, presided, and the result of the first ballot was the nomina- tion of Gen. William H. Harrison, of Ohio, who received 148 * votes to 90 for Henry Clay, and 16 fqr Gen. Winfield Scott. John Tyler, of Virginia, was unanimously nominated as the Whig candidate for Vice-President. The Con- vention adopted no platform of principles ; but the party in conducting the memorable cam- paign of 1840, assailed the Administration of Mr. Van Buren for its general mismanagement of public affairs and its profligacy, and the *'BaUots were repeatedly taken in committee thronghout two or uiree days ; l)iit as no candidate received a mRjority, it wna only reported to the convention- that the committee had notbeeu able to tifrree on a Ciindidiito to be presented to tire convention. Finally, the delegatej. from New- York and other States which bad snpported tjen. .Scott, generally weut over to Gen. Harrison, who tlias received a mtijority, when tiie result was declared, as above. result was the triumphant election of Harrison and Tyler, Van Buren receiving the electoral vote of only seven States ; viz: New-Hampshire, 7 ; Virginia, 23 ; South Carolina, 11 j Illinois, 5; Alal>amaj7; Missouri, 4; anil Arkansas, 8— Total, 60. , South -Carolina refused to vote for Ricl;ardM. Johnson for Vice-President, throwing away her 11 votes on Littleton W. Tazewell, of Virginia. Harrison and Tyler received the votes of the following States: Maine, 10 ; Massachusetts, 14 ; Rhode Wand, 4 ; Con- necticut, 8; Vermont, 7; New-York. 42; New-Jersey, 8 : Pennsylvania, 30 ; Delaware, 3 ; Maryland, 10 ; North Carolina, 15 ; Georgia, 11 ; Kentucky, lo ; Tennessee, 15 ; Ohio, 21 ; Louisi ana, 5 ; Mississippi, 4 ; iQcUiana, 9 ; Michi- gan, 8— Total, 234. ABOLITION CONVENTION,— 1839. A Convention of Abolitionists was held at Warsaw, N. Y., on the 13th of November, 1839, which aijopted the following : Sgsoloed, That, in otir Judgment, every consideration of duty and expediency which ought to control the action of Christian freemen, requires of the Abolitionista of the U. 6. to organise a distinct and independent poli- tical party, embracing all the necessary means for nomi- nating candidates, for office and sustaining them by public suffrage. The Convention then nominated for Presi- dent James G. Birney, of New York, and for Vice-President Francis J. Lemoyne, of Penn- sylvania. These gentlemen subsequently de- clined the nomination. Nevertheless they received a total of 7,609 votes jn various Free States. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1840. • A Democratic National Convention met, at Baltimore, May 5th, 1840, to nominate candi- dates for President and Vice-President. Dele- gates were present from' the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhgde Island, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee,Ohio, Alabama,Mis8issippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Arkansas. Gov. William Carroll, of Tennessee, presided, and the Convention, before proceeding to the nomination of candidates, adopted the follow- ing platform — viz. : ^ 1. Hesolved, That the Federal Government is one of hmited powers, derived solely from the Constitution, and tlie grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly coiistrued by all the departments and agents of the government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers. 2. Be&ol/oed^ That the Constitution does not confer upon the General Government the power to corameuco or carry on a general system of internal improvement. S, liesolved^ That the Constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal Government, directly or in- directly, to assume the debts of the several States, con- tracted for local internal improvements or other State purposes ; nor would stich assumption be jtist or ex- pedlent. i.'Mcsolved^ That justice and sound policy forbid tho Federal Government to foster one brauch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interest of one portion to the injury of another portion of our com- mon country — that every citizen and every section of the country h!^ a right to demand and Insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample protection of persons and property from domeetlc* violence or foreign aggresBloo. NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 18 5. liesotved^ That it is the duty of every branch of the government to enforce and practice the most rigid soonomy in conducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to de- fray the necessary expenses of the government. 0. liesolvedy That Congress has no power to charter a United States Bank, that we believe such an institution. one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the coun- try, dangerous to our republican insMtutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the busi- ness of the country within the control of a concentrated money power, and above the laws and the will of the people. 7. ^&aolved^ That Congress has no power, under the Constitution, to interfere with or control the domestic Institutions of the several States ; and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything pertaining to their own afifairs, not prohibited by the Constitution ; . that all efforts, by abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, . and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger the stability andtpermanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend to our Political In^titu- tions. 8. Meaoivedj That the separation of the moneys of the government from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds of the government and the rights of the people. 9. Ji6solv6d, That the liberal principles embodied by Jeflferson in the Declaration, of Independence, and sanc- tioned in the Constitution, which makes oui-^ the land of liberty and the" asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Bemo- cratic faith : and every attempt to abridge the present privilege ksf becoming citizens, and the owners of .soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the Alien and Sedition Laws from our statute book. The Convention then unanimously nominated Mr, Van Buren for reelection as President ; but, there being much diversity of opinion as to the proper man for Vice-President, the fbllowiU; preamble and resolution were adopted: Whereas, Several of the States which have nominated Martin Van Buren as a candi^te for the Presidency, have pub in nomination different individuals as candi- dates for Vice-President, thus indicating a diversity of opinion as to the person best entitled to the nomination ; and whereas some of the said States are not represented in this Convention, therefore, Sesol/oed^ That the Convention deem it expedient at the present time not to choose between the individuals In nomination, but to leave the decision to^heir Repub- lican fellow-citizens in the several States, trusting that before the election shall take place, their opinions will become so concentrated as to secure the choice of a Vice-President by the Electoral GoUegel. WHIG NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1844. A Whig National Convention assembled in Baltimore, on the 1st of May, 1844, iji which every State in the Union was represented. Am- brose Spencer, of New-York, presided, and Mr. Clay was nominated for President by acclama- , tion. For Vice-President, there was some di- rersity of preference, and Mr. Prelinghuysen, of N, J., was nominated on the third ballot as fol- •lows ; BALLOTS. T. Fr«liughuysen, N. J., John Dayis, Mass., Millard Fillmore, N.Y., John Sergeant, Pa., 1st. 101 53 l2d. 3rfl. 118 155 74 T9 51 , 40 82 withdrawn. 2T5 2T4 Total, 275 The principles of the party were briefly summed up in the following resolve, which was adopted by the Convention : J^eaolved^ That these principles may be summed as comprising a wrll regulated National currency—a Tariff tar revenue to defray the necessary expenses of the Government, and disci, was in derogation of the principles of American Liberby, and a deep stain upon the character of the country, and the iiiiplied faith of the States and the Nation was pledged, that slavery should Dever be extended beyond its then existing limits, but should be gi'adually, and y^, at no distant day, wholly ibolished by State uuthoritjt RASoVoedy That the faith of the States and the Nation lius pledged, was most nobly redeemed by the voluntary Abolition of Slavery in several of the States, and by the idoptlon of the Ordinance of 1787, for the government if the'Territory northwest of the rivter Ohio, then the only Territory in the United States, and consequently the only errStory subject in this respect to the control of Congress by which Ordinance Slavery was forever excluded from iie vast regions which now compose the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and the Tenitory of Wiscon- sin, and an incapacity to bear up any other than freemen, was ^impressed on the soil itself. J^eaotvedf That the faith of the States and Nation thus pledged, has been shamefully violated by the omis- sion on the part of many of the States, to take any measures whatever fot the Abolition of Slavery within their respective limits ; by the continuance of Slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the Territories of Louisiana and Florida ; by the Legislation of Congress ; by the protection afforded by national legislation and negotiation to slaveholding in American Vessels, on the iiigh seas, employed in the coastwise Slave Traffic ; and by the extension of slavery far beyond its ori^nal limits, by acts of Congress, admitting new Slave States into the Union. Reaolvedi That the fundamental truths of the Declara- tion of Independence, that all men are endowed by their ^ Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, was made Idie fundamental law of our Natienal Government, by that amendment of the Constitution which declares that no person shall be deprived of life, iiberty or property, without due process of law. ReaolvQcfy That we recognize as sound, 'the doctrine maintained by slaveholding jurists, that slavery is against natural rights, and strictly local, and that its ex- istence and continuance rests on no other support than State Legislation, and not on any authority of Congress. &6m>Poeii\ That the General Government has, under the Constitution, no power to establish or continue Slavery anywhere, and therefore that all treaties and acts of Congress establishing, continuing or favoring ^av^ry in the District of Oolumbiai in the Territory of Heaolved^ That the provision of the Constitution of the United States, which confers extraordinary political powers on the owners of slaves, and thereby constitut- ing the two hundred and fifty thousiind slaveholders in ' the Slave States a privileged austocracy; and the pro- vision for the reclamation of fugitive slaves from^ service^ are Anti-Republican in tlieir character, dangerous to the liberties of the people, and ought to be abrogated. Reaol/oedy That the practical operaiion of the second of these provisions, is seen in ihe enactment of the act of Congress respecting pei-sons escaping from their mas- ters, wbicli act, if the construct' on given to it by the Supreme Court of the United States iu the case of Prigg . m. Pennsylvania be correct, nuUifitss the habeas corpus acts of all the States, takes away the whole legal security of personal freedom, and ought therefore to be immedir ately repealed. liBBotoed, That the peculiar patronage and support hitherto extended to Slavery and Slaveholding, by the General Government, ought ta^be immediately with* drawn, and the example and"lnfluence of National authority ought to be arrayed on the side of Jaberty and , Free Labor. Eeaolmed^ That the practice of the General' Govern- . ment, which prevails in the Slave btates, of employing Slaves upon the public works, instead of free laborei'S', and paying aristocratic maslei's, with a view to secure or reward political services, is utterly indefensible and ought to be abandoned. JBesoiced, That freedom of speetA, and of the press, and the right of petition and the light of trial by jury, are sacred and inviolable; and that all rules, regula- tions and laws, in derogation of either are oppressive, un- constitutional, and not to be endured by free people. Reaol/oed, That we rega.d voting in an eia.uent de* gree, as a moral and leligious duty, which, when exer- cised, should be by voting for those who will do all in their power for Immediate Emanc pation. ReeoUed^ That this Convention recommend to the friends of Liberty in all those Free States wheie any in- equality of rights and privileges exists on account of color, to employ their utmost energies to remove all such remnants and effects of the Slave system. Whereas, The Constitution of these United States is a series of agreements, covenants, or contracts between the people of the United States, each with all and all with each -, and «< Whereas^ It is a principle pf univereal morality, that the moral laws of the Creator are paramount to all human laws ; or, in the language of au Apostle, that " we ought to obey God rather than men ;" and, TfAerea*, The principle of common law — that any contract, covenant, or agreement, to do an act deroga- tory to natural right, is vitiaUd and annulled by its in- herent immorality— has been recognized by one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, who in a recent case expressly holds that " flwiy contract that rests upon such a basis is v&id ;" and. Whereas, The third clause of the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the United States, when construed as providing for the surrender of a Fugitive Slave, does "■ rest upon such a basis," in (Hat it is a contract to rob a man of a natural right — namely, his natural right to his own liberty ;. and is, thereft)ve, absolutely V0^. Therefore, R^BoVoedy That we hereby give it to be distinctly. understood by this nation and the world, that, as aboli-' tionists, considering that the strength of our cause liea in its righteousness, and our hope for it in our conformity to the &WB of God, and our respect for the uiguts or MAN, we owe it to the Sovereign liuler of the universe, as a proof of our allegiance to liim, in all our civil relations and offices, whether as private citizens -or as public functionaries sworn to support the Constitution of the • United States, to regard and to treat the third clause ol the fourth article of that instrument, whenever applied to the case of a fugitive slave, as utterly null an'd void, , and consequently as forming no part of the Constitution of the United States, whenever w^ are called upon oi aworn to support it. Resolvedy That the power given to Congress by the Constitution, to provide for calling out the mlljiia to Suppress insurrection, does not make it the duty of the Government to maintain Slavery by military force, much less does it make It the duty of the citizens to form a part of such military force. When freemen unsheath the sword it should be to strike for Liberty, not for Despot- R^opoedy That to preserve thepeace of the citizens, and secure the blessings of freedom, the Legislature of each oi hational coisrvENTiojrs and platforms. 16 th fi Free States oug}it to keep in force suitable statutes rendering it penal for any of its inhabitants to transport, or ,aid in transporting from sucli State, any person •ought, to be thus transported, merely because subject to the slave laws of any other State ; this remnant of in- dependence being accorded to the Free States, by the decision of the Supreme Court, in the case of Frigg 'VS tbe State of PennsyiTania. WHIG NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1848. A Whig National Convention met at Phila- delphia, on the 7th of June, 1848, over which John M. Morehead, of Nofth Carolina, presided. After a rather stormy session of, three days, (Jen. Zacliary Taylor, of Louisiana, was nomi- nated for President, and Millard Fillmore, of New-York, for Vice-President. Gen. Taylpr was nominated on the fourth ballot, as follows : BALLOTENGS. l8t.. 2d. 33. 4th. Taylor Ill 113 133 ITl Clay 97 86 U 32 Scott 43 49 64 68 Webster 22 22 IT 18 Clayton '... 4 4 1 — McLean 2 1 — — Total 279 280 279 2T9 Mr. Fillmore was nominated for Vice-Presi- dent on the second ballot, by the following vote : BALLOTINQS. ' 1st. 2d. M.Fmmore 115 178 Abbott Lawrence 109- 83 Scattering 50 4 lotaL 274 250 Of the scattering vote cast on the first ballot, George Evans, of Maine, received 6 ; T. M. T. McKennen, of Pa., 1 3 ; Andrew Stewart, of Pa., 14 ; and John Sergeant, of Pa., 6. The Convention adopted no Platform of Principles. After it had been organized, and a resolution offered to go into a ballot for candi- dates for President and Vice-President, Mr. Lewis D. Campbell, of Ohio, moved to amend as follows ; ResoVoed^ That no candidate shall be entitled to re- ceive the nomination of this Convention' for President w .Vice-President, unless he has given assurances that he will abide by and support the nomination ; that if nominated he will accept the nomination ; that he will consider himself the candidate of the ^yhigs, and use all proper influence to bring into practical operation tbe principles and measures of the Whig Party. This resolution met with decided opposition, and the president ruled it out of order, from which decision Mr. Campbell appealed, and in a speech contended that it was strictly in order to define what sort of candidate should be voted for, and to declare that none but sound Whigs should receive important nominations at the hands of a Whig National Convention. "The appeal was tabled. Mr. Fuller, of New York, offered the follow- ing : * jResolved, That as the first duty of the representatives of the Whig Party U to preserve the principles and in- tegrity of the party, the claims of no candidate can be considered by this Convention unless such candidate st.ands .pledged to support, in good faith, the nominees and to be tl^e exponent of Whig Principles. The president ruled this resolution out/ of order, and Mr. Fuller appealed, insisting that no true Whig conld reasonably object to his proposition. This appeal was also laid on the table. After Gen. Taylor had been nominated, Mr. Charles Allen, of Massachusetts, offered the following : liesoUeci, That the Whig Party, through Its repreiBi- tatives here, agrees to abide by the nomination of Gon. Zachary. Taylcr, on condition that he will accept the nomination as the eani^date of the Whig Party, and adhere to its great fundamental principles — no eartfin- sion of slave territory-— no acquisition of foreign terri tory by conquest — protection to American industry, and opposition to Executive usurpation. The president immediately decided the reso- lutioh out of order, and no further notice war taken of it. After the nomination for Vice-President Jiad, been made, Mr. McCuUough, of New-Jersey^ offered the following: . Mmolved, That Gen, Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, and Millard Fillmore, of New-Yorls, be, and they are hereby unanimously nominated as the Whig candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States. Mr. D. E. Tilden, of Ohio». proposed the fol- lowing, expressing the opinion that some such declaratioh by the Convention- would be neces- sary, in order to secure the vote of Ohio foi. the nominee : Jiesolved, That while all power is denied- to ( under the Constitution, to control, or in any wsi^ ipter-~ fere with the institution of Slavery within the. severala States of this Unbn, it nevertheless has tha power and. it is the duty of Congress to prohibit the intiioduction or, existence of Slavery in any territory now pos3essed,_or, which may hereafter ba acquired,by tha United States. This resolution, like all others affirming Whig- or Anti-Slavery principles, was ruled out of order, and laid on the taWsy A miotion was . made to divide Mr. MeCallough's resolve, so- that the vote could be taken separately on President and on Vice-Presidei.t, when, after- discussion, the resolve was- withdraw!). Mr. Hilliard, of Alabama, offtered a resolve- indorsing Gen. Taylor's letter to Captain Allii son, which, meeting Oippoaition, was withdrawn ;. so the Convention adjourned without passing any resolves haviag reference to Whig prin- c^les, the issues before the country, or of con-. currence in the nominations. RATIFICATION MEETING AT PHILA- DELPHIA. On the evening of the last day of the sesrfon (9th June), a ratification meeting was held at. , Philadelphia, at which Gov. Wm. F. Johnston, of Pa., presided, and at which Speeches were delivered by Governor Morehead, Gen. Leslie- Coombs, of Ky., and several others, and at which the following resolves, reported- by W. S. Price, of Pennsylvania, were adopted : 1. Beaolved, That the Whigs of the United States,; here .assembled by their Representatives, heartily ratify" the nominations of flen. Zachary Taylor as President, and' Millard Fillmore as Vice-President of the United States, and pledge themselves to their support. 2. JiesolDed, That in the choice of Gen. Taylor as the Whig Candidate for President, we are glad to discover sympathy with a greatpopular sentiment throughout the nation — a sentiment which, having its origin in adraira-- tion of great military success, has bjeen strengthened by the development, in every action and every woj'd, of sound conservative opinions, and of true fidelity to the great example of former days, and, to the principles ot the Constitution as administered by^its founders. 8. lieaohied, That Gen. Taylor, in saying that, had hei. voted in 1844, h: would have voted the Whig (icJcet^ 14 A POLmCAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. gives lis the assurance — »nd no better is needed from a conaistent and truth-speaking man— that his heart was with us at the crisis of our political destiny, when ITenry Ois,y was our candidate and when not only Whig prib- oiples were well defined and cl^u'ly asserted, but "Whig , measures depended on success. The heart that was with us then is with ua now, and we have ^ soldier's word of honor, and a life of public and pnvatie virtue, as the security. 4 Meaolvedj That we- look on Gen. Taylor^s adminis- tration of the Government as one conducive of Peace, Prosperity and Union, ©f Peace— because no one bet- ter Itnows, or has greater reason to deplore, what he has eeen sadly on the field of victory, the horrors of war, and especially of a foreign and aggressive war. Of Prosperity— now more than ever needed to relieve the nation from a burden of debt, and restore industry- agricultural, manufacturing and commercial — to its accustomed and peaceful functions and influences. Of Union— because we have a candidate whose very ppai- ttouas'a Southwesiern man, reared on the banks of the great stream wliose tributaries, natural and artificial, embrace the whole Union, renders the protection of the i^nterests of the whole country his first trust, and whose varied dutiea in past life have been rendered, not on the soil, 01- under the flag of any State.or section, ^ut over the wide frontier, and under the broad banner of the Nation. 5. Besolved^ That sending, as the Whig Party does, on the broad and firm platform of the Constitution, braced up by all its inviolable and sacred guarantees and compromises, and chei'ished In the afifections because protective of the interests of the people, we are proud to have, as the exponent of our opinions, one who Is pledged to construe it by the wise and generous rules '^h}f^ Washington applied to it, and who has said, (and fro Wj^i^ ^esires any other assurance) that he will make iVasjhui^tQ^'^ Administration the model of his own. ^. '^^s6<$, T^at as Whigs and Americans, we are p,i;;9ud tp ackn9w^,(^£^^ our gratitude for the great mill- ilRry services 'whic'^, j);egi.nning at Palo Alto, and ending jEi.t Puena- Vista, first .^w.i^ke^ed the American people to IB jliiBt estimate .of him ^h,Q j^ ^w our Whig Candidate, ii} t^e dijj^harge of .a p^inf^JL 4ujty»-for his march iiito- the enjemy's cpuutry wis a r^el^^-Bt one; in the com- ira;n4 of regu^ra at one timjs, amJ yfllimt^ers at another, uud of h.Qth combined) in the djedsiv^ tjl^u^h punctual discipliq^ of Ijia pamp^ ^here all respected .^.jid beloved him ; in the negOtiatio|i of terms for ^ deje^d and desperate enemy ; in the exi|:ency of actiiaj ftgi^fli^t, when the balaqce was perilously doubtful— we hape found him the sam^— brave, distinguished and consi^e.- rat?, no heartless speptq,tor of bloodshed, no trifler with humiLn life or human happiness; and we do not know which to admire niost, his heroism in withstanding the assaults of the eneu;y In the most hopeless fields of Buena Vista — mourning in generous sorrow over the graves of Ringgold, of day, or of Hardin— or in giving in the^heat of battle terms of merciful capitulation to a vanquished foe at Monterey, and not being ashamed to avow that he did it to spare women and children, help- less infancy, and more helpless age, against whom po American soldier ever wars. Such a military man, . whose triumphs are neither remote nor doubtful, whose virtues these trials have tested, we are proud to make our Candidate. 7, Me&oVoed^ That in support of suoh a nomination we AElk our Whig friends throughout the nation to unite, "to oo-Qperate zealously, resolutely, with earnestness in , behalf of our Candidate, whom ealumny cannot reach, and with respectful demeanor to our adversaries, whose ."Candidates have yet to prove their claims on the grati- , tude of the nation. This election resulted in the choice of the - Whig Candidates, as follows : Taylor and Fillmore— Vermont, 6 ; Massachusetts. 12 ; (Khode Island, 4; Connecticut, 6 ; New-York, 86; New- Jersey, T; Pennsylvania, 26; Delaware, 8; Maryland, ^8; North Carolina, 11 ; Georgia, 10; Lousiana, 6: Ten- nessee, IS; Kentucky, 12; MoHda, 8-163. " Cass and Butler — Maine, '9 ; New-Hampshire, 6 ; Vir- ginia, IT ; South Carolina, 9 ; Alabama, 9 ; Mississippi, ;« ; Ohio, 28 ; Indiana, 12 ; Illinois, 9 ; Missouri, 7 ; Ar- .kansas; S'; Mictiigan, 5; Texas, 4 ; Iowa, 4: Wisconsin, >-m. .BEMOCRATIG CONVENTION, 18*8. /The Democratic National Convention for i648, assembled in Baltimore on the 22d of May. Andrew Stevenson of Va., presided. New-Yorlt had sent a double delegation: (" Barn- burners" for Van Buren and Hunkers for Dick- inson). The Convention decided to admit both delegations, which satisfied, neither, and both declined to take part in the proceedings. The two-third rule was adopted, and Gen. Lewis Cass was nomihated for President on the 4th ballot as follows: [I'ZO votes necessary to a choice.] Woodbury of N. H. , Buchanan Calhoun Dallas Worth Butler of Ky •.. iBt. 2ii. Srt. 4>h. 123 138 156 179 ()» 96 58 88 S5 64 40- 88 9 8 8 — — 6 5 5 1 — » The first ballot for Vice-President resulted as follows : William 0. Butler 114 William R. King 29 John A. Quitman T4 James J, McKay 13 John Y.Mason 24 Jefferson Davis 1 No choice. Gen. Butler was unanimously nomi- nated on the third ballot. The Convention adopted the following plat- form : 1. Jiesoloedj That the Ametican Democracy place their trust ii^ the intelligence, the patriotism, and the discriminating justice of the American people. 2. Ji6aoh)edy That we regard this as a distinctive fea- ture of our political creed, which we are proud to main- tain before the world, as the great moral element in a form" of government springing from and upheld by the popular will: and we contrast it with the creed and practice of federa.Usm, under whatever name or form, which seeks to paJsy the will of the constituent, and which conceives no imposture too monstrous for the popular credulity. S. Resolved, Therefore, that, entertaining these views the Democratic party of ^is Uiiion, through the delegates assembledjn general owhvention of the States, coming together inTa spirit of concord, bf devotion to the doc- trines anjd faith of a free representative government and appealing to their fellow-citizens for the rectitude of (iheir intentions, renew and reassert before the American people, the declaration of principles avowed by them, !on a former occasion, when in general convention, they prese^t^d thsir candidates for the popular suffrage. Ttjen follow resolutions 1, 2, S, 4, of Platforms of 1840 and '44. The 6th resolution is th&t of 1840 with an addition about providing for war debts, and as amended, reads as fellows : Beaohoed^ That it is the duty of every branch of the government to enforce and practice the mo^t rigid econ- omy in conductipg our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required tp defray the necessary expenses of the government, and for tbo gradual but certain extinction of the debt created by the prosecution of & just and necessary war, after peacO' ful relations shall have been restored. The next (Anti-National Bank and pro- Sub- Treasury) was amended by the addition of the following : And that the results of Democratls Legislation, in tbig and all other financial measures upon which issues have been made between the two political parties of the coun- try, have demonstrated to candid and practical men of all parties, their soundnessi safety and utility in all business pursuit. Here follow resolutions 7, 8, 9, of the plat- form, of 1840, which w% omit. Jieaolvedy That the proceeds of the Public Lands ought to be sacredly applied to the National objects specified in the Constitution ; and that we are opposed to any law for the distribution of such proceeds among th« States as alike, inexpedient in policy and repugnant to the Constitution. Eesohed, That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualified veto power, by which ha is enabled, under restrictions and res nousilalli ties amply sufBcient to guard the public Intereste, to^^suspend the passage of a bill whose merits, cannot secure the ap- NATIONAL CONVENTIONb AND PLATFORMS. 17 proval of two'thirds of the Senate and House pf Kepre- aentatlveB until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has ^aved the Amedcan people frem the coni.pt and tyrannical domination of the bank of the United States, and from, a oovraptlng lystem of general internal improvements. JSesol^edi that the war with Mexico, provoked on her part, by years of insult and injury, was commenced by her'army crossing the Rio G-rande, attacking the Ameri- can troopa and invading our sister State of Texas, and that upon all the principles of patriotism and the Laws of Nations, It is a just and necessary war on our part in which every American pitiaen should have shown himself on the side of his Country, and neither morally Qor physically, by word or by deed, have given *' aid and comfort to the enemy." JSeaolved, That we would be rejoiced at the assurance 3f a peace ifith Mexico, founded on the just principles of indemnity for the past and security for the future ; but that while the ratification of the libenaL treaty offered respect ; . And wh-ereasi These nominations so made, furnisl: the occagu^n and dempnstrate the necessity of the union of the pimple under the banner of free iDemo ence or continuance of slavery wherever the government possbs&^s constitutional authority to legislate un that subject, and it is thus responsible for its existence. Resolved., That the true, and in the judgment of this Convention, tlie only safe means of preventing the ex- tension oT Slavery into Territory now Free, Is to prohibit Vie extension in all such Territory by an act of Congress. iCASoVved^ That we accept the issue which the Slave power has forced upon us ; and to their demand for more Slave States, and more Slave Territory, our calm but final answer is, no more Slave :jtate3 and no more Slave Ter- ritory. Let the soil of our extensive domains be kept free for the hardy pioneers of our own land, and the op- pressed and banishe^d of other lands, seeking homes of comfort and fields of enterprise ip the new world. . JBesolvedj That the bill Imely reported by tjie committee of eight in the Senate of the United States, w^ no com- &roni)se, but an absolute* surrender of the rights of the on-Slaveholders of &11 the States ; and while we re}oice to know that a measure which, while opening the door for the introduction of Slavery into Territories now free, would also have opened the door to litigation and strife among the future inhabitants thereof, to the ruin of theii- peace and prosperity, was defedlted in the House of Repre- sentatives, its passage, in hot, haste, by a majority, embrac- ing several senators who voted in open violation of the known will of tlieir constituents, should warn the people to see to it, that their representatives be not suffered to betray them. There must be no more ComprQmises with Slavery ; if made they must be repealed. Beaolvedj iHiat we demand. freedom and established Institutions for our brethren in Oregon, now exposed to hardships, peril and massacre by the reokless hostility of the Slave Power to the establishment of Free Government for Free Territories ; and not only for them, but for our new brethren in California and New-Mexico. Beaol/oedt It Is due not only to this occasion, but to the whole people of the United States, that we should also *4^clare ourselves on certain other questions of National yblicy : therefore, Saeol^ed, That we demand Cheap Postage for the Peo- ple; a retrenchment of the expenses and patronage of ~ the Federal Government ; the abolition of all ui^neces- ■ary offices and salaries ; and the election by the people of all civiltofficers in the service of 'J:e government, so far ns the same may be practicable. Meioh)6d, ThatKiver and Harbor improvements, when Jemandtd by the e State Crovernmeat« ehould be held scaurs ) NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 70 lo their reserved rights, and tlie General G-overnment sustained on its couatitutional powers, and that the ITnlon should be revered and watched over as the palla- dium of our liberties. , Thirdi. That while struggling freedom everywhere enlists the wannest sympathy of the Whig party, westiU adhere to the doctrines of the Father of his Country, as announced in his Farewell Address, of keeping ourselves free from all entangling alUances with foreign countries, and of never (Quitting our own to stand upon foreign ground ; that our mlssioa as a republic 'is nob to propa- gate our opinions, or impose on trther countries our forms of government, by artifice or force ; but to teach ,by example, arid show by our success, moderation and justice, the blessings of self-government, and the advan- tage of free institutions. ^oxbHh, That, as the people make and control the Government, they should obey its constitution, lanraand l^reaties as they would retain their self-reapeot, and the respect which they claim and will enforce from foreign powers. Fifth. Government should be conducted on principles of the strictest economy ; and revenue sufficient for the expenses thereof, in time, ought to be derived mainly from a duty on imports, and not from direct taxes ; and on laying such duties sound policy requires a just dfs- criminatlon, and, when practicable, by specific duties, whereby suitable encouragement may be afforded to American industry, equally to all classes j and to all por- tions of the country ; an economical administration of the Government, in time of peace, ought to be deriveid from duties on imports, and not, from direct taxation; and in laying such duties, sound policy requires a just discrimination, whereby suitable encouragement may -be afforded to American industry, equally to all classes, and to all parts of the country. jSixt/i. The Oonstitution vests in Congress the power to open and repair harbors, and remove obstructions from navigable rivers, whenever such improvements are necessary for the common defense, and for the protec- tion and facility of commerce with foreign nations, or among the States — said improvements being in every Instance national and' general in their character. Seventh. I'he Federal and State Governments are parts of one system, alike necessary for the common prospei'- ity, peace and security, and ought to be regarded alike with a cordial, habitual and immovable attachment. Respect for the authority of each, and acquiescence in the just constitutional measures of each, are duties reijuired by the plainest considerations of National^ State and individual welfare. Mghth. That the series of acts of the 82d Congress, the " Act known as the Fugitive Slave law included, are received and acquiesced in by the Whig party of the United States as a settlement in principle and substance of the dangerous and exciting questions which tbey ei^brace ; and, so far as they are concerned, we will maiotain them, and insist upon their strict enforcement, until time and experience shall demonstrate the neces- sity of further legislation to 'guard against the-evasion of the laws on the one hand and the abuse of their f>owers on the other— not impairing their present eificiency^ and we deprecate all further agitation of the question thus settled, as dangerous "to our peace, and will discounte- nance all efforts to .coatinue or renew such agitation, whenever, wherever, or however the attempt may be made ; and we will maintain this system as essential to Uie nationality of the Whig party, and the integrity of the Union. The above- propositions were unanimously adopted with the exception of- the last, which was carried by a vote of '212 to 70: the dele- gates who voted against it being supporters of Scott as against Fillmore and Webster in the ballotings above given. The TOte by States, on this ^(Compromise) resolution, was as follows : Yeas— Maine, 4; New-Hampshire, 5; Termont, 5i Massachusetts, 3; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut^ 4* Mew-Yoi'k, U; New-Jersey, 7 ; Pennsylvania, 21; Dela" ware^ 8 ; Maryland, 8 ; Virginia, 14 ; "North Carolina, 10 ; South Carolina, 8 ; Georgia, 10 ; Alabama, 9 ; Mis- sisslppl, T ; Louisiana, 6 ; Ohio, 8 ; Kentucky, 13 ; Ten- nessee, 12; Indianii, 7; Illinois, 6; Missouri, 9; Arlcan- BAfiy 4; Florida, 3: lowa^ 4; Wisconsin, 4; Texas, 4; —212. Nays— Maine, 4 ; Conneeticut, 1 ; New-Torfc, 23 ; Pennsylvania, 6 ! Ohio, 15 ; Wisconsin, 1 ; Xadiahii, ; Illinois, 5 ; Michigan, 6 ; California, 4—70. GEN. SCOTt's acceptance. Gen. Scott accepted the nomination and Plat- fornt in the following letter. Washington, June 24th, 1852. Sir: I have had the honor to recelv« from yourhands the official notice of my unanimous nomination as the Whig eandldate for the oflQce of President of the Urjited States, together with a copy of the resolutions passed by the Oonyention, expressing their opinions upon some of ihe most prominent questions of national policy. This gVeat distihction, conferred bya numerous, intelli- gent and- patriotic body, representing millions of my countrymen, sinks deep into mjc-heart ; and remembering the very eminent names which were before' the Oonvtin- tion in amicable competition with my own, I am made to feel, oppressively, the weight of responsibility belonging to my new position. Not having written a word to pro- cure this distinction, I lost not a moment after it had been conferred in addressing a letter to one of your mem- bers, to signify what would be, at the proper time, the substance of my reply to the Convention : and I now have the honor to repeat in a more formal manner, as the occa- sion juitly demands, that I accept the nomination with the resolutions annexed. The political principles anil meas- urus laid down in those resolutions are so broad that but little is left for me to add. I therefore barely suggest in this place, that should I, by the partiality of my country- men, be elevated to the Chief Magistracy of the Union,! Shalt be ready, in my connection with Congress, to re- commend or approve of measures in regard to the man- agement of the public domain, so as to secure an* early settlemept of the same, favorable to actual settlers, but consistent, nevet-theless, with a due regard to the equal rights of the whole American people in that vast national inheritance ; and also to recommend or approve of a sin- gle alteration in our naturalization laws, suggested hy my military experience, yiz ; Giving to all foreigners the right of citizenship, who shall faithfully serve, in time of war, one year on board of our public ships, or In our land forces, regular or voluntl&er, on their receiving aa honorable discharge from the service. In regard to the general policy of the administration, if elected, I should, of course, look* among those who may approve that poli- cy for the agents to carry it into execution ; and I should seek to cultivate harmony and ^ fraternal sentiments throughout the Whig party, without attempting to re- duce its members, by proscription, to exact uniformity lo my own views, JQut I should at the same time be rigorous in regard to qualifications for office, retaining and appointing no one either- deficient in capacity or integrity, or in devotion to liberty, to the GonstUutlon and the Union. Convinced that harmony or good wil^ between the different quarters of our broad country is essential ^o the present and the future interests of the Republic, and with a devotion to those interests that can know no South and no North, I should neither countenance nor tolerate any sedition, dis- order, faction or resistance to the law or the Union on any pretext, in any part of the land, and I should cany into the civil administration this one principle of military conduct— obedience to the legislative and judicial de- par.tments of government, each in its constitutional sphere, paving only.inreRpect to the Legislature., the pos- sible resort to the veto power, 'always to be most cau- tiously exercised, and under the strictest restraints and necessities. Finally, for my strict adherence to the principles of the JVhig party, as expressed in the resolutions of" the Con- vention, and hereljn. suggested, with a sincere and earnest purpose to advance the greatness and happiness of the Republic, nia, 4.— 1T4. . For Fremont and Dayton: Maine, 8; New-Hampshire, 6; Vermont, 5; Massachusetts, 13; Rhode Island, 4; NATIONAL CONYENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 23 Oonnecttcut, 6; Neir-Tork, 85; Ohio, 23* Michigan, 6; tuwa, 4; "Wisconsin, 5-114. Fillmore and Donelson, Maryland, S. AMERICAN NATION^tL CONVENTION— The American National Council met in Phila- di?lphia February 19, 1856. All the States ex- cept four or five were represented. E. B. Banlett, of Ky., President of the National Coun- cil presided, and, after a rather stormy session of three days, devoted mainly' to the discussion of a Party Platform, the following^ on the 21st, was adopted : AMERXCAN PLATFORW. 1. An humble acknowledgment to the Supreme Being, for'his protecting care vouchsafed to our fathers in their Buccessful Revolutionary struggle, and hitherto mani- fested to us, their descendant, in the preservation of the liherties, the Independence, and the union of these fStatea. 3. The perpetuation of the Federal Union and Consti- tution, as the palladium of our civil and religious liber- ties, and the only sure bulwarks of American Indepen- dence. 8. Am-ffHcans must rule America ; and to this end n-a^-c-born citizerS should be selected for all State, Federal and municipal of&ces of government employ- ment, in preference to all others. If&verthelesSj 4. Persons born of American parents residing tempo- rarily abroad, should be entitled to all the rights of Bfttive-born citizens. * 5t No person should be selected for political station (whetherof native or foreign birth); who recognizes any alle^ance or obligation of any description to any foreign prince, potentate or power, or who refuses to recognize the,' Federal and State Constitutions (each within its sphere) as paramount to all other laws, as rules of polit- ical action. 6. The unqualified recognition and maintenance of the Sesecved vights-of the several States,* and the cultivation Of harmony and fraternal good will between the citizens of the several States, and to this end, noo-interferenee by Congress with questions appertaining solely to the Individual States, and non-intervention b;^ each State witJb the a£fairs of any other State. 7. The recognition of the right of native-born and natui-alized citizens of the United States, permanently residing in any territory thereof, to frame their constitu- tion and laws, and to i-egul'ate their, domestic and social affairs'in their own mode, subject only to the provisions of the Federal Constitution, with' the privilege of admis- sion into the &nion whenever they have the requisite population for one Representative in Congress : Pro- vided, always^ that none but those who are citizens of the United, States, uuoer the Gonstltution and laws thereof, and who have a fixed residence in any such Territory, ought to participate in the farmation of the Constitution, or in the enactment of laws for said Terri- tory or State. 8. An enforcement of the piinciples that no State or Territory ought to admit others than citizens to the right of suffrage, or of holding political offices of the United States. 9. A change in the laws of naturalization, making a continued residence of twenty-one years, of all not here- tofore providfed for, an indispensable requisite for citizen- ship hereafter, and excluding all paupers, and persona convicted of crime, from landing upon our shores ; but no interference with the vested rights of foreigners. 10. Opposition to any utiion between Churph and State ; no interference with religious faith or worship, and no test oaths for office. , 11. Free and thorough investigation into any and all alleged abuses of public functionaries, and a strict econ- omy in public expenditures. 12, The maintenance and enforcement of all laws con- BtitutinBally enacted until said laws shall be repealed, or shall be declared null and void by competent judicial authority. la. Opposition to the reckless and un\7ise policy of the present Administration in tho general management of our national affairs, and more especially as shown in re- moving ''"Americans " (by designation) and Conserva- tives in principle, from office, and placing foreigners and UUrabts in their places ; as shown in a truckling subser- viency to the stronger, and an insolent apd cowurdly JjravadO' toward the weaker powers; as shown in re- opening sectional agitation, by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; as shown , in gi-anting to unnaturalized for- eigners the right of suffrage in Kansas and Nebraska; as shown in its vacillating course on the Kansas and Ne- braska question ; as shown in the corruptions which per- vade some of the Departments of the Government v a? shown in disgracing^ merits rious naval officers thrv'J'agh preyudice or caprice: and as shown in the blundering mismanagement of our foreign relations. 14. Therefore, to remedy existing evils, and prevent the disastrous consequ^ces otherwise resulting there- from, we would build up the " American Party " upon the-principles herein before stated. 15. That each State Council shall have authority to amend their several constitutions, so as to abolish tho several degrees and substitute a pledge of honor, instead of other oblig3.tions, for fellowship and admission into tho party. 16. A free and open discussion of all political princ! pies embraced in our Platform. On the following day (Feb. 22,) the American National Nominating Convention, composed mostly of the same gentlemen who had deliber- ated as the National Council, organized at Phila- delphia, with 22^7 delegates in attendance, Maine, Vermont, Georgia, and South Carolina, being the only States not represented. Ephrfwm Marsh, of New-Jersey, was chosen to preside, and. the Convention remained in session till the 25tli, and, after disposing of several- eases of contested seats, discussed at considerable length, and with great warmth, the question of tho power of the National CJouncil to establish a Platform for the Convention, which should be of "binding force upon that body. Finally, Mr. Killinger, of Pennsylvania, proposed the fol- lowing : Resoloedj That the National Council has no authority to prescribe a Platform of principles for this Nominating Convention, and that we will nominate for President and Vice-President np man who is not in favor of interdict- ing the introduction of Slavery into Territory north 86' ^ 30' by congressional action. ' A motion to lay this resolution on the table was adopted, 141 to 59. A motion was then made to proceed to the nomination of a candi- date for President, which was carried, 151 to 5J, the Anti-Slavery delegates, or North Ameri- cans, as they\were called, voting in the nega- tive, and desiring to postpone the nomination. But being beaten at all points, they (to the num- ber of about 50) either withdrew or refused to take any further part in the proceedings of the Convention, and many of thein subsequently supported Col. Fremont for President. An informal ballot was then taken for Presi' dent, which resulted as follows : John Belli Tennessee... 5 Kenneth Raynor, N. C..;2\ Eraatus Brooks, NiiY...,/a Lewis D. Campbell, Ohio. 1 John M. Clayton, DeL... 1 M. FiUmore,ofN.y 7t George Law, N. Y.. 2T Garrett Davis, Ky JZ John McLean, Ohio .... 7 R. F. Stockton, N. J... . . 8 Sam. Houston, Texas.. . 6 A formal ballot was then taken, when Mr. J'illmore was nominated as follows : Fillmore, 179 ; Law, 24 ; Raynor, 14 ; McLean, 19; Davis, 10; Houston, 3. Necessary to a choice, 122. \ Millard Fillmore was .then declared to be tho nominee. A ballot was then taken for Yice-Ppesident, and Andrew Jackson Donelson, of Tennessee, was nominated as follows : A. J. Donelson, Ten., ISl; Percy Walker, Ala., 8 Henry J. Gardner, Mass., 8; Kenneth Raynor, N. 0., 8 Mr. Donelson wns then declared to be untmi. S4 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. mously nominated, and the Convention ad' journed. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION— 1856. This CouTenlion met at Cincinnati on the 2d of June, and chose JobB E. Ward, of Georgia, to preside, and nominated James Buchanan on the 17th ballot, as follows : _ Ballots. Buchanan. Pierce. Douglas. Cass. 1. 185 J22 83 ' 6 a. 189 119} 8} 6 8. 189^ 119 sa 6} i. 14Ii 119 80 6f 5. 140 }19f 81 6t 6. 1S5 11T+ 28 5f 7. 14.3i 69 63 6f 8. 4471, 146 8T 66 ei 9. ST 56 r 10. IBl'i 80} 69* 6* u. 14Ti 80 68 Bi 12. 143 79 m H 18. 150 TTi 63 6} 14. 16H T5 68 6} 16. 168i 8f 118} 4} 16. 163 121 6 IT. 296 — . — — Mr. Buchanan having been unanimously nominated for President, the Convention pro- ceeded to ballot for a candidate for Vice-Presi- dent, the first ballot resulting as follows : j1 A. Quitman, Miss,.. 59 J. C. Brecldnridge, Ky.,. 65 Linn Boyd, Ky., 88 B. Fitzpatrict, Ala., 11 A.V.Brown, Tenn.,,.. 29 H. V. Jofinson, Ga...... 81 J. A. Bayard, Del., 81 Trus ten Polk, Mo., 5 T. J. Euak, Texas, 2 J. 0. Dobbin, N. C, 18 On the second ballot, the name of Gen. Quit- man was withdrawn, as were also those of other leading candidates, and Mr. Breckinridge was imanimously nominated. The Coavention adopted the following PLATFORM : BMolved^ That the American Democracy place their trust in the intelligence, the patriolism, and the discrimi- nating justice of the«American people. RMoleed^ That we regard this as a distinctive feature e departments and agents of the Government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful con- Btitutional powei-s. a. Th,at the Coihstitutlon does not confer upon the General Government the power to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvements. . 8 That the Const itution does not confer .authority upon the Federal Government, directly ol* Indirectly, to assume the debts of the several States, contracted for local and Internal improvements, or other Stale purposes, nor would such assumption be just or expedient, 4 That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detri- ment ofanother,or to cherish theinterestsof one portion of our common country; that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and a complete and ample protection of persons and property firom domestic violence and foreign aggression. 6. That it is the duty of every branch of the Govern- ment to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to defray the nece»- sary expenses of the government, and gradual but certain \ extinction of the public debt. 6. That the proceeds of the public lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in the Constitution, and that we are opposed to any law for the distribution of such proceeds among the States, as alike inexpedient in policy, and repugnant to the Constitution. 7. That Congress has no power to charter a National, Bank ; th^t we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of this country, dangerous to our republican institutions and the liberties of the peo- ple, and calculated to place the business of the country within' the control of a_ concentrated money power and above the laws and will of the people ; and the results of the Democratic legislation in this and all other financial measures upon which issues have been made between the two political parties of the country, have demonstrated to candid and practical men of all parties their sound- ness, safety and utility in all business pursuits. 8. That the separation of the moneys of the Govern- ment from banking institutions is indispensable > to the safety of the funds of the Government and the rights of the people. 9. That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualified Veto power, byTrhich he is ena- bled, under restrictions and responsibilities amply suffi- cient to guard the public interests, to suspend the passage of a bill whose merits cannot secure the approval of two- thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has saved the American people from the corrupt and tyrannical dominion of the Bank of the United States, and from a cSrrupting system of general intern^ improvements. 10. That the liberal principles embodied by Jeffereon in the Declaration of Independence, aild sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith; and every attempt to abridge the privilege of becoming citi- zens and the owners of soil among us ought to be re- sisted with the same ' spirit which swept the alien and se- dition laws from.par statute books. And ioTtereoff," Since the foregoing declaration was uni- foruily adopted by our predecessors in National Conven- tion, an adverse political and religious test has been se- cretly organized by a party claiming to be exclusively American, and it is proper that the American Democracy should clearly define its relations thereto ; and declare its determined opposition to all secret political societies, by whatever name they may be called. MMolved, That the foundation of this Union of States having been laid in, and its prosperity, expansion, and preeminent examplp of free government, built upon en- tire freedom in matters of.rehgious concernment, and no respect of persons in regard to rank, or place of birth, no party can justly be deemed national, constitutional, or in accordance with American principles, which bases its extluslve organizati6n upon religious opinions and accidental birth-place. And hence a political crusade in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of Ame- rica, against Catholics and foreign-born, is neitlier justified by the past history nor future prospects of the country, nor in unison with the spirit of toleration, and enlight- ened freedom which peculiarly distinguishes the Ameri- can system of popular government. Beioleedf That we reiterate with renewed energy of purpose the well considered declarations of former con- ventions upon the sectional issue of domestic slavmy and concerning the reserved rights of the St^te^— 1. That Congress has no power under the Constitution to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that all such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs not prohibited by the Constitution ; that all efforts of the Abolilionists or others made to induce Con- gress to interfere with questions of Slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous. consequenses, and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to di- minish the happiness of the people and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by an^ friend of our political insti- tutions. 2. That'the foregoing proposition covers and was In^ tended to embrace the whole subject of Slavery agitation in Congress, and therefore the Democratic party of tha NAI'IONAL CONTENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 35 Union,, Biandln^ on thia national. platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful execution of the acts known af) the' Comproniise Meaeures, sfittled bythe Congress of 1850 : " the act for reclaiming fugitives''from service or labor" included; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision of the Gonslitution, canaot, with fidelity thereto^ be repealed, or so changed as to destroy^ or impair its efficiency. - 8. That the pemQcratic Party will resist all attempts at r,enewlng, ihOongress or out of it, the agitation of the Slavery question, under whatever shape or color the at- tempt may be made. 4. That the Democratic Party will faithfully abide by and uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Yifginia resolutions of 1797 and 1798, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the Virginia Legislature in 1799 — that it adopts these principles af constituting one of the main foundations of its poUtidal creed, and is re- solved to carry them out in th.cir obvious' meaning and import. ■ And that we. may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sectional party, subsisting , exclusively on Slavery agitation, now relies to teat the fidelity of the people, North and South, to the Constitution and the Union=— , 1. Eesolvedy That, claiminig fellowship with and desir- ing the cotiperation of all who regard the preservation of the Union under the Constitution as the paramount issue, and repudiating all sectional parties and platforms concerning domestic Slavery, which seek to embroil the States and incite to treason and armed resistance to law in the Territories, and whose avowed purpose, if con- Bummated, must end in civil^war and disunion, the American Democracy recognize and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws establishing tjie Territories of Nebraska and Kansas,^ as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the Slavery question, upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole coun- try ca;i repose in its determined conservation of the Union, and npn-interference of Cong.ess with Slavery in the Territories or in the District of Columbia. 2. That this was the'b.asis of the compromises of 1850, confirmed by both the Dertfocratic and Whig parties in / National Conventions, ratified by the people in the elec- f tion of 1852, and rishtly applied l;o the organization ofy * the Territories in 1854. 8. That by the'uniform applicatioQ of the Democratic principle to the organization of Territories, and the ad- mission of new States with or without domestic Slavery, as they may elect, the equal rights of all the States will be preserved intact, the originatl compacts of the Consti- \ tuition maintained inviolate, and. the perpetuity aiid ex- pansion of the Union insured to its utmost capacity of embraicing, in peace and harmony, every, future Am.eri-» can State that may be constituted or annexed with a' republican form of government. Resolved^ That we recognize the right of the people of all the Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, act- ing through the legally arid fairly expressed will of, the majority Of the actual residents, and whenever the num- ber of their inhabitants justifies it, to form a Constitu- tion, with or without domestic Slavery,, and be. admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with ttie other States. i Jie8oh}&d^JimMly^ That in view of the, .condition of popular institutions in the Old World (and the danger- ous tendencies of sectional agitation, combined with the attempt to enforce civil and religious disabilities against the rights of acquiring and enjoying citizenship in our ow^ land), a high and sacred duty is involved with in- weased responsibility upon the D,emocratic Party ol this country, as the party of the Union, to uphold and main- tain the rights of every State and thereby the Union of the States— and to sustain and advance apaong us con- stitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all mopopolies find exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at tHk eirfpense of the many, and by a vigilant and constant ajjherence to those pji'inciples and compromises of the Constitution — whidh are broad enough and strong i enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it ^Pa§» the [ Union as it is, and the. Union as it shall be— in ,the full expceasion of the energies and capacity of thia great and progressive people, 1. Re^olvedj That there are questions connected with ■ the foreign policy of thia country which are inferior to no domestic quesfcioij:whatever. The time has come for the people of the United States to deqlare themselves in favor of free seas, and progressive free trade throughout the world and, by solemn manifestations, to place their moral influence at the side of their suco»ssful example. 2. Ji&so^ed, That our geographical and political posi- tion-with reference to the other states ol this continent, no less than the interest of our commerce and the devel- opment of .our growing power, requires that we should hold sacred the principles involved in the Mokrus: doc- trine. ' Their bearing &nd import admit of no miscon- structdon, and should be appUed*with unbending rigid^ ity. 8. Mesoloed^ That the great highway, which nature ai well as the assent of States most immediately interested in its maintenance has marked out for fi>pe communica- tion between the Ablantlo and the Pacific Oceans, con- stitutes one of the most important achievements realized by the spirit.of modern ttoes, in the unconquerable energy o* our people; and that result would be secured by a timely and efficient, exertion of the control which we have the right to claim. over it; and no power on earth should be sufifered to impede or clog its progress by any interference with relations that it may suit our policy to establish between our G^overnment and the gavernment of the States within whose dominions it lies; we can under no circumstance surrender our prepora>- derance in the adjustment of. all questions arising out ofi*. ' , 4. Heaolved^ That, in view of so commanding an inter- est, the people of the United States cannot but sym- pathize with the efforts Which are being made by the people of Central America to regenerate that portion of the continent which covers the passage across the inter- oceanic isthmus. &. EeBol'oed. That the Democratic Party will expect of the next Admmiatratlon that every proper effort be made to insure our ascendency in the G-ulf of Mexico, and to maintain permanent protection to the great outlets through which are emptied into its waters the produc'iy raised out of the soil and the commodities created by the industry of the people of our western valleys and of the Union at large. Jiesolved, That the Administration of Franklis PiERCB haa been true to Democratic principles, and therefore true to the great interests, of the country; in the face of violent opposition, he has maintained the laws at home, and vindicated the rights of American citizens abroad ; and therefoie we proclaim our unquali- fied admiration of his measui'es and policy. FHIG CONVENTION-^1856. A Whig National Convention .met at Balti- more on the 17th of Sept., 185.6 — Edward Bates, of Missouri, presidii.g. The nominations of Millard Fillmore for President, and Andrew J.. tDonelaop' for Vice-President, were unanimously concurred in. The, Cpnvention adopted the following PLATFORM : MesoJ/oed, That the Whigs of the United States, now here assembled, hereby declare their reverence for the Constitution of the United States, their unalterable at- tachment to the National Union, and a fixed determina- tion to d(/all in their powoi" to preserve them for them- selves and their posterity. They have no new principles to announce ; no new pl-atform to establish ; but are content to broadly rest — where their fathers rested— upon the Constitution of the United States, wishing no safer gjuide, no higher law. iZfflSe^efi^ That we regard with the deepest interest and janxiety. the present disoi'dered condition of our national affairs — a portion ojf the country ravaged by civil war, large sections of our population embittered by mutual recriminations ; and we distinctly trace theso calamities to the culpable neglect of duty by the preaeut national administration. Be>mU&d^ That the Government of the United States was formed by the conjunction in political unity of wide spread geographical sections mateiually differing, not onlj^ In .cltmate and prpducts, but in social and domestic institutions ; ahd that any cause that ^all permanently array the diffierent sections of the Union in political hos- tility and organized parties founded only on geographical distinctions liust inevitably prov^ fatal to a continuance of the National Union. liesolved, That the Whi^of the United States declare, as a fundamental article of political faith, an absolute necessity for avoiding geographical parties. The danger, so clearly discerned by the Father of his Country, has now become fearfully apparent in the agitation now convulsing the nation, and must be artested at once if ,we would preserve our Constitution and our Union from dismemberment, and the name of America from being blcttted out from the family of civilized nations. 2ft A POLITICAL TEST-BbOK FOB 1860. Me8olt>ed^ That all who revere the Constitution and the Union, must look with alarm at the parties in the fieJd in the present Presidential campaign — one claiming only to represent sixteen Northern States, and tlie other appealing mainly to Che passions 9;nd prejudices of the Southern States ; that the success of either faction must add fuel to the flame which now threatens to wrap our deai'est interests in a common ruin. MeaoJ/oed^ That the only remedy for an evil so appal- ling is to support a candidate pledged to neither of the geographical sections now arrayed in political antagon- ism, but holding both in a just and equal regard. We congratulate the fViends of the Union that such a candi- date exists in Millard Fillmore. Besohed, That, without adopting or referring to the peculiar doctrines of the' party which has already se- lected Mr. Fillmore as a candidate, we loolc to him as a well-tried and faithful friend of the Constitution and the Union, eminent alike for his wisdom and firmness — for his justice and moderation in our foreign relations — ^for his calm and pacific temperament, so well becoming the Jiead of a great nq,tion — for his devotion to the Constitu- tion in its true spirit— his inflexibi^ty in executing the laws ; but, beyond all these attributes, in possessing the one transcendent merit of being a representative of neither of the two sectional parties now struggling for political supremacy. EesoVoed, That, in the present exigency of political af- fairs, we are not called upon to discuss the subordinate questions of administration in tlie exercising of the Constitutional powers of the Government. It is enough to know that civil war is raging, and that, the Union is in peril ; and we proclaim the conviction tHat the restora- tion of Mr. Fillmore to the Presidency will furnish thfrbest if not the only means of restoring peace. In the election which ensued, Mr. Fillmore received the vote of Maryland only, while Mr. Buchanan obtained those of the 14. other Slave States, and ofNew-Jersey,I^ennsylTania, Indiana, Illinois and California, making 1*72 in all. Col. Fremont received the votes of the eleven other Free States, making 114 in all. Pennsylvania and tUi-nois, had they voted for Col. Fremont, would have given him the election. REPUBHO^N CONVENTION— 1860. those present and voting should be req iired to nominate candidates." The following Platform was adopted, and, without taking a ballot for President, the Convention again adjourned. PLATFORM OP I860. Heeolved^ That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United Statt^s, in Convention assembled, jn discharge of the duty we owe to our con- stituents and our country, unite in the following decla- rations : 1. That the history of the nation, during the last foTt years, has fully established the propriety and necessitj of the organization and perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence 'are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph. 2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the federal Constitution, *' That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain in- alienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their Just powers fiom the consent of ttie governed," is essen- tial to the preservation of our Repuhllcan institutions ; and that the Federal Constitution, the Rights of the States, and the Union of the States, must ai>d shall be preserved. 3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented increase in population, its surprising de- velopment of material resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and its honor abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for Disunion, come from whatever source they may : And we congratulate the country that no Republican member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of Disunion so often made by Democratic members, without rebuke and with applause from their political associates ; and we dejiounce those threats of disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendency, as denying the vital principles of a free government, and as an avowal of contemplated trea- son, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant Peo- le sternly to rebuke and forever silence. X 4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the I States, And especially the right of each State to order and ' c&ntrol its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of pow- ers on which tht; perfection and endurance of our poliii- cal fabric depends ; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no i Sf A Republican National Convention assembled i^'atTer^ilndeVwhat'^reuxt; as"-'amo^g"ihe"gra;;i' Zi J at Chicago, lUmois, on Wednesday, May 16th,^^rime3. X 1860, delegates being in attendance from all the Free States, as also from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas,* the Ter- ritories of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Dis- trict of Columbia. Gov. Morgan, of New- York, as Chairman of the National Executive Committee, nominated David Wilmot as temporary Chairman, aud he was chosen. The usual Committees on perma- nent organization, credentials, etc., were ap- pointed, and the Convention was permanently organized by the selection of George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, as President, with a Vice- President and a Secretary from each State and Territory represented. A Committee, of one from each State and Territory, was appointed to draft suitable resolutions, or in other words a Platform, and the Convention adjourned. 'On the following day, an interesting debate aro>se on a proposition to require a vote equal to a majority of full delegations from all the States to nominate candida.tes for President and Vice-President ; wh'ich, with the delegates actu- ally in attendance, would have been about equivalent to a two-third rule. This proposition, was voted down, and the Convention decided, by a vote of 831 to 130, that only a majority of • The delegation ftom Tsxas has since been proved fraudulent, having boon got up in Michigan to etTeci a personal eud. ^ 5. That the present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions, in its measureless sub- serviency to the exactions of a sectional interest, as es- pecialiy evinced in Its desperate exertions to force the infamous Lecompton Constitution upon the protesting people of Kansas; in construing the personal relation between master and servant to Involve an unqualified property in persons ; in its attempted entorcement, every- where, on land antl sea, through the intervention of Con- gress and of the Federal Courts of the extreme preten- sions of a purely local interest; and in its general and unvarying abuse of the- power intrusted to it by a cofffid- ing people. 6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the syste- matic plunder of ihe public treasury by favored parti- sans; while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis, show that an entire change of administration is imperatively de> manded. w C 7. That the new dognxa that the Constitution, of ita j I own force, carries Slavery into any or all of the Terrlto- Pies of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instru- t ■ment itself, with cotemporaneous exposition, and with I legislative and judicial precedent ; is revolutionary in its J tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of I the country. f 8. That the normal condition of all the territory of tha ( United States is that of freedom : That as our Republican i fathers, when they had abolished Slavery in all our na- \ tional territory, ordained that "no person should be de- / prived of life, liberty, or properi-y, without due process I ; of law," it becomes our duty, by legislation, wlienevei ) such legislation % necessary, to maintain this provision/ of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and f we deny the authority of Coi gre^, of a territorial legi* / J^ATIf "SIL CON7ENTIONS AJ^D PLATFORMS. 21 lature, 01 of any individualsi to give legal existence to Slavery iu any Territory of the United States. 9. That we 'brand the recent re-opening of the African ~Blave-trade, under the ooVei- of our national.flag, aided by perversions of judicial power^ as a crime against hu- manity and a burning shame to our country and age; and we call upon Congress to take prompt and eflBcient me'isures for the total and final suppression of that exe- crable traffic. 10. That in the recent vetoea, by their Federal G-over- nors. of the acts of the Legislatures of Kansas and Ne- oraaka, prohibiting Slavery in those Territories, we find a practical i!)ustratiop of the boasted Democratic princi- ple of Non Intervention and Popular Sovereignty embo- died in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud involved therein. 11. That Kansas should, of right, .be immediately ad- mitted as a State under the Constitution recently formed and adopted by her people, and accepted by the House of Represent atives. 13. That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, sound policy ret^uires such an adjustment of these imposts as to en- courage the development of the industrial Interests of the whole country : and we commend that policy of national - exchanges which secures to the working men liberal wages, to agriculture remunerating prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial pros- perity and independence. 13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the Public Lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the Homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public bounty ; and we demand the passage by Congress of the complete and satisfactory Homestead measure which has aU'eady passed the House. . 14. That the Republican Partyis opposed to any change In our Naturalization Laws or any State legislation by which the rights of citizenship hitherto accorded to immi- grants from foreign lands shall be abridged or impaired ; and in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or na- turalized, both at home and abroad. 15. That appropriations by Congress for River and Harbor improvements of a National character, required for the accommodation and security of an existing com- merce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified l^ the obligations of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens. 16. That a Railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country; that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in Us construction ;,and that, as preliminary thereto, a daily Overland Mail should be promjitly Mtablished. . . - -17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive prin- ciples and views, we invite the cobperation of all citi- STfins^ however differing on other questions, who substan- tially agree with us in their affirmance and support. 'On the following day, Friday, May 18th, the Chair having announced that the naming of candidates for President was' in order, Wm. M. Evarts, of New-York, named William H. - Seward. Mr. Judd, of Illinois, named Abraham Lin- coln. Mr. Dudley, of New-Jersey, nominated Wm. L. 'Bayton. Gov. Keeder, of Pennsylva- vania, nominated Simon Cameron. Mr. Cart- ter, of Ohio, nominated Salmon P. Chase. Francis P. Blair, of Maryland, nominated Ed- ward Bates, of Missouri, Indiana seconded the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Austin B^air, of Michigan, seconded the nomination of Mr. Seward; so also did Carl Schurz, of Wisconsin, Mr. Worth, of Minnesota, and Mr. Wilder, of Kansas. Mr. Corwin, of Ohio, nominated Judge Mc- Lean. Mr. Delano, of Ohio, seconded the nomination of Mr.' Lincoln, as did also one of the delegates from Iowa. The balloting then proceeded, with the follow- ing result : FIRST BALLOT. StatCi. 1.^- Hill _ - - I S? i 1 =3 Maine... 10 6 •- New-Haiapshlfe 1 T 1 1* — Vermont 10 Massachusetts, .21 4 — — — — r — — — * — Rhode Island... 1 6 1 1 — t^ Oonneotioilt....— 3 1— 7 2 New-York 70 ' ' New-Jersey — — 14 — ^ Pennsylvania., li 4 — 47^ — 1 Maryland 8 — ■ 8 Delaware — — — — 6 — — — — — — — Virginia 8 14— 1 r Kentucky 5 6 2 1— 8— 1 Ohio — 8 4 — 84 Indiana — 26 Missouri — — — — 13 — — — — — — — Michigan.... '..12 — — — — — — — -" Illinois — ?2 ■ — — Texas 4 2 — Wisconsin IjO — — — — — — Iowa 2 2—1 1 1-^ 1 California 8 Minnesota 8 — — — — — — — — , — — ~~ - TerritoMeB. Kansas 6 — — — , Nebraska 2 1— 1 2 Dis. ol Oolombia 2 •< ■- — — — I Total.... 178*102 8 50*48 12 1 49 14 1 1 10 Whole number of votes, 465. Necessary to a choice, 233, The second ballot was then taken. Mr. Cataeron's name was withdrawn. SECOND BALLOT. . ■ • g =• ■ '^ I I .• S i «i I 3 i I I i i - I ^ ,io 6 ,1 9. _10 — ; — 22 4 _ _ — 8 — — 2 S — — ,_4 4 2— 2 New- Jersey 4 — — — — — 10 — Pennsylvania 2i 48 — 1 2* — — — Maryland 8 — 8 — — >— — — Delaware — 6 — — — * — — — Virginia 8 14— 1— — — — Kentucky.. 7 9 — — — 6 — — Ohio -^ 14 — .— 8 29 — — Indiana — 26 — ^- — — — — Missouri — — 18 — — — — — Michigan.. 12 — — — — — — — Illinois _22 — — — — — — Texas'. 6 — — — — — — — Wisconsin 10 — — — — — — — Iowa 2 5 — — i i— — California f 8^— — — r- — — — Minnesota 8 — ' — — — — — — Oregon ^- — 5 — — — — — Tet-ritm ice. Kansas *.. 6 — " — — — — — — Nebraska 8 1 — — — 2 — — District of Columbia. .. 2 — — — — — — — Maine. New-Hampshire . Vermont Massachusetts... Rhode Island.... Oonnecticub New-York.. Total 1844 181 85 2 8^ 42J 10 S The third ballot was taken amid exoiteinent, and cries for "the ballot." Intense feeling existed daring the voting, each vote being awaited in breathless silenee and expectancy. The progress of the ballot was watched with most intense interest, especially toward the last, the crowd-becoming silent as the contest narrowed down. The States, as called, voted as follows : * Previously withdrawn. 36 A POLITICAL TKX.T-BO0K FOK 1860. THUD BALU)T. Halnc. .10 — - — 1 10' 18 5 4 — — 8 I — 1 — 4 6 14 IS — 16 29 18 — — 22 1 H — 4 2 1 New-Hampshire. 1 Vermont — Massachusetts.... S Rhode Island.,.. 1 Oonnectlcut..... 1 New-York ..TO New- Jersey, i ... . 5 Pennsylvania — Maryland 2 Delaware — Virginia 8 . Kentucky (J Ohio. — Indiana — Missouri — Michigan 12 Illinois — Texas 6 Wisconsin 10 Iowa 2 Galirornia 8 Minnesota 8 0^'egon 1 Territortee. Kansas 6 Nebraska S I Dist, of Columbia 2 180 22 24f 2811 5 11 This gave Lincoln 231 J votes, or within 2J of a nomination. Before the result was announced, Mr. Cart- ter, of Ohio, said — I rise, Mr. Chairman, to an- nounce the change of four votes from Ohio, from Mr. Chase to Abraham Lincoln. This announcemen);, giving Mr. Lincoln a majority, was greeted by the audience with the most enthusiastic and thundering applause. Mr. MoCrillis, of Maine, Braking himself heard, said that the young giant of the West is now of age. Maine casts for him her 16 votes. Mr. Andrew, of Massachusetts, changed the vote of that State, giving 18 to Mr. Lincoln and 8 to Mr. Seward. Mr. B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, desired to change the 18 votes of Missouri to the gallantson of the West, Abraham Lincoln. Iowa, Con- necticut, Kentucky, and Minnesota also changed their votes. The result of the third ballot was announced : Whole number of votes cast , 466 If ecessary to a choice , 234 ' Abraham Lincoln had received 354, and was declared duly nominated. On motion of Wm. M. Evarts, of New- York, seconded by Mr. Andrew, of Massachusetts, the nomination was then made unanimous. On motion of Mr. Evarts, of New-York, the Convention now took a recess till 5 o'clock, to afford time for 9onsultation as to Vice-President. At 5 o'clock the Convention reassembled, listened to nominations, and then proceeded to jiiallot. The following is a record of the ballotings for Vice-President : nsar ullot. «: 1 1 o n P4 f i 1 — 4 2 - t 2i24 — 10 — 10 1 1 — 8 2 6 11 85 — 6 7 11 1 8 1 2 — 48 — 8 9 — 16 1 1 1 8 — 1 6 3 1 6 — 5 — Maine — New-Hampshire. . . — Vermont — Massachusetts..,. — Rhode Island., .. — Connecticut 2 New-York 9 New- Jersey 1 Pennsylvania..... H Maryla-nd 2 Delaware 8 Virginia ,'.. .23 Kentucky 88 Ohio .— Indiana 13 Missouri — Michigan 4 Illinois 2 T) several Statei. KATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 30 Mr. Asliraun made a hrief speech, and the Convention adjourned sine die, with nine hearty '•beers for the tioltet. NATIONAL EEPUBLICAN COMMITTEk The Convention previous to its adjournment made choice of the following gentlemen as the National Committee for the next four years ; Maine — Ohakles J. Gilmah, Brunswick. Jf&w-WmiptiMre — George G^ Fogg, Ooncord. TermoT^t— -Lawebnce Bkaihakd, St. Albans. Mas^achus^Us — John Z. Goodrich, Stockbridge. Bhode /sia7w2— Thomas G. Turner,- Providence. Oonaietiiioui — Gidbon Wellss, Hartford. Jfew- York — ^Edwin D. Morgan, Alb^y. ^euH76rti6y—T>ssmsa Bnss, N. T. City. jp&nnsyT/oania — Edward McPherson, Gettysburg J)ela/iDar6 — Nathaniel B. Smitherb, Dover. Marykmd-T-iiMss, F. Wagner, Baltimore. Virginia — Alfred Caldwell, Wheeling. Ohio — Thomas Spooner, Reading, HanUlton Co. Zndi^ana — Solomon Meredith, Centerville. JUinois — Norman B. Jddd, Chicago. Mioldgviolating the principles of the Cincinnati plat- form. They say that the Cincinnati platform is a Popular Sovereignty .platform ; that it was intended to present and priictically enforce that great principle. Now, we who made this report deny that this is the true construction of the OiiicJinmiti plattbrm. We of the South say that when we voted for the Cincinnati platform we undei-stood, from the fact thiit the Territories 'stand in the same position as- the District of Colura))ia, thati non-interferende and nop-, Inioiveution.io the Territories was that same sort of non- interference and non-intervention forbidden in the 'D^x. trict of Columbia. Now, we maintain that OongreiB has no right to prohibit or abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia. Why ? Lecause it Is an existing institution. It becomes the duty of Congress under the Constitution to protect and cheiish the right of property in slaves in that District, because the Constitution does not give them the power to prohibit or establish Slavfery. , Every session of Congress, Northern men, Southern men, men of all par- ties, are legislating to protect, cherish and t^hold the iusti tution of Slavery in the District of Columbia It is said that the Cincinnati platform is ambiguous, and that we niupt explain it. At the South^ we have main- tained that ,it had no ambigui^ ; tbat it did not mean Popular Sovereignty ; but our Northern friends say thait it does mean .Popular Sovereignty. Now, if we are going to explain it an^l to declare its principles, I say let us .either declare them openly, boldly, squarely, or let us leave it as it is in the Cmcinnati Platform. I want, and we of the South want, no more doubtful plat- forms upon this or any other question. We desire that this 'Convention should take a bold, square stand. What do the minority of the committee propose ? Their solution is to leave the question to the decision of the Supreme Court, and agree to abide by any decision that may be made by that tribunal between the citizens of a Territory upon the subject. Why, gentlemen of the minority, you cannot help yourselves. That is no >,concession to u^. There is no necessity for putting that in the platform, be^ cause I take it for granted that you are all law-abiding citizens. Every gentleman here from a non-slaveholding State is a. law-abiding citizen,; and if he be so, why w^ know that when,there'is a decision of the Supreme Court, even adverse to' his views, he will submit to it You say thp-t this is a judical question. We say thafj it iS' not. But if it be a judicial question, it is immaterial 1|jfj you how the platform is made, because all you will hav*.t^^ say is, " this is a judicial question ; the niajprifcy of therSo^- . vention were of one opinion; Imay entertain my D^Qpi^-. ion upon the question ; let the Supreme Courtsettlj^it,'* ". . Lei us make a plat^rm about which there sa^J^nc, t^ubt, so that every man, North and Soutb,^ ipayy st*nd;'. side by side on all issues connected with Slax<^r^t,,^d ,ad~., vocate the same prihbiples. That is all ise; '^^/ AU.w* demand at your hands is, that there shaUbeif^ .equivOca^ tion and no doubt in the popular m^d. ^.tpv'wib^^pui^ principles are. Mr. H. B. Payne, of Ohio, ?epli(ed at length, , and, in the course of his argU'iHsut; said : The question of Slavery had ^tr^tedi t^e .Courts and ' j— the party since 1820, and we luapedj by the Cicunpromise measures of 1850, the Kans«&Jaw trfj l#5^and the Plat- form of 1852 and 1856, thsftt t^e ppljpy.ot tne Democratic party was a united and settlp.d,iJoUcy hi rcj^pecttp, Afri- can slavery. . . . ^ TGhe Democracy of: the North haV6, throughout, stooidi b^ the Sout^ in, vlndiqatiqn of their constitutional iri^ht^v. iEor this they claim no credit. They have wirojply discharged their constitutional duty; and, though $ome- Southern Senators may rise in then* places and sti^natii^ us as,iinsound and rotten, we say we have doaafijt in,good.f9,ifchi,and we challege co'ntra- diction. We bare supposed tjiat this doctrine of Popular Sovereignty was a final settleiqent of the Slavery difficulty". You so understood % In the $oi^b. We. are not claiming anything in our Platform but what the Olqcinn^ti Platform was admitted (oj have est^bUshed What was tlie doctriije of, 18&6 ? Non-intervention by Congress with the qi^^s^lon of Slavery, and tiie subimssidn of the question of Slavery in the Territories, under the Constxtwton, to the Peop^. It is said that on^ construction has been g^ven to the Platfbirm at the Sov^tb and another at the North. He could prove froip the .Congressional debates that from 1350 to lS56ther^ was pO|t. a dissenting opinion expre^ed in Congress on ^ia subject. , To show that Squatter Sovereignty had been generally accepted as the true Democratic doe- trine, Mr. Payne quoted from eminent Southern Democratic Statesmen as follows : \ F»OU^'^ SP^nCH, OF HON. HOWELL OOBBj OF OBORGIA. *' I ^ta^d upoju a principle. I hold that the will of the . majq^ty of. 'the, people of Kansas should decide this question,. &n4 1 say here to-night, before this people and betqre,this country, that I, for one, shall abide the deci- sion of .'the,pefjple there. 1 hold to the right of the People to .s elf-go vernmeat. I am willing for them to decide thlt j ' qu^estion.^' FROM THE 8AMB, "I |rould not plant Slavery upon the soil of any por- tioEi of G'od's earth against the will of the people. Thc.« S9 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOE FOR 1860. government of the United States should not force the f then acting as Chairman of his Delega.tlon,-aD& nowpr». institution of Slavery upon the people either of the [senting the majority report announced: "lerntories,' or of the States against the will of the peo- 1 " North Carolina gives ten votes for the Platform, anA , J against tne wiiLof the peo- ple, though my voice could bring about that result." PHOM A SPBKOH OP VIOS-PREglDISNT BRECKINBIDQB. " But those who hold that the Territorial Legislature cannot pass a law prohibiting Slavery, admit that, unless the Territorial Legislature pass laws for its protection. Slavery will not go there. Therefore, practicaUy, a majority of the people repi^esented in the Territorial Legislature decides the qhestion. Whether they decide it by prohibiting it, accordiflg to the one doctrine, or by refusing to pass laws to protect it, as contended for by the other party, is immaterial. The majority of the p«)- ple, by the action of the Territorial Legislature, will decide the question, and all must abide the decision when oude." FROU THE SAME. " But if non-intervention by Congress be the principle that underlies the Compromise of 1860, then the jirohibi- tlon of 1820, beihg inconsistent with that principle, should be removed, and perfect non-intervention thus be estab- lished by law. ■ " Among many misrepresentations sent to the country by some of the enemies of this bill, perhaps none is more flagi'ant, than the charge that it proposes to legislate Slavery into Nebraska and Kansas. Sir, if the bill con- tained such a feature it would not receive my vote. The right to establish involves the correlative right to proM- blt, and, denying both, I would vote for neither." FROU THE SAHB. " Upon the distracting question of domestic Slavery, their position is clear. The whole power of the Demo- cratic organization is pledged to the following proposi- tions : ~That Co;igresB shall not interpose upon this sub- ject in the States, in the Territories, or in the District of Columbia ; that the people of each Territory shall deter- mine the question for themselves, and be admitted into the Union upon a footing of perfect equality with the original States, without discrimination on account of the allowance or prohibition of Slavery." ^ FROM A SPEECH BY HON. JAMES L. ORR, OP S. v. " Now, I admit that there is a diflFerence of opinion amongst Democrats as to whether this feature of Squat- ter Sovereignty be in the bill or not. But the great point upon which the Democratic party at Cincinnati rested Tyaa, that the government of the Territories had been transferred from Congress, and, carrying out the spirit and genius of our institutions, had been given to the people of the Territories." FROM A SPUECH BY HON. A. H. STEPHENS, OF GEORGIA. "The whole question of Slavery or No Slavery was to be left to the people of the Territories^ whetlrer North or South of 86° 30', or any other line. The question was to be taken out of Congress, where it had been impro- perly thrust from the beginning, and to be left to the people concerned in the matter to decide for themselves. This, I say, was the position originally held by the South when the Missouri Restriction was at first proposed. The principle upon which that position restsj lies at the very, foundation of all our Republican institutions : it is that the citizens of every dtetinct'and separate community or State should have the right to govern themselves in their domestic matters as they please, and that they should be free from intermeddling restriction and arbitrary dictation on such matters, from any other Power or Government, in uhich they have no voice." . Mr. Payne continued. , But for consuming time, he could read for half an hour, to show that every eminent Southern man had held the same opinion on the doctrine of popular sovereignty. ' Mr. Payne would read from the Cincinnati Platform ,to show- what it laid down. All should be familiar with it : " The American Democracy recognize and adapt the principles contained in the organic laws, establishing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the ' Slavery Question ' Hpon which the great National idea of the People of' this whole country can repose in its determined conserva- tism of the Union— non-inter;ference, by Congress with Slavery in State and Territory, or. In tfte District of Columbia." ■ They nominated Mr. Buchanan on that Platform, agi-eed on by the representatives of every State in the Union, as the ofiBcial record would ihow. There was not one dissenting voice in the whole list of States. In cast- ing the vote of North Carolina, his friend, Mr. Avery, I give will give ten thousand -majority in November." I In his letter of acceptance, Mr, Buchanan, in an em- phatic and clear manner, thus expressed hia views o( this Platform: *' The recent le^slation of Congress respecting domes- tic Slavery, derived, as it ftas been, from the original and pure fountain of legitimate political power, the will of the majority, promises, ere long, to allay the danger- ous excitement. This legislation is founded on princi- ples as anoient as Free government itself, and in accord- ance with them^as simply declared thsilt^i^ people of a Territory^ like those of a Siate^ shall decide for tkem^ sehtes, whether Sla/oery nhall or sJiall not eaisi witldn their mmtay Mr. Payne had extracts yet behind of speech^ from Stephens, of Geor^a, one of the most distinguished States- men of the South — from Mr. Benjamin, of Louislan^^ Mason, of Virginia — ^more qualified, be admitted, but still emphatic. The Senator from Delaware, too, Mr. Bayard, had fully indorsed the doctrine of Popular Sovereignty. So had Mr. Badger, of North Carolina, and Judgfc Butler of South Carolina. Mr. Hunter of Virginia, cer- tainly one of the ipisest and purest statesmen which the Democracy now numbers amongst her leaders in the land — he, also, says that the people shall hav.e the right to decide on all questions relating to their domestic institutions. In his speech, he used these words, almost identical with the Platform of the minority : ** The bill provides that the Legislatures of these Ter- ritories shall have power to legislate over all rightful subjects of legislation consistently with the Constitution. And, if they should assume powere which are thought to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the Courts will de- cidethat question whenever it may be rased, ^'here is a dnference of opinion among the friends of this measure as to the extent of the limits which the Constitution im- poses upon the Territorial Legislatures. This bill pro- poses to leave these differences to the decision of tne Courts. To that tribunal I am wiUing to leave this deci-. sion, as it was. once before proposed to be left by tba celebrated Compromise of the Senator from Delaware.*' lie also read an extract of a similar character from a speech by Mr. Toombs, of Geor^a, one of Uie boldest men on the floor of the American Senate^ taking ground in favor of non-intervention by Congress. Need he accumulate these extracts to show that not a single statesman who has figured in Congi-ess, of late years, but has taken this high ground? Mr. Samuels, of Iowa, presented the follow- ing report on behalf of the minority of the Platform Committee : 1. MesoVoed^ That we, the Democracy of the Union, in Convention assembled, hereby declare our affirmance of t^e resolutions uuanimbusty adopted and declared as a platform of principles by the Democratic Ci^ventlon at Cincinnati, in the year 185ii, beUevlng that Democratic principles are unchangeable in their nature, when ap- plied to the same subject matters; and ue recommend as the only further resolutions the following : Inasmuch as differences of opinion exist In the Demo- cratic Party as to the nature and extent of the powers of a Territorial Legislature, and as to the powers jand duties of Congress, under the Constitution of the United States, over the Institution of Slavery within the Terrii tories : 2. ResoVoed., That the Democratic Party will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States on the questions of Constitutional law. 3. Sesolved, That it is the duty of the United States to afford ample- and complete, protection to all its citi- zens, whether at home or abroad, and whether native or foreign. 4. Hesoloed, That one of the necessities of the age, in a military, commercial, and postal point of view, is speedy communication between the Atlantic and Facifio States ; and the Democratic Party pledge such Constitu- tional Government aid as \^ill insure the construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast, at the earliest practicable period. 5. JBesolved^ That the Democratic party are in favct of the acquisition of the Island of Cuba, on such terms as shall be honorable to ourselves and just to Spain. 6. ResoVoed^ That the enactments of State Legislatures to defeat the faithful execution of the Fugitive Slave Law, are hostile in character, subversive of Ute Consti- tution, and revolutionary in their effect. Gen. Butler, of Massachusetts, again reported NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 83 (ag a minority) the Cincinnati Platform without alteration/ ' lb was evident, even before the report of the majority was presented, that it would not be sustained by the Convention, though the Free-State majority evinced not only willing- ness but anxiety to conciliate their Southern brethren at any sacrifice not absolutely ruinous. The majority of the Convention, confident of their power to reject the majority report, were anxious for a vote ; but the minority seemed determined to stave off definite action for that day, and carried their point by a system our- reatly termed " filibustering," which would have dona no discredit to the House of Representa- tives at Washington. The confusion and hub- bub which prevailed may be ' comprehended perhaps, by the following extract from the offi- cial report of the proceedihgs : Mr. Bigler obtained the floor, and desired to suggest to the Convention that, by common consent, and without any further struggle, they should adjourn. (Cries of " I object !" '* I object !") Mr. Hunter, of Louisiana. — I appeal to my Democratic friends of the South and my Bemocratie friends from all parts of the Union — ^Crijes of " order!" " order !" and the greatest disorder prevailing in the Hall.) The President— The Chair begs leave, once foK.aII, to state— and the Chair entreats the Convention to: listen to this declaration — tha£ it is physically impossible for the tJhair to go on in a contest ^ith six hundred men as to who shall cry out loudest ; and unless, the Convention wil^ come to ordt;r, 'and gentlemen take their places and proceed in order, the Ohair will feel bound, in duty to the Convention as well as to himself, to leave the chair. (Applause.) The Chair will wait to see whether it is pos- sible to have order in th& House. Mr. Samuels, of Iowa, appealed to the Convention to listen to a proposition of Mr. Hunter of Louisiana.' Thfl Pi'esident. — ^The Ohair will entertain no motion until the Convention is restored to order ,^ and when that is done, the Chair desires to make another suggestion to the Convention. The Chair has already stated that it is physically irapossihle for him to go on with the business of the Convention, so long as one-half of the members are upon their feet'and engaged in clamor of one sort or another. The Chair begs leave to repeat that he knows lut one remedy for such disorder, and that is for your 'residing o£Qcer to leave the chair. -He, of course, vould deeply regret that painful necessity ; but it would e a less evil than that this incessant confusion and dis- order, presenting such a spectacle to the people of South Carolina, should continue to prevail in this most honor- able body of so maqy Respectable gentlemen of the high- est standing in the community, engaged in debat^and delibei-aiioa upon the dearest interests of the country, (Applause.) It was finally agreed that the vote should be aken the next day — or rather the following jifonday, and the Convention adjourned. On Monday the'SOth, the President stated the question as follpws : The Convention will remember that, in the first place, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Avery) reported the resolutions of the rpajority of the commit- tee. Thereupon the gentleman from Iowa(Mr. Samuels) moved an amendment to these resolutions, by striking out all after tha word " resolved," and to- insert the resolutions proposed byliim, in behalf of a portion of minority of the committee. After which, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Butler) moved, in behalf of an- other portion of the i&indrity committee, to amend the amendment, by striking out all after the word "re- Bolved,*' and inserting the proposition proposed by him on" behalf of that minority. The first qu^tion will be, therefore, upon the amendment moved 'by the gen- tleman from Wassachusetts (Mr. Butler). If that amend- ment falls, the Convention will th^n come to a vote Upon the amendment moved by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Samuels). If, however, the amendment of Mr. Butler prevails, then that amendment, will have taken the place of Uie amendnj.ent moved by Mr. Samuels, and the next question will be upon substituting it ih the place 3 of the original resolution proposed by the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Butler's Platform affinmg the Cincinnati Platform, and adds a resoluflon for the protec- tion of citizens abroad. The vot6 was then taken by States on Mr, Butler's amendment, with tlie following result: yeas ljB5, naya 198: Yeas — Maine, 8; Massachusetts, 8 ; Connecticut, 2J; New-Jersey, 5 ; Pennsylvania, 16i-; Delaware, 8; Mairy- land, 5i ; Virginia, 12i- ; North Carolina, 10 ; Geor^a, 10; .Missouri, 4i^ ; Tennessee, 11 ; Kentucky, 9; Minnesota, U I Oregon, 8—105. , Mays — Maine, 5; New-Hampshire, 5; Vermont, 5; Massachusetts, 5; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 8}-; New-Yorkj 85 ; New-Jersey, 2 ; Pennsylvania, 10^ ; Mary- land, 2 i ; Virginia, 2i; South Carolina, 8 ; Florida, 8; Alabama, 9; IiouiSiana., 6; Mississippi, 7; Texas, 4; Arkansas, 4; Missouri, 4}' ; Tennessee, 1 ; Kentucky, 3; Ohio, 23 ; Indidina, 18 ; Illinois, 11 ; Michigan, 6 ; Wiscon- sin, 5; Iowa, 4; Minnesota, 2^-; California, 4—198. So the amendment was rejected. The minority report (that of Mr. Samuels) was then read, and, after ineffectual attempts to table the subject and proceed to a nomina- tion, the vote was taketi and the " minority report was adopted as an amendment or substi- tute, as follows : Yeas — Maine, 8 ; New-Hampshire, 5 ; Vermont, .5 • Massachusetts, 7 ; Rhode Island, 4 ;, Connecticut, 6 ; New- Yofrk, 85 ; New-Jersey, 5 ; Pennsylvania, 12 ; Maryland, SJ; Virginia, 1 1 Missouri, 4 ; Tennessee, 1 ; Kentucky, 24; Ohio, 23; Indiana, 18; Illinois, 11; Michigan, 6; Wisconsin, 5 ; Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 4—165. Mws — Massachusetts, 6 ; New-Jersey, 2 ; Pennsyl- vania^ 15; Delaware, 8; Maryland, 44-; Virginia, 14; North Car6Una, 10; South Carolina, 8; Georf^a, 10' Florida, 3 ; Alabama, 9; Louisiana, 6; Mississippi,?; Texas, 4 ; Arkansas, 4 ; Missouri, 5 ; Tennessee, 11 ; Ken- tucky, 9* ; California, 4 ; Oregon, 8—188. The question was then taken on the adoption of the report as amended, the vote being taken on each resolution separately, and with the ex- ception of the one pledging the Democratic party to abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court on the subject of Slavery in the Territo- ries — which was rejected — they were adopted by a vote which was nearly unanimdus. The delegation from Alabama, by its Chair- man, then presented a written protest, signed by all its members, announcing their purpose to withdraw from the Convention./ They were followed by the delegations from Mississippi, Florida, Texas, all the Louigjana delegation except two, ail the South Carolina delegation except three, three of the Arkansas delegation, two of ' the Delaware delegation (including Senator Bayard) and one from North Carolina, The order of their withdrawal was as follows ; ALABAMA PROTESTS AND WITHDRAWS. Mr. Walker, (rf Alabama. — Mr* President, I am in- structed by the Alabama delegation to submit to thia Conrention a commiinlcation, and, with your permission, I will read it. To T^ Hon. Caleb CasHiso, PreHderU of the hemocraiie JTational Oon/oei^ tion, now in bession in the City of Ch>arlesion^ South €aroliAha : Tlie undersigned delegates, representing the State of Alabama in this Convention, respectfully beg leave to lay before your honorable body the following statements of fact? : - On the'felBventh day of January, I860, the Democratic party of the State of Alabama met in Cbnrention, in the city of Montgomery, and adopted, with singular una^- mity, a series' of resolutions herewith submitted: 1. Sesdl^edhj/ the Democi-acy of the Sfate of AlcJkima in Cnd.of the West, what was the construction placed upon that Platform in different sections of the Union ? Ypn at the West said it meant one thing, we of the South said it meant another. Kitiier we were riglit or you were right; we were wrong or you were wuong. We came here to ask you which was right and which was wrong. Ton have maintained your position. You say that you cannot give ua an acknow- ledgment, of thsiA right, which I tell you here now, in coming time will be your only safety in your contests with the Black Republicans of Ohio and of the North. , (Cheers.) Why. sir, turn back to the history of your own leading men. There sits a distinguished gentleman, (Hon. Charles E, Stuart, of Michigan,) once a representative of one of^ the sovereign. States of the Union in the Senate, who then voted that Congress bad the constitutional power to pass the Wilmot Proyiso; and to exclude Slavery from the Territories; and now, when the Suprjeme Court has said that it has not that power, he comes forward and tells Mi-ssissippians that that same Congress is impotent to protect that same 8i>ecies of property. There sits my distinguished fi'ielid, the Senator from Ohio, (Mr. Pugh,) who, but a few^ nights since, told us Trom that stand that if a Territorial Government totally misused their powers or abus3d them, Congress could wipe nut that Territorial Gcvernmertt altogether. And yet, when we conae here ■ and ask him to give ua protection in case that Territorial Government robs us of our property and strikes the star which answers to the name of Mississippi from the flag of the Union, so far as the Constitution gives her protection, he tells us, with his hand upon his heart— as Gov. Payne, of Ohie, Jiai before done — that they will part with theiJ- IlTes before they will acknowledge the principle which we contead for. Genfileihen, in such a situation of things in the Conven- tion of our great party, it is rlglit that we should part. Go your way, and we will go ours. The South leaves yoTi —not like Hagar, driven into the wilderness, friendless and alone — but I tell Southern men here, and for them, I tell the North, that, in less titan sixty day.'S, you will find a united South aifianding side by side with us. (Prolonged and enthusiastic cheering.) 'WjB Stand firm and immovable, and while we respect you, we must respect ourselves. And, gentlemen, let me say to you of the North now, that the time may come when you will need us more than we need you. I speak to those who represent " the green hills of New England ;*' I speak tb the 'imperial center "of the Union. There slumbers in your midst a latent sparli — not of political sectionalism, hut of social discord — which may yet re- '{^uire the conservative principles of the South to save your region of country from anarchy and confusion. We need not your protection. The power of the Black Republicans is nothing to us. We are safe in our own strength and secui^ity, so long as we maintain our vighta. Gentlemen, I have detained you too long. I ask, in conclusion, that the few words which are here written-^ words of (Pburtesy, but words of truth so far as my glori- ous State is concetned — may be read in your hearing. Mississippi, then read the Mr. Mathew.s, of following document. To the Presid&nt.of the DefiwcraUa Cowo&nMon : Sir : As Chairman of the delegation, which has the honor to represent the State of Mississippi upon this floor,'^! desire to be heard by you and by tlie Convention. In common consultation we have met here, the repre- sentatives of'sister States, to resolve the principles of a gr6at party. While maintaining principles, we profess no spirit save that of harmony, conciliation^ the success of our party, and the safety of our organization. Bdt to the former the latter must yield — for no organization is valuable without it, and no success is honorable ■wbidti does not crown it. We came here simply asking a recognition of the equal rights of our State under the laws and Constitution of our common Gdvernment; that our right to property should be asserted, and the protection of that property, when necessary, should he yielded by the Government which claims our allegiance We -had regarded government and protection as correlative ideas, and that so long aa the one wasmalntained the other still endured. Arter a deliberation of many diiya, it has been an- nounced to us by a controlling majority of Representa- tives of nearly one-half the States of this Union, and that too, in the most solemn and impressive manner, that our demand cannot be met and our rights cannot be recog- nized. While it is granted that thg capacity of the Federal Government is ample to protect all other pro- perty within its jurisdiction, it is claimed to be impotent when called upon to act in favor of a species of property recognised in fifteen sovereign States. Within those States, even Black Republicans admit it to be guaranteed by the Constitution, and to be only assailed by a Higher Law ; withoutahem, they claim the poWer to prohibit or destroy it. The contioling majority of Northern repre- sentatives on this floor, while they deny all power t-o destroy, equally deny all power to protect ; and this, they assure us, is, and must, and shall be the condition of our cooperation in the next Presidential election. In this dt'ate of affairs, our duty is plain and obvious. The State which sent us here, announced to us her prin- cip'es. In common with seventeen of her sister' States, she has asked a recognition of her Constitutional rights. These have been plainly and explicitly denied to her. We have oflFered to yield everything except an abandon- ment of her rights— everything except her honor — and it has availed us 'nothing. As the Representatives of Mississippi, knowing her wishes — as honorable men, regarding her commands — we withdraw fi-orh the Conve'ntlon, and, as far as our action is concerned, absolve her from all connection with this body, and all responsibility for Its action, To you, sir, as presiding officer of the Convention while ft has existed in its integrity, we desire, collectively aa a delegation, and individually as men, to tender the hi£«"icst a'psurances of our profound respect and eonaideration. Sigheji : D. C. Glen,.Charrman of, the Mississippi dele- gatioi?; George H. Gordon, James Drone, Beverly Mathews.J. T. Simms, Joseph R. Davis, W. S. Wilson, Isaac Enloe, Charles Edward Hooker, W. H. H Tison Bthelbert Barksdale, W. S. Barry, J. M. Thomson. Mr. Mathews then announced that a meetiiig 86 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. of all those who sympathized with them in this movement would be held at 8 o'clock this even- ing, in St. Andrew's Hall. The Mississippi delegation then withdrew from the Convention. SOUTH CAROLINA WITHDRAWfl. The Hnn. James Simons, of South Carolina. — ^Mr. Pre- sident, I am directed by the rteiegation from South CJaro- lina respectfully to present the following document. To THE Hon. Caleb Cushino, President of the Charleston Conv&nMon : \re, the undersigned Delegates appointed by the Demo- cratic State ConveQtlon of South Carolina, beg_leaTe re- spectfully to state that, according to the principles enunci- ated in their Platform at Cdltimbia, the power, either of the Federal Government or of its agent, the Territo- rial Government, to abolish or le^late against property in slaves, by either direct or indirect legislation, is especi- ally denied : and as the Platform adopted by the Conven- tion palpably and intentionally prevents any expression affirtning the incapacity of the Territorial Government bo to legislate, that they would not be acting in good faith to their principles, or in accordance with the wishes of their constituents, to longer remain In this Convention, and they hereby respectfully announce their withdrawal mere- from. Jambs 'Simons, Thos. T. Simons, S. McGowAN, Jas. Patterson, B. H. Wilson, ^ B. H. Brown, K. B, BOTLSTON, ^ J, A. Metts, Jas. H. Witherspoon, John S. Pheston. . , £. W. Charles, Francland Gaillabd, G. N. Retnoldb, Jr. The reading of this paper was greeted with frequent bursts of most enthusiastic cheering on the floor and in the galleries. 1 am further instructed to say, that the communication is signed by all the delegation but three members. The South Carolina delegation then withdrew from the Convention amidst loud cheering, FLORIDA RETIRES. Mr. Milton, of Florida. — Mr. President; Representing the State of Florida, it is with feelings of sadness that I present myself before you to bid adieu to the men of tiilent and men of high and noble feelings from the North and West, who have met us here upon this occasion. But differences have arisen between us which, as honor- able meu, we cannot adjust. Ithasbeen a^ed,time and again, why we should invite gentlemen from the North- west, the North and the East, to come and occupy higher ground than we did when we stood together and triumphed on the Cincinnati Platform? Since that time, gentlemen, according to your own report, a mighty ptjwer has arisen in your midst, deriving much of its strength and support from the Democrats of the North. I allude to the Black Republican party — a party which promulgates to the country that they have a higher law, a law known only to themselves — I hope not known to you — but superior to the Constitution. And, gentlemen, let me tell you that we came here expecting to be met hand in hand, and heart in heart, and to have formed a ''line shpulder to shoulder with you to drive back this swelling tide of fanaticism. But, gentlemen, how have we Tbeen met by you? I am proud to say that we have been met with high-toned generosity by Oregon and Cali- fornia. (Cheers.) I am proud to say that supporters of our claim for equal rights have boldly presented them- selves from the good old State of Pennsylvania. (Cheers.) While we have entertained great respect for your talent and integrity, yet we bid adieu to you of the Northwest without so much feeling of regret, as you have hardened your hearts and stiffened your necks against theTights of the South. ' (Cheers and laughter.) But, we s^ to you, gentlemen from Oregon and California, and Pennsylvania and other States, who Ijave come forward with the hand of fellnw.-hip, that we part from, you with feelings of heartfelt sorrow. Mr. Itandiill, of Pennsylvania. — And New-Jersey, Mr. MUton. — I did not forget New-Jersey, nor could I forget Massachusetts. Myremarkwas general. Where- ever and whenever a gentlemen from the North, the Hast or the West, has had the manliness to rise up and vindicate our rights, oar hearts have been at bis com- mand. (Cheers.) We thank you, gentlemen, for the courtesies we have received anongst you, and which We have returned irith the kindest feelings of our hearts. We part from yon without any unkind feeling. We respect you as gentle- men, but differing, as we do, upon principles vital to out most sacred interests, in the same spirit of wisdom and affection which caused Abraham and Lot to pass on, on* in one direction and the other in a different one, we bid 70U a most respectful adieu. (Loud cheers.) One mort remark, and I have done. The delegation from the State of Florida has unanimously passed a resplutiou that no one is authorized, when we shall retire, to represent Florida in this Convention. I confess, in all frankness, that I deem the resolution wholly unnecessary, because I believe there is too high a sense of honor amongst gen^ tlemen here from the North, and the East, and the West, to permit any man to skulk in here to represent Florida. Mr. Eppes, of Florida, then read the following protesta- tion : To THE HoK. Caleb Cushing, President of the Democratic JH^aHonal Con/vention ; The undersigned, Democratic delegates ffom the State of Florida, enter this their solemn protest against the action of the Convention In voting down the Platform of the majority. Florida, with her Southern sisters, is entitled to a clear and unambiguous recognition of her rights in the Terri- tories, and this being reflised by the re^jection of the majority report, we protest against receiving the Cincin- nati Platform with the Interpretation that it favors the doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty in the Territories— which doctrine, in the name of the people represented by us, we repudiate. T. J. Kppes, B. F. Wardlaw, John Milton, J. B. Owens, C. F. Dyke, delegates from Florida. The delegates f^om Florida, before retiring, have unanimously adopted the following R«solution : Resolved, That no person, not a regularly appointed delegate, has a right to cast the vote of the State nl Florida in this Convtntion. John Milton, Chairman of Delegation TEXAS WITHDRAWS. / Mr. Bryan, of Texas, who was received with loud chesrs, said : Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention- Texas, through her delegates on this floor, on the land ol Calhoun, where "truth, justice and the Constitution" was proclaimed to the South, says to the South — this day you stand erect. (Loud cheers.) Whilst we deprecats tl)e necessity which calls for our parting with the dele- gates from the other States of this Confederacy, yet it is an event that we, personally, have long looked to. Edu- cated in a Northern College, I there first learned that there was a North and a South ; there were two literary Societies, one Northern and the other Southern. In the Churches, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, are North and South. Gentlemen of the North and Northwest, God grant that there may be but" one Democratic party ! It depends upon your action, when you leave here, whether it shall be so. Give not aid and comfort to the Black Republican hosts ; bilt say to the South, " You are our equals in this Confederacy, and your lives, your persons and property, equally wiUi those of the Northern States, are protected by the Con- stitution of the Federal Union." What is it that we, the Southern Democrats, are asking -you to acknowledge? Analyze it and see the meaning ; and it is this — that Wb will not ask quite as much of you as the Black Repu])!!- cans, and if you only grant what we ask, we can fight them. We blame you not if you really hold these opinions, but declare them openly, and let us separate, aa^liid Abraham and Lot. I have been requested to readlhis protest on the part of the delegates from Texas, and to ask the courtesy of the Convention that it be spread upon the minutes of its proceedings. Hon. Caleb Cushino, President of the Demooratio 27aiional Contention: The undersigned, delegates from the State of Texas, would respectfully protest against the late action of thii Convention, in refusing to ado^t the report of the majority of the Committee on Resolutions, which operates as Uie virtual adoption of principles affirming doctrines in oppo- sition to the decision of the Supreme Court in the I>r^ Scott case, and in conflict with the Federal Constitution, and especially opposed to the platform of the Democratic party Of Texas, which declares : 1st. That the Democratic party of the State of Texas reaffirm and concur in the principles cont^hied in the platform of the National Democratic Convention, held at Cincinnati in June, 1866, as a true expression of politlca* faith and opLuion, and herewith reassert and set forth th« X4.TI0NAL CONVESTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 8» princliles therein coT/fainet!, as embracing the anly doc- trine which can preserve the integrity of tHe Union and the equal rights of the States, " expressly rejecting any interpretation thereof favoring the doctrine known as Squatter Sovereignty," and that we will continue to ad- here to and abide by the principles and doctrines of the Virginia and jSentucky resolutions of 1793 and 1T99 and Mr. Madison's report relative thereto. 2d. That |t is the right of every citizen to take his property, of any kind, including slaves, into the common territory belonging equally to all the States of tlie Con- federacy, and to have it protected there under the Federal GoDstitation. Neither Congress nor a Territorial Legisla- toi'e, nor any human power, has any authority^ either directly or indirectly, to impair these sacred rights ; and they having been affirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court in the Bred Scott case^ we declare that it is the duty of the Federal Government, the common agent of all the States, to establish such government, and enact suoh laws for the- Territories, and so change the same, from Ujpie to time, as may be necessary to insure the proteption and preservation of these rights, and preve&t every in- fringement of the same. The affirmation of this principle of the duty of Coogress to simply protect the rights of pro- perty, is nowise in conflict with the heretofore established and well-organized, principles of the Democratic party, that Congress does not possess the power to legislate Slavery i]ato the Territories, or to exclude it therefrom. Recognizing these deplarations of principles as instruc- tions to US for our government in the National Convention, and believing that a repudiation of them by all the Northern States, except the noble States of Oregon and California, the whole vote of which is more than doubtful !n the ensuing Presidential election, demand from us our unquaUded disapproval. The undersigned do not deem this the place or time to discuss the practical illustration that has been given of the irrepressible conflict between the Northern and Southern States, that has prevailed in this Convention for the last weeJc. y - .. - ' It is sufficient to say that, if the principles of the Northern Democracy, are properly represented* by the opinion an(5l action 9f fhe majority of the delegates from that section on this 'floor, we do not "hesitate to declare' that their principles are not only riot ours, -but, if adhered to and enforced by them, will destroy this Union. In consideration of the foregoing facts, we cannot remain in the Conventioh. We consequently respectfully withdraw, leaving no one authorized to cast the vote of the State of Texas. Guy M. Bryan, Chairman ; F. R. Lubbock, P. S. Stock- dale, E. Greer, H. R. Runnells, Wm. B. Ochiltree, M. W. Covey, Wm. H. Parsons, R. Ward, J. P. Crosby. ARKANSAS RETIRES. Mr. Burrow, of Arkansas, read the following protest. Hon, Caleb CnsniNG, P-r69id&n't of Ghan'l&ston Oonv&nMon: ' The undersigned, delegates accredited by the Demo- cracy of Arkansas to represent said Democracy in the Smvention of the Democracy of the United States, assem- ed on the 233 April, 1860, beg leave to submit the follow- ing protest, against cet-tain actions of this Convention, and statement of the causes which, in their opinion, require them to retire from this Convention i . 1st. The Oonv:entiori Of the Democracy of th**tate of Arkansas, convened at Little Rock on the 2d day of April, 1860,pa3sed among other-thingSjthe following resolutions, viz, : Ist. JReeolved, We the Democracy of Arkansas, through our representatives in Convention assembled, proclaim our confi- dence in the virtue and intelligence of the people, and im- abaf.ed fiilth In the principles of the Democracy. 2d. We re-aflirm the political principles enunciated in the Cincinnati platform by t^e Demqcfacyof the Ifelted States In June, W^, and assert ascfiluatrative thereof, that neither Congress nor a Terrltorfal Legislature, whether by direct legislation or by legislation of an Indirect and unfriendly char- - acter, possesses She powei- to annul or impair the constitutional lights of any citizen x>f the United States to take his slave pro- perty into the common Territories, andtliere hold and enjoy file same, and that if experience should at any time prove the Judiciary and executive power do not possess the means toln- Bure protection to constitutional righte in a. Territory— and if the Territorial Governmeut- should fail or refuse to provide the necessary remedies for that purpose, it will be thfe duty of Congress to supply the deficiency. « 3d. That the representatives of the Democracy of Arkansas la the Oliarleston Convention be instructed to Insist upon the recognition by said Convention of the purpose hereinbefore declared, prior to balloting for any candidate for the Presi- dency ; and if said Convention refuse to recognize the rights of the South in the Territories of the United States, the repro- sentativefl of the Democracy of Arkansas be Instructed to rwiire from said ConveuUon, and refuse to aid in the aelectiou pf any candidate whomsoever by said Convention, ■Ith. That the unity of the Democratic party and the anfety of the South demands the adoption of the two-ihirds rule by the Charleston Convention of the Democracy of the United Slates, and that our delegates to said Convention be required to insist upon and mainuin the adoption thereof as an indis- pensable necessity. In accordance with the instructions contained in reso^u- tioh 8d above, one of the undersigned had the honor, oo the second day of the session of tlik OonventloUj to olfer to the consideration of this Convention the followmg reio- lution, viz. : *^ Resolved. That the Convention will pot proceed to nomi- nate a candidaie for the Presidency until the Platform shall have been made "— Which said resolution was passed by the Convention with great unanimity. Subseque)3,tly, the Committee oii Ileao- lutions and Platform, appointed, by the Convention, in ac- cordance with the usages and custpm? of the Democratic party of t&e United States, a^eed upon and reported to tliis Convention a platform of principles, recognizing the principle contained in the resolutions of the Democracy of Arkansas, above recited, and fully asserting the equal rights of the Southern States in the common Territories of the United States, and the duty of the Federal Govern- ment to protect those rights whep necessary, agc^ording to the usages and customs of the Democracy of the U'nited States, as developed by the practice of said Democracy as- sembled in Convention on former occasions, and in strict accordance," as is believed by the undersigned, with the compact and agreement made by and between the Democrats of the several States, upon which the Con- ventions of the Democracy of the United States were agreed first to be founded, and apsented .to by the several Southern Statfes. ,^he report and determination of the Committee on Platform became and was hencefor- ward, the platform of the Democracy of the United States, and this Convention had no duty to perform in re- lation . thereto but to receive, confirm and publish the same, and Cause it to be carried into effect wherever iu the respective States the Democracy were able to enforce their decrees at the ballot box. The undersigned are confirmed in this opinion iby reference not only to the history of the past, which shows that in all instances the sovereignty of the States, and not the electoral votes of the States, has, uniformly been represented in the Cominittee on Platforms, and that the report of the Committee has invariably been registered as the supreme law of the Democratic party by unanimous consent of the entii^e Convention, without changing or in any manner altering any part or portion thereof. It is asserted, as a part of our traditional policy, and confidently believed, that the Democracy of tho United States, by a peculiar system of checks ah'l balances, formed after the fashion of the Federal G-overn- ment, were contracted and bound themselves to fully recognize the sovereignty of the States in making the platform, and the population or masses of the States in naming the candidate to be placed on the platform. That many States have been uniformly allowed to vote the full strength of their electoral college in these Conventions when it ivas well known that said States never heretofore, and probably wquld never hereafter give a single elec- toral vote at the polls to the candidate which they had so large a share in nominating, cannot be accounted for on any other principle than that it was intended only as a recognition of the sovereignt:^- and equality of said States. Would it be right at this time for the numerical majo- rity to deprive all the Black Republican States repre- sented on this floor of their representation, which by custom they have so long enjoyed, simply because it is, now evident that they are or will be unable to vote thf ' Democratic ticket in the next Presidential election ? By common consent we say that a reckless numerical majority should not be thus allowed to tread under foot the vested rights of those" States and well establisl&ed usages and customs of the party. If thus it be wrong for the numerical majority to deprive, the Black Republican States of this loflg vested right, how much more unjust is it for the numerical majority to deprive all the States of tlieir vested right to make and declare the platforra in the usual and customary manner ? and When we call to mind that the numerical majority resides chiefly in the Black RepLibli- oan States, to whom the South has tmifcn-mly accorded so large a privilege, in naming candidaEes who were alone to be elected by South'erH votes, we have much reason to believe that he to whom you gave an inch seems emboldened thereby to demand an ell. The undersigned beg leave to etate that many patriotic States' Right Democrat* in the South, have long con- tended that these Conventions o^' the Democracy, repre> 88 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK EOR 1860. * Benting in fact the whole consolidated strength of the Union, acUpg through party sympathy upon the indivi- dual membei'B of society, would ultimate in a despotic, colossal centralism, possessed of power to override and destroy at its will and pleasure the constitutions and reserved rights of any and all the States, The South, however^ has heretofoie felt safe because of the checks and balances^ imposed upon the machinei-y of the Con- ventions. The South felt that where she retained an eqiial power to write the creed of faith, she could trust her Northern sisters, with their immense populations, to name the candidate; and all would alike support the creed and the candidate. The undersigned, well knowing the hostility of the Northern masses toward the "peculiar institutions" of the South, and calling to mind the relative numbers of tlie Northern and Southern States, assert with confidence that no Southern State in the Union would ever have consented to surrender, so abjectly and. hopelessly, all their fortunes to the numerical majority who have just now voted to set aside the Pla.tform, unless upon the full assurance that the States weie entitled by agreement to make and establish the creed of faith and prescribe the rule of action. This violation of plighted faith on the part of the numerical jnajoiity — this violation of the well established usage, and custom of the party— drive as to the conclusion that we cannot longer safely trust the fortunes of Slaveholdiiig States to the chances of the numerical majority in a Convention, where all the Black Republi- cans of the Union, the immense populations of Massa- chusetts, New-York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and other Northern States, are fully represented, on the one side, against the, small populations from the slave States on the other. Had these populations adhered strictly to the usages and customs of the party, longer association might have been practicable ; but aunihilation is staring us in the face, and we are admonished of our duty to stand upon our reserved rights. We declare, therefdre, that we believe our mission to this Convention at an end : , let. Because the numerical majority have usurped the prerogatives of the States in setting aside the Platform made by the States, and have thus unsettled the basis of this Convention, and thereby permanently disorganized its constitution. Its decrees, therefore, become null and void._ 2d. Because we were positively Instructed by the Democracy of Arkansas to insist on the recognition of the equal rights of the South in the common Territories, and protection to those rights by the Federal Gov- ernment, prior to any nomination of a candidate; and as this Convention has refused to recognize the prin- ciple required by the State of Arkansas, in her popular Convention first, and twice subsequently re-asserted by Arkansas, together with all her Southern sisters, in there- port of a Platform to this Convention ; and as we cannot serve two masbers, we are determined first to serve the Lord our G-od. We cannot ballot for any candidate whatsoever. 8da In retiring, we deny to any person, or persons, any right whatever to cast hereafter, in this Convention, cither our vote or the vote of Arkansas on any proposi- tion which may, or can, possibly come up for considera- tion. The Delegates of Arkansas cannot take any part In placing a sound candidate on an unsound platform, because it would disgrace any sound Southern man who would consent to stand on such a platform ; and, as a Squatter Sovereignty Platform has been adopted, we believe good faith and honor requires that the Chief'of Squatter Sovereignty should be placed on it. "We wish QO part or lot in such misfortune, nor do we believe that we can safely linger under the shade of the upas tree, this day planted certainly. P. Jordan, B. BURHOW, Tan H. Mannihg. Mr. Burrow stated, after reading the paper, that the gentlemen who had signed represented both wings of the State — all its public men, its hopes, it character, and its fortunes. Mr. Johnson, oT R, Jackson, P. Tract, J. M. Glare, Jefferson N. Lahar, Wm. M. Slaughter,' Edmond J. McGtEdbr, John A. Jones, Geo. Hillter, David 0. Barrow, Mark Johnston, Jab. J. DiAMAN, Edward R. Harden, A. Peankxih Hill, John H. LnuFEiN, Ed. L. Strohecebb, G. G. Fair, O. C. Gibson, James Hoge, Henry O. Thomas, W. J. Johnson. The undjersigned, delegates from Georgia, having voted In the meethig of the delegation against withdrawing f^om the Convention, yet, believe, imder the Instrtlctions contained in the resolution of the Georgia Convention, that the vote of the i majority should control our motion, and we therefore with- draw with the majority. J. T. iRviN, Julian Hartridgx, "W, S. Hull, L. H. Driscoe. This paper Is signed by twenty-six out of the thirty-three or thirty-four dc^^egates in that Convention from the State of Geor^a. I- have now, Mr, President, discharged the duty which has been intrusted to me by my delegation. The majority of the Georgia delegation then retired from the hall. Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas. — ^I do not desire to detda this Convention for a moment. On yesterday evening I stated to the , Convention tJbat I should come . here this morning and tell them what was my conclusion, and what was the conclusion of the porUon of the delegation from the State of Arkansas ^hich then thought proper to re- main in Uie Convention. We are now ready to take that step which our judgment dictates to be right. In acco^- ance with our duty here, we wanted time to pause and I NATIONAL QOJ^VENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 89 consider calmly with our sister Southern States, in rela- tion to the proper course to be pursued. We have calmly .and with deliberation considered the matter, and we be- Ueve it to be an imperative duty *hich we owe to the South, and we are ready to take our course. Now, sir, I desire to appeal to Virginia, the mother of States, and the mother of Democracy, and. to ask them whether the principle contained in the majority report of thife Oouveation, signed by seventeen States, is right or is wrdng ? Did you indorse it, or did you not ? Mr. Smith, of Wisconsin, raised the question of order, that the gentleman had no right to make sectional appeals in this Convention, 5Ir. Johnson. — I desire to do no such thing. ' I do not understand the principles of the majority report to be sectional.. I understand them to be national. But, Mr. President, I only desire, in behalf of a portion of the dele- gates, to say that we earae here with- a view to stand by the priAciples of our people and of the Union, and when we have found the Convention acting in violation of those principles, we feel ourselves compelled to retire from the ^Hall. I will only remark in concluaion, that the Vice-Pre- sident from my State has been charged with presenting a prdtest on the part of a portion of ©UFydeclaration. Mr. Teny, of Arkansas, then read the following paper to the Convention : To the Hon. Calbd Gushing, President: The undersigned. Delegates from Arkansas, a^k permis- sion to make Ube following statement; We have, thus far, abstained from taking any active part in the measures which were consummated on yestei'day, in this Conven- tion, by the withdrawal, ih whole or in part, of several Southern States, We have counseled our Southern friends to_ patience and forbearance;. and, wfaile we were con- scious of causes sufScient to induce them to this step,, yet we still hoped some more auspicious event would transphe that would avert its necessity. Nothing has occux-red to palliate ■ these causes, JHence we cannot hesitate in our cooi'se, and thei;efore ask permission to withdraw'and sur- render to our State the Jtiigh trust reposed in us. To you, sir, who have with so much ability presided over our deliberations, and meted out justice with an even hand, we part with sorrow. Hoping that the cloud which now hangs over our beloved country may be dispelled,, and her coun- sels directed by some statesman like yourself— able, honest, just and true. Fkancis Terry, Vice-President. J. P. Johnson, Ch'n of Delegation. P. W. HoADLEY, Secretary. Charleston, jfa^y 1st, 1860. The Tennessee Delegation asked and obtained leave to retire for consulfatlon. The Delegation from Virginia, and portions P of the Delegations from Kentucky, North Caro- lina at)d Maryland, had leave to retire for con- sultation. Mr. Flournoy, of Arkansas. -^May I be indulged in one remark? My voice is "Never give up the ship "^(ap- plause)— though the fea,S:ful storm rages around us — tliough she may have lost' some apara and masts — though she may have some cracked ribs. Sir, for myself, I will be one of that gallant crew who, though the storm rages, though the spars and masts are gone, though ribs be broken — ^I will, until the noble vessel be swallowed up by the de- vouring waves, cpntinue to unite with them in the reite- rated cry of " Live, live.the RepiibUc !" (Great applause.) Mr. President, I am a Southern man. Yes, sir, I have been reared amidst the institution. All I have is the pro- duct of slave labor. I believe the iiistitutlon a patriarchal one, and beneficial aUke to master and slave. The bread which supports my own wife and tender babe Is bYe pro- dad of slave labor. I trust, then, fhat, like Oeeda'r'fi! wife, I am "above suspicion." I LOUISIANA WITHDKAWS. " To theHpn. Caleb OtrSHiNa,, , President of the DemoGratio Coivsent^' ot'. : Sir: The undersigned delegates from the State of LoiUsiana, in withdrawing from the Convention, beg leave to make the following statement of facts : On the dth day of March, 1860, tiii Democracy of Louisiana as^emhled in State, Conve'ation at Baton Rouge, and Unanimously adopted the fcSlowing declaration of their principles : (^ Resolved, That the Territories of the United States belong to the several States as their common property, an"iir a'.y T'trrltory In the United States ; to hold Uiefb dbera aa piiOperly - Bud in case the peoplo of tha Terri- tories, by InacUon, unfriendly loslslatlon or otherwise, should endanger the tenure of such 'property, or discriminate agains* It by withholding that protection given to other species of pro- perty Ifi the TBrriiorics, it is the duty of the General Govern- ment ti Interpose, by the aclive exfrlion of its oonstitutioiial power, to secure the rights of iho slaveholder. ' The principles enunciated in the foregoing resolution are guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the Ub'ted States, and their unequivocal recognition ,by thePdmo- cracy of the Union we regard aa es&^ential, not only to the integrity of the party, but to. the safety of the States whose interests are directly involved. They have been embodied in both of the series of resolutions presented to the Con- vention by a majority of the States ofthe Union, and have been I'tyected by a numerical vote ofthe delegates. The Convention has, by this vote, refused to recognize the fundamental principles of the Democracy of the State we have the honor to represent, and i^e feel constrained, in obedience to a high sense of duty, to withdraw from jts deliberations, and unanimously to enter our solemn protest, against its action. We ask that the communication may be spread upon thq minutes ofthe Convention, and begleave to express our appreciation of , the justice and' dignity which have characterized your action as its presiding of&cer. [Signed,] a; Mouton, E. Lawrence, John Tarleton, i A. Talbot, Richard Taylor, ' B VV. Pbarck, Emile Laskre, R. a. Hunticr, F. H. Hatch, D. D. WiTHims, The undersigned, in explanation of their position, beg leave to annex the Igllowing statement, viz. : Whilst -we took the same view with our coUeagues, that the platform of principles, as adopted by this Convention, was not what was expected by Louisiana, and desired by ourselves, as sufficient to guard the rights of that State, and of the whole South, under the Constitution, are now unwilling -precipitately to retire, from the Convention, until all hope of accommodation shall have been ex- hausted, and until the last moment had arrived, at which, in justice to our own honor, and the interest and idignity of ourownState,wewouldhe forced to retire. We, therefore, were opposed to the retirement of the delega- tion at the time it was made; but believing that the other members of the delegatir^n were actuated by the same high motives which gov&rned our own opinions, and desiring our Stajte to present a firm, undivided front, we being, in the minority of the delegation, were willing to yield, and 6^6. yield, oui opinions to the judgment of the majority. J. A. McHatton, Charles Jonbs, CaARLESTON, S. C„ -Wi^^ 1, I860. A VOICE FROM GEORGIA. Mr. Gaulden, of Georgia, addressed the Con- veutioh, giviflp; his reasons for not retiring with his colleagues, 'as follows : Mr. PREsroBST, ano Fellow Dkmograts : As I stated to you a ,few moments agp^ I have been confined to my roo^a by Beirere indisposition, but, learning of the cqm- rnotion apd the intense excitement which were existing upon the quesjtions before this body, I felt it to be my. duty, feebl« as I was, to drag myself out to the meeting of my delegation, and when th'ere I was surprised to find a large majority of that delegation voting to recede at once from this body. I disagree with those gentle- men. I regret to disagree with my brethren fiom the South upon any of the great questions which interest our common country. I am a Southern States' Kighta man ; I am an African Slave-trader. I am one of those Southern men who believe that Slavery ia right, morally, religiously, socially, and pohtically. (Applause.) I believe that the institution of Slavery has done more for this country, more for civilization, than all other interests put together. I believe if it were in the power ■of this country to strike down the institution of Slavery, itwouldpuiJoivlliaaUowbacli:. 300 years. Holding, then, this position, that Slavepy is right in Ahe point of view 1 have stateci, I would demand of the General Govern- ment our whole^ights in this regard. I believe that the Genenal Government by the Constitution never had any right, to legislate upon this subject. I believe that our Government was a confederation of States for certain specified objects with limited powers; that the domestio relations of each State are to be and should be left to themselves ; that this eternal Slavery question has been the bone of contention between the Noi'th and South, which if kept in the halis of Congress must break up thia Government. I am one of those who believe in non- intervention, either in the States or the Territoriea. 40 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. (Applause.) I am not in favor of breaking up this Gov- ernment upon an impracticable issue, upon a mere theory. I believe tliiit this doctrine of protection to Slavery in the Territories Is a mere Iheoiy, a mere ab- straction. (Applause.) Practically, it can be of no con- sequence to the South, for the reason that the infant has befen strangled before it was born. (Laughter.) You have cut off the supply of Slaves ; you have crippled the institution of Slavery in the States by your unjust laws, and it is mere folly and madness now to ask for protec- tion for a nonentity, for a thipg which is not there. We have no slaves to carry to these Territories. AVe can never make another Slave State with our present supply of slaves. But if we could, it would not be wise, for the reason, that if you make another Slave State from our new Territories with the present supply of slaves, you will be obliged to give up another State, either Maryland, Delaware, or Virginia, to Tree Soil upon the North. Now, I would deal with this question, fellow -Democrats, as a practical one. When I can see no possible practical good to result to the country from demanding legislation ^pon this theory, I am not prepared to disintegrate and dismember the great Democratic party of this Union. I believe that Ihe hopes of this country depend upon the maintenance of the great Democratic party North. It i& no trouble for a man to be a saint in Heaven, i *' When the clevfl wns sick. The devil a monk would be; The devil got well. But devil a monk was he." (Qreat laughter.) We, the Democracy of the South, are mere carpet- knights. It is no trouble for us to be Democrats. (Ap- plause and laughter.) When I look to the Northern Democrats, I see them standing up there and breasting the tide of fanaticism, oppression, wrong, and slander, with which they have to contend. I view in these men types of the old anci«it Rbmans ; I view in them all that is patriotic and noble ; and, for one, I am not willing^to cut loose from them. (Crreat cheering.) I say, then, that I will hold on to my Democratic friends of the North to the last day of the week — late in the evening. (Great laughter.) I am not willing to present to them a half issue of this sort, I am not willing to disintegrate, dismember, and turn them over to the I'uthless hands of the thieving Black Republicans of the North. I would ask my friends of the South to come up in a proper spirit, ask our Northern friends to give us all our rights, and take off the ruthless restrictions which cut off the Bupply of slaves from foreign lands. As a matter of right and justice to the South, I would ask the Democracy of the North to grant us this thing, and t believe they Kave the patriotism and honesty to do it, because it is right in itself. I tell you, fellow- Democrats, that the African Slave-trader^s the true Union man. (Cheers and laughter.) I tell you that the Slave-trading of Virginia is more immoral, more unchristian in every possible point of view, than that African Slave-trade whicb goes to Afirica and brings a heathen and worthless man here, makes him a useful man, Christianizes him, and sends him and his posterity down the stream of time to join in the blessings of civilization. ((Cheers and Ifiughter.) Now, fellow-Democrats, so far a^ any public expression of the State of Virginia — the great Slave-trading State of Virginia — has been given, they are all opposed to the African Slavet-rade. Dr. Reed of Indiana. — I am from Indianti, and I am in favor of it. Ml-. Gaulden— Now, gentlemen, we are told, upon hi^h authority, that there is a certain class of men who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Now, Virginia, which authorizes the buying of Christian men, separat- ing them from their wives and children, fi'om all the re- lations and associations amid whom they have lived for years, rolls up her eyes in holy horror when I would go to Africa, buy a savage, and introduce him to the blessingfs of civilization and Christianity. (Cheers and laughter.) Mr. Rynders of JJ. Y. — You can get one or two re- cruits from New-York to join with you. The President. — The time of the gentleman has ex- _ pired. (Cries of " Go on ! Go on- !") The President— stated that if it was the unanimous wish of the Convention, the gentleman could proceed. Mr. Gaulden.— Now, Fellow-Democrats, the slave- irade in Virginia forms a mighty and pow srful reason for its opposition to the African slave-trado, and in this' remark I do not intend any disrespect to my friends from Virginia. Virginia, the Mother of States and of Statesmen, the Mether of Presideifts, I apprehend may err as well as other mortals. I am afj-aid that her error In this regard lies in the promptings of the almighty dol- lar. It has been my. fortune to go into that noble old State to buy a few darkies, and I have had to pay from |i,000 to $2,000 a head, when I could go to Africa and buy better negroes for $50 apiece. (Great laughter.) Now, unquestionably, it is to the interest of Virginia to break down the African slave-trade when she can sell her negroes at $2,000. She knows that the African slave- trade would break up her monopoly, and hence her ob- jection to it. If any of you Northern Democrats— for I have more faith in you than I have in the Carpet-Knight Denocracy of tba South— will go home with me to my plantation in Georgia, but a little way from here, I will show you some darkies that I bought in Maryland, some that I bought in Virginia, some in Delaware, some in Florida, some in North Carolina, and I will also show you the pure African, the noblest Roman of them all. (Great laughter.) Nowi Fellow-Democrats, my feeble health anJ failing voice, admonish me to bring the few remarks I have to make to a close. (Cries of "^ Go on, go on.") I am only sorry that Lam not in a better con dition than I am to vindicMe before you to-day the words of truth, of honesty, and of right, and to sfeow yoij the gross inconsistencieB of the South in this regard. I came from the First Congi-essional District of the Stat« of Georgia. I represent the African Slave-trade inter- ests of that section. (Applause.) I am proud of the position I occupy in that respect. I believe that the African slave-trader is a true missionary, and a true Christian (ajlplause), and I have pleaded with my dele- gation from Georgia to put this issue squarely to the Northern Democracy, and say to them, Are you pre- pared to go back to first principles, and ^ke off your unconstitutional restrictions, and leave this question to be settled by each State? Now do this, fellow-citizens, and you will have peace in the country. But so long aa your Federal Le^slature takes jurisdiction of this ques- tion, so long will there be war, so long will there be ill- blood, so long will there be strife, until this glorious Union of ours shall be disrupted and go out in blood and night forever. 1 advocate the repeal of the laws prohibiting the African Slave-trade, becatise-I believe it to be th^ true Union movement. I do not believe that sections whose interests are so different as the Southern and Northern States can ever stand the shocks of fanati- cisin, unless they be equally balanced. I believe by re- opening this trade, and giving us negroes to populate the Territories, that the equilibrium of the two sections will be maintained," But if the South lies supinely by, and allows the people of the North to people all the Terri- tories, until we come to be a hopeless fraction in the Government, then that gallant band of Democrats North may in vain jittempt to stay the torrent that will roll down upon us. It will not be in your power to do it. It should bethe object of the South now to say to the North : Let us have all our rights in this matter ; let us take off these restrictions against the African Slave-trade, and leave it to each State to settle for itselt Then we would want no piotection, and then I would be willing to let you have as much Squatter Sovereignty as you wish. Give us an equal chance, and I tell you the institution of Slavery will take care of itself. We will pve you all the Squatter Sovereignty that the North can desire, Mr. Douglas, or anybody else, if you will take off the uncon- stitutional restrictions on the Slave-trade and let the negroes come. Then, gentlemen, we should proceed harmoniously, go on 'to prosper and prospering, until the last trump of God should sound ; until time was merged in the ocean of eternity. (Applause.) I say, Fellow-Democrats, that I remained here because I have great faith in the Northern Democracy. If I am forced to part with you, it will be with a bleeding heart. I know not exactly what position I occupy here (laugh- ter), for the majority of my delegai NATIONAL CONVENTTONS AND PLATFORMS. 41 tertalning, as I do^ such profound respect, nay, almost Veneration for the justice of t^ip Deviocracy of the North, I will yet stand by you for a time. I will do all that in me lies to heal these differences. I trust that the result of our deliberations will be the nomination of such a man as will give peace to the country and suc- cess to the great Democratic National Party of tbe TJTnion. (Great applause.) . The Convention having decided to proceed to ballot for President, at i p.m., Wm. Howard, of ,Tenneas{!e, moved that two-thirds (202) of a full Convention (303) be required to nominate, which, after much discussion and confusion, was adopited — 141 to 112 — as follows : Ybas :— Mii|nB, 8 ; Massachusetts, 8i ; Connecticut, 2i; New-York, 85; New-Jersey,.5( ; Pennsylvania, 17i; Dela- ware, 2 f Maryland, 6 ;. Virginia, 16 ; North Carolina. 10 ; Bouth Carolina, 1; Missouri, 4i; Tennessee, 11; Ken- tucky, 11 ; Minnesota, 1^.; California, 4 ; Oregon, 8—141, Mats. — Maine, 5; Kew-Karapshire,.5; Verinont,-5; Massachusetts, 4^; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 3^; New-Jersey, ij ; Penrisylvania, 9t j Maryland, 2 ; Ar- kansas, 1 ; Missouri, 4|t.; Tennessee, 1; Kentucky, 1; Ohio, 23; Indiana, IS; Illinois, 11; Michigan, 6; Wis- ' cousin, 5; Iowa, 4; Minnesota, 2^—112. Candidates were put in nomination, and the Convention proceeded to ballot, as follows : a Ist Ballot 145i 2 HT 8 1481 i: 149 6 149t 6 149i 1 160f 8.- IS'ii 9 150}- ID...; 150i 11 150f 12 T5li| 58 149i 14 150 16 150 16 150 IT 150 18 150 19 151) 20 151) 21 J60i 23 150^ 23 132^ 24...., ... loll- 25....... . 1.51i 28 ISlj- 2T' 151* 25 151} 29 151i 80 161} 81 151} 82, 152} 88 152} 81 152} 85 152 86 151} 87 151} 83 1.11} 89 151,} 40 151} 41 151} 42, 151} 43 151} 4i 151} 45 151} 46 151} 47 151} 4S 151} 49,..; 351}, 60 151} 51 151} 52 151} 6.3 151} 54 151} 65 151} 66 151} B7 161} 4 i d g s a o .a > . Si s -4' J i H Pa 35 l2 T 12 6 2} 1 86} 41-} 6S- 12 6 2}- 42 86 6f 12 6 87} 41} 6 12 6 87} 41 6 12 6 ~- 89} 41 8 12 7 SS} 41 4 11 6 — 83} 40} 4} 11 6 _ 41 89} 1 — 6 89} 89 4 12 6} 89} 88 4 12 6} 39} 3S 4 12 6 39} 28} 1 12 20 41 27 }. 12 211} 41} 26} ■ } 12 211} . 42 26 } 12 20} 42 26 } 12 20} . 41} 26 1 12 20} 41} 26 1 12 20} 42 26 } 12 211} — 41} 26 } 12 20} 41} 26 + 12 20* 41} 25 } 12 19} _ 41} 25 1} 12 19} — 41i, 25 1} 12 19} 41} 25 12 12 9 42} 25 Ifi -12 8 42 25 12} 12 K 42 25 18 12 7} i 45 25 l.'J 11 5} . 47} 82} .•J 11 5} ■ 47} 22} -8 U 6} — 47} 22} 8 11 14} 47} 22} 6 11 12} 47} 22 4} 12 13 48 22 4} 12 13 T 64} 16 5} + 12} H __ 66 16 H 13 66} 16 ■Sf- 12} 66} 16 6} —. 12} _-. — 66} 16 6+ 12} — . .— 66} 16 n — 13 65} 16^ 6 18 — 65} 16 5 13 65} 16 6 IS , 65} 16 5 13 _ 65} 16 6 ^ IS — 65} 16 6 __ IS _ 65} 16 4 . 14 -^ 65} 16 4 — . 14 — _. 65} 16 4 14 6ij} 16 4 — 14 .1 65} 16 4 ^ 14 _ 61 20} 2 -~. 16 66j 16 4 —. 14 __ 65} 16 4 >— i4 69} 16 i *• 14 On the Sd of May, and the 10th day of the session, Mr, Russell, of Virginia, offered the following: J2eaoto«d, That when this Convention .adjourns to-dn-y it atijourn to re-assemble at Baltimore, Bid., on Monday the 18th day of June, and that it be respectfully recom- mended to the Democratic party of the several States t« make provision fo4* supplying ail v.aGancies in tlielr re- spective delegations to this Oonvention when it shall re- assemble. (Applause.) After the failure of attempts to change the place of meeting to New^York, Philadelphia, etc.,' and also to change the .time to a later pe- riod, the resolve was adopted — 193 to 55 — as follows : v^. Teas :— Maine, 5; New -Hampshire, 6; Vermont, 6; Massachusetts, 10; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 6; New- York, 85; New-Jersey, 3; Pennsylvania, 28^; Maryland, 5; Virginia, 14*; Arltansaa,'! ; Missouri, 6; Tennessee, T ; Ohio, 23 ; Indiana^ 13.; Illinois, 11 ; Michigan, 6 ; Wis- consin, 5 ; Iowa 4, Minnesota, 4; California 8— 195. Nats:— Maine, 8; Connecticut, S; New-Jersey, 5; Pennsylvania, 8; Maryland, 3; Virgipia, i; North-Caro- lina, 14, Missouri, 3 ; Tennessee, 5 ; Keutucky, 2 — 55. Gen. Gushing, the President, made a brief speech, and the Oonvention adjourned to meet again in Baltimore, on the 18th of June suc- ceeding. The retiring delegates met at St. Andrew'i; Hall, and were waited on with manifestations of sympathy by a portion of the Wood Delegation, fron!i New- York, who, "however, were not in- ^ vited or admitted to seats. The seceders or- ganized by the appointment of Senator James A. Bayard,of Delaware, as Chairman, and, after much animated discussion, adopted tbe follow- ing Platform : ^ Besol/oed, That the Platform adopted by the Demo- cratic purty at Cincinnati be affirmed, with the following explanatory ReBolutions : J^irst, That the G-overnment of a Territory organized by an act of Congress, is provisional and temporary ; and, during its existence, all citizens of the United States iVave an, equal right to settle with their propyrty in the Territory without their rights, either of person or pro- perty, being destroyed or impaired by Congressional or Territorial Legislation. Second^ That It is the duty of the Federal Government, in al! its departments, to protect when necessary thq rights of persons and property in the Territories, and wlierever else, its OonslitutipnaJ authority extends, " Tkird^ That when the aeitlers in a Territory having an adequate population form a State Constitution in puvsuance'of law, the right of sovereignty commences, and, being consummated by admission into the Union, they stand on an equal foocing with the people of other States ; aiid the State thus organiaed ought to be admit- ted into the Federal Union, whether its Constitution pro- hibits or recognizes the inStithtion.of Slavery, ■ Fowr&i^ That the Democi*atic party are in favor of the acquisition of the Island of Ghba, on such terms as shall be honorable to ouraetves and just to Spain, at the earliest practieable momeftt. Fifthi That the enactm^Hfe of State Legislatures to defeat the faithful execution of the Fugitive Slave Law, are hostile in character, subversive of the Constitution, and revolutionary in their effect. ' 8is^ih^ That tlie Democracy of the United States re- cognize it as the imperative duty of this G-overnment to protect the naturalized citizen in kll his rights, whether » Ht'home or in foreign lands, to the same extent as Us native-born crfrzena. Whereas, one of- the greatest necessities of the age, in a Pohtical, Commercial, Postal and Military point of view, is a speedy communication between the Pacific and Atiantie coasts. Therefore, he It Jieaolved^ That tlie Democratic party do herebypledga themselves to use every means in their' power to secure the passage of some bilF to the extent of the Constitutional authority of Congress for the construction of a PaoiSc Railroad ft-om the Mississipni IW^n' to" the Paciiic Ocean* at the earliest practicable mcai^i at, 42 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. After talking for four days, the Secedera' Con- yention adjourned to meet ia Richmond, Vir- ginia, on the second Monday in June. Dele- gates were present from the following States ; Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Hfissouri, Louisiana, M,issi6sippi, Florida,, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware. THE SEOEDERS AT RICHMOND. ' According to adjournment, the Seceding delegates met at Richmond, Va., on the 11th June. Delegates were present from Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, 2d Congressional Dis- trict of Tennessee, and the 7 th Electoral District of Virginia. The Hon. John Erwin, of Alabama, was chosen President, with several Vice-Presi- dents and Secretaries. The Convention adopted the following resolutions, and on the 12th, at 12 o^clock, adjourned: Resolved, Tiiat as the delegation from States repre- Bented in this ^onvenUon are assembled upon the basis of the platform recommended by a majority of the States atOharleston, which we indorse, we deem it unnecessary to talte any further actioQ on the sul:^ect at the present time. Bcsolved, That when thts CoDventfoa adjourn it adjourn to meet in this city on Thursday, the 21st inst. ; provided that the Pi'esident of this Convention may call it together at an earlier or a later day, if it be deemed necessary. The Convention reassembled on the 21st; but, without doing any business, adjourned to the following day,>nd so continued to meet and adjourn, awaiting the action of the Convention at Baltimore, till after the nomination of Breck- inridge and Lane ; when such of the Delegates as had not joiaed the Seceders in Baltimore, adopted the candidates and platform of the Breckinridge party, and adjourned siTie die. THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONTVEN- TION AT BALTIMORE. In accordance with the adjournment at Charleston, the National Democratic Convention reassembled at Baltimore, on Monday the 18th June, and held their sessions in the Front street theatre. At ftleven o'clock, President Gushing, who appeared on the platform, but did not take the chair, directed the Se- cretuiy to call the roll of States in order to ascertain if the delegates were present. On the calling of the roll, the following States were found to be fully represented : Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New-York, New- Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Ilhnois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Min- nesota, California, Oregon. Connecticut was representet? in part, there being some misunderstanding as to the l^our of meetiilE, which had been fixed at 10 o'clock. Two delegates were present from Delaware. When the State 'of South Carolina was called, the Chair directed that only' those States be called which were * present at the adjournmentof the Convention at Charles- tOh, consequently South Carolina, Georgia, Florida Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas' ' wire not called. In consequence of a misapprehension as to the time, the President delayed calling ihe Convention to order till 12 o'clock, when he took the chair and said : Gentlemen of the Convention : Permit me, in the first place, to congratulate you upon your being reassembled here for the discharge of your important duties in the interests of the Democratic party of the United State • and I heir leave, in th^ ii^mi^i ■•• .-« .^ fomTunniciite -n business, as they now come up for consideration befora you. Prior to the adjournffRnt of the Convention, two princi- pal subjects of abtion_were before it. One, the adoption of the doctrinal resolutions constituting the platform of the Convention ; the other, voting upon the question of the nomination of a candidate for the Presidency. In the course of the discussion on the adojjtion of a platform, the Convention adopted a vote, the effect of which was to amend the report of the majority of thf Committee on Platform by substituting the report of the minority of that Committee; and after the adoption of that motion, and the substitution of the minority for the majority report, a division was called for upon the several resolutions constituting that platform, being five in number. The 1st, 3d, 4th and 5th of those resolutions were adopted by the Convention, and the 2d was rejected. After the vote on the adoption of the 1st, 3d, 4th and 5th of those resolutions, a motion was made in each case to reconsider the vote, and to lay that motion of reconsid- eration upon the table. But neither of those motions to reconsider or to lay on the table was put, the putting of those motions having been prevented by the intervention of questions of privilege, and the ultimate vote competent in such case, to wit, on the adoption Of the repoi't of the majority as amended by the report of the minority, had not been acted upon by the Convention. So that at the time when the Convention adjourned there remained pending before it these motions, to wit; To reconsider — the resolutions constituting the platform, and the ulterior question of adoptin'g the mjijority as amended by the substitution of the minority report. Those questions, and those only, as the Chair understood the motions before the Convention, were not acted upon prior to the adjourn* ment. After the disposition of the intervening questions of privilege, a motion was made by Mr. McCook, of Oiiio, to proceed to vote for candidates for President and Vice- President. Upon that motion, the Convention instructed the Chair (not-, as has been erroneously supposed, in the recess of the Convention, the Cliair determining for the Convention, but the Convention instructing the Chair) to make no declaration of a nomination except upon a vote equivalent to two-thirds in the Electoral College of tha United States, and upon that balloting, no such vote be- ing given, that order was, upon the mot-ion of llie gentle- man from Virginia (Mr. Rustell), laid on the table, for the purpose of enabling liim to propose a motion, which he subsequently did, that the Convention adjourn from the city of Charleston to the city of Baltimore, and with a provision concerning the filling of vacancies embraced in the same resolution, which resolution the Secretary will please read. . The Secretary read the resolution as follows : *' Heaolved^ That when this Convention adjourns to-day, It adjourn to reassemble at Baltimore, Md., on Mondb-y, the Ifilhi day of June, and that it be respectfully recommended lo the Democratic party of the several States, to make provision for supplying all vacancies in their respecUve delegates to tMa Convention when it shall reassemble." The President. — The Oonvention will thus perceive th&t the order adopted by it provided, among other thinge, that it is respectfully recommended to the Democratic party of the several States to make provisions for sup- plying all vacancies in their respectives delegation to thii Convention when it shall reassemble. What is the con- struction of that resolution ? — what is the scope of its ap- plication ?— is a question not for tlie Chair to determine or to suggest to the Convention, but for the Convention itself to determine. However that may be. In the preparatory arrangements for the present assembling of this Convention, there were addressed to the Chair the credentials of members elected, or purporting to be elected, aflBrraed and confirmed by the original Conventions and accredited to this Conven- tion. In three of those cases, or perhaps four, the cre- dentials were authentic and complele, presenting no question of controverting delegates. In four othei's?, to • wit— the States of G-eorgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Dele- ware — there were tsontesting appUcatiDns. Upon those applications the Chair was called to determine whether it possessed any power to determine prima facie mem- bership of tills Convention. That qu-siion was presented 'n its most absolute and complete form in the case of Mississippi, where there was no contest either throusjU irregularity of form or of competing delegations, and so also in the c^es of Florida, Texas and Arkansas. In those four States, tiiera being an apparent authenticity of commission, the Chair was called upon to determine tlie naked, abstract question whether he had power, per- emptorily and preliminarily, to determine thepj^JArt^cifl membership of alleged members of this Convention. The Chair would gladly have satisfied himself that lie hu-d this power, bub upon examlnittg the sourco of his power, to NATIONAL CONVi!iiNriOjN& a:,^ PLATFORMS. 43 "irlt— the rules ofjheilouseof Representative^— he waa unable to discern that he had any authority, even prima /acie^ to sorutinize and'^caiivass credentials, although they were such as, upon their face, were fi-ee fi'om contestorcontroversy either of form or of substance, and therefore he deemed it his duly to reserve the deter-- naination of that question to be submitted to the Conven- tion. And indue time the Chair will preseot that qaes- tion as pne of privilege to this body. Gentlemen, the Convention Is now In oi?der for the trarnsaction of business. The Address of the President was delivered in a clear, loud voice,, with much emphasis, and was listened to with olosQ attention. The state- ment of the position in which the business was left at the time of the adjournment at Charles- ton, created an evident sensation, inasmuch as it indicated that, according to the opinion of the Chair, the platform question, as well as the re- solution declaring that a vote equal to two-thirds of the full electoral college to be netessary to the nomination of a candidate for the Presi- dency, were each in a position to be again brought up for the action of the Convention. ADMISSION OF DELEGATES. ■ Mr. Howard, of Tenhessee, offered the followintg resolution : JResalvetZ, that the President of this .Convention direct the Sergeant-at-Aroft to issue tickets of admission to the delegates of the Conye^ition as originally constituted and organized at Charleston. Mr. Cavanaugh, of Minnesota, moved to lay the reso- lution on the table, and upon that motion called for a vote by States ; but by request, withdrew his motion to permit Mr. Sanford E. Church, of N. Y., to offer the fol- lowing, which was read for the information of the Con- vention and created ■in.uch excitement t - Seaolved, That the 'credentials of all persons claiming Beats in this Convention made vacant by the secession of delegates at Charleston, be referred to the Committee on Credentials, and said Committee is hereby instructed, as soon^as practicable, to examine the same and report the names of persons entitled to such seats, witli the district — understanding, however, that every person ac- cepting a seat in this Convention is bound in honor and good faith to abide by the action of this Convention and support its nominations. After a running debate on questions of order, in which Messrs. Cochrane, of N. Y., Saulsbury, of Del., Clar^^, of. Mo., Montgomery, of Pa., Ckvanaugh, of Min., and the Chair participated. Mr: Church moved his resolution as an amendment to that offered by Mr. Howard, and upon that he called for the previous question. Messrs. GUmor and Randall rose to debate the ques- tion, but the ChairTUled 'iebate not in order. Mr. .Avery, of North Cavolina.— I call for a c(ivision of the question, so that the first question shall be upon referring those credentials to the Committee, and the second question upon the prop'osition to initiate test- oaths in the Democratic Convention. [Applause.] The Chair could not entertain such a proposiMon at that time, as the previous question had been demanded. The question was — Would the Convention second the demand for the previous question ? Mr. Russell, of Va.— I ask that this Convention will allow -me to make a friendly, candid knd sincere appeal to the gentleman who made the call for the previous question (Mr. Church, of NeWrYork) to withi^aw his call. • The Pj-esi dent. —The Chair has no authority over that question. Mr. Russell.— :I ask the Chair to api^eal to the gentle- man to allow fair play in this Cohvention. Mr. Stuart, of Mich. — I Insist that the Chair preserve order. The President. — The gentleman from Yirginia (Mr. Russell) is not in order. Mr. Russell.— If we are to be constraihed to silence, I beg gentlemen to consider the silence of Virginia as »omewh*t ominous. (Applause and hisses.)* The question was stated to be upon seconding the demand for the previous question. Being taken -ciwa voce, The President ?Uted that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. Richardson, of 111,, doubted the announcement, and asked that the vote be taken by States, which wa» ordered. ' Mr. Brodhead, of Pa., stated that Mr. Church was willing to withdraw his call for the previous question. The Chair decided that it was too late. Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, moved a recess to 4* p.m. Lost : 78i to lT8f Mr. Howard, of Tennessee.— I holdin my handarespec*- fill communication from one of the States of this Union, MiississlfJpi, not now represented upon this floor, addressed to the President of this Convention. I desire that it be read for the information of the ConYention. The President. — It can only be done by^ common consent, as the seconding the demand for the previous question is now pending. Ones of " object," " object," from various quarters. The President—Objection being made to reading this communication, the Secretary will proceed to call the roU of -States upon the seconding the demand for the previoua question. The question being then taken by Stbtes upon second- ing the demand' for the previous question, it was not agreed to. Yeas. — Maine', 6; New-Hahipshire, 5; Vermont, 4J ; Massachusetts, 4; Connecticut, 8| ; New-Jersey, 2^ ; Penn- sylvahia, 9i; Maryland, 2; Missouri^ 2^; Tiinnessee, 8; Kentucky, H; Ohio, 23; Indiana, 18; Illinois, 11 ; Michi- gan, 6; Wisconsin, 5; Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 2^—103^: Nays. — Maine, 2; Vermont, i; Massachusetts, 8^; Rhodelslandj'4; Connecticut, 2 — one absent ; New-Yoi'k, 85; New-Jersey, 4^; Pennsylvania, 164; Delaware^ 2 ; Mainland, 6; Virginia, 15; North Carohna, 10 ; Arkansas, 1 ; Missouri, 6^- ; Tennessee, 8 ; Kentucky, lOi ; Minne- sota, 1^; California, 4; Oregon, 3— 140}. On calling the roll, the New-York delegation asked per- mission to retire for consultation, and during the intei-yn there was an entu*e cessation of business. The vote of the State as a unit was finally rendered agauist the call for the previous question. The question was then stated to be upon the amendment to the amendment! «, Mr.'Crilmor, of Pennsylvania, offered the following flrmendment to Mr.- Churches resolution : M6Soh)6d, That the President of the ConvenUon bo di- rected to issue tickets of admissioji to seats in the Conven- tion, to the delegates from the States of Texas, Ploi-ida, Mississippi, and Arkansas, La which ' States there are no contesting delegations.' Without taking a vote on Mr. Gilmor's resolution, the Convention, on motion of Mr. Randall, of Pa., took a re- cess till 5 P.M. When the Convention reassembled, the President said : Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, has the floor upon an amendment moved by Mr. Gilmor, of Pennsylvania. Before proceeding in the debate, the Chair begs leave to state" to the Convention that he has had placed in his hands the credentials of gentlemen claiming seats in the Conven- tion, from> ttiS Stages of Delaware, Georgia, Alabama, Flo- ndaj Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, includ- ing m that enumeration the letter presented to the Con- vention, in his place, by Mr. Howard,, of Tennessee, in be- half of the gentlemen claiming seate from the Slate of Mississippi, and in addition to that, there has been ad- jdressed to the Chair, a communication from Mr. Chaffee, claiming a seat from the State ofMassachusetts. The Chair deems it his duty to communicate the fact to the Conven- tion that those several documents have been placed in his hands, to he presented at the proper time to the conaderar tion of the Convention. Mr. Gilmor, of Pennsylvania.— I have made a small ad- dition to the amendment I offered tliis ' morniiig to the amendment of the gentleman from New-York (Mr. Churoli), for the purpose of covering the cases mentioned by the Chair just no'w. The amendment, as modified, was read as follows : Jiesolved^ That the President of the Convention be au- thorized to issue tickets of admission to seats ( in this Con- vention, to the delegates from the States of Arkansas, Texas, Florida, 'and Mississippi, in which States there are no contesting delegations, and that in those States, to wit : Delaware, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, where there are contesting delegationa, a Committee on Credentials shall he appointed, by the several delegations, to report upon said Stiltes. After discussing points of order, Mr. Clark, of Missouri, offered a substitute for Mr. Gilmor's amendliaent, which was read for the infonuiitlon of the Convention, as fol lows ; ■^ Strike out the proviso In the amendment of Mr. Church, of New-York, and add the following : Heeolved, That the cifaaens of the several States of the Union have an equal right to settle and rfemainiD \^6 Tw 44 A POLITICAL TEXl^-BOOK ¥0n 1860. ritorfes of the United Str.tea, and to hold therein, unmo- lested by iiiTty legiglation trhaiever, their slave and other property; and that this Convention recognizes the opinion of the ^prerae Court of the. United States in the Dred Scott case, as a true exposition of the Constitution in re- gard to the rights of the citizens of the several States and Territories of the United States, upon all subjects concern- ing which it treats ; and that the members of this Conven- tion pledge themselves, and require all others who may l^e authoiized as delegates to make the same pledge, to sup- port the Democratic candidates, fairly an^ in good faith, nominated by this Convention accoi'ding to the usages of the National Democratic Party, Mr. Randall then took the floor and opposed the amend- ment of Mr. Church, and favorfed that of Mr. Gilmor. Xhe anlendment of the gentleman from New York im- poses a condition upon the returning members of the several States that seceded at Charleston. I deny the power of the Convention to impose any such condition. The right of their constituents ia unqualified and beyond the power of this Convention, to send their re- presentatives to this body without condition and without limitatioa.^_ (Applause and hisses). It is an interference with the right of the constituents of seven- seceding States to impose any qualification upon their represent- atives in-this body. I deny its equity or its justice. We who sit here— the honorable gentleman who moved the amendment, the President, the Vice-Presidents of this body— all who sit here, are unfettered^ by any such limitation or condition. (Applause.) What justice in imposing upon others the condition that they shall come in here as slav^, with the bands and the iron fetters about them, with no right to exercise their judgment or their patriotism, except as the majority of this body may choose to indicate? I deny the power or the right. The proposition has been put in the least offensive ■hape. It is said in the amendment that it is " understood." Understood ! an apology for the broad declaration of a naked invasion of the rights of freemen. Not that tlie members of this body thus admitted have denied the , right, but il is understood that they are pledged to do what other members are not pledged to do— to conform to the decision of the majbrlty. Mr. President and gen- tlemen, I invok^ you to look at the injustice of every such qualification — a qualification which no honorable man, except under very peculiar circumstances, could ever submit to; a qualification which it is known that the representatives of these seven seceding States will never submit to. (Applause and hisses.) But, Mr. Pre- sident and brethren of the great Democratic family, who are now contending for the success of the Demo- cratic cause, I ask you to halt, not simply upon the ground of right and justice, but of policy. Not a mem- ber of this body but knows that the representatives of those States will not give any such pledge (applause and hisses); that it is tantamount to a declaration of secession from the body. (Applause and hisses.) The debate was continued by Messrs. Richardson, of 111., Cochrane, of N. Y., Montgomery, of Pa., Merricli, Qf 111., King, of Mo., and West of Ct., against Mr. Gil- mer's amendment, and by Messrs. Russell, of Va., Ewin^, of Tenn , Loring, of Mass., Hunter, of Mo., Avery, of N. C, and Atkins, of Tenn. , in favor. At last, Mr. Atkins moved the previous question, which was sus- tained, 233 to IS^, and the Convention adjourned tilf Tuesday morning. On the reassembling of the Convention, Mr. -Church askud and obtained unanimous consent to make a pro- . posi tion which he thought would produce harmony. He said: Upon consultation with the gentleman (Mr. Gilmor/, who moved that amendment to my amendment, we have agreed, if It meets the approbation of this Conven- tion, for the purpose of harmonizing the action of this Convention, to an arrangement alike honorable to both rides, and which, if carried out, will terminate the con- troversy as to pending questions, Theproposition which has been made and accepted is simply this : The gentle- man fi'om Pennsylvania (Mr. Gilmor) is to withdraw his amendment to my amendment, and then I am to with- draw the latter part of my resolutions, leaving only a simple resolution of reference to the Committee on Cre- dentiabi. (Applause). , This proposition was accepted, and the resolution, as thus amended, fv^as adopted without a division. Vacan- cies in the Committee on Credentials were tilled, and the eommittee, as now constituted, consisted of the following ' gentlemen : 0. D. Jameson, Me. ; A. P. Hughes, N. H, ; Stephen Thomas, vt. ; Oliver Stevens^ Mass. ; George H. Brown, R. I, ; James Gallagher, Conn. ; Delos De Wolfe, N. Y. ; A. R. Spear, N. J. j H. M. Forth, Pa. ; W. S. Gittings, ' Md, ; E. W. Hubbard, Va. ; R. ,R. Bridges, N. 0. ; B. F. Perry, S. C. ; James B. Steadman, Ohio ; W, H. Carrol, Tenn. ; S. A, Hall, Ind. ; W- J. Allen, 111. ; John M. Krum, Mo.; Benj. PoUet, Mich.; D. p. Tinch, lowaj P. H, Smith, Wis. ; H. H. Sibley, .Muan. ; J. H. Beverly, Del. ; Isaac J. Stevens, Oregon ; G. H. Morrow, K.en tucky ; D. S. Gregory, Cal. A paper was presented from Mr. O'Fallon, cf Missouri, who had acted at Charleston in the place of one of the regularly appointed delegates from that State, but had been refused a ticket in Baltimore, asking admission^— His ease was referred to the Committee on Credentials. The memoi-ial of the contesting delegates from Arkan- sas was also presented, and was handed to the Commit- tee on Credentials. And the Committee took a recess till 5 P.U., at which time It reassembled, but, the Com- mittee on Credentials not being ready to report,. the Convention, without transacting any business, adjourned to 10 o'clock the following day, 20th. The Conventiou met at the usual hour, on Wednesday, the 20th, but, in consequence of tho delay of the Committee on Credentials in report- ing, no busmesa was transacted. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS. On Thursday, the 21st, the Committee on Credentials presented their report, or rather re- ports, for there were three ; the majority report being presented hj Mr. Krum, of Missouri, aa follows : 1st. jResoI^edj That George H. Gordon, E. Barksdale, W. P. Barry, H. C. Chambers, Jos. R. Davis„Beverly Mat- thew, Charles tJlarke, W. L, Feathereton, P. F. Slidell, C. G. Armistead, W. F. Avaunt, and T. J. Hucston, are entitled to seats in this Convention as delegates from the State of Mississippi. 2d. lienol^ed. That Pierre Soulfi, F. Cottern^an, R. 0. ' Wicicnflfe, Michael Ryan, Maunsell White, Charles Bien- venala, Gustav l4enroy, J. 0. Morse, A. S. Heron, N. D. Cplbun),J. N. T. Richardsonand J, L.Walker are entitled to seats in this Convention as delegates &om the State of Louisiana. 8d. Seaol^ed, That R. W. Johnson, T. C. Hihdman, J. P. Johnson, Ijenry Carroll, J. Gould, and John A. Jorr dan, be entitled ^o seats as Delegates from the State of Arkansas, with power to cast hoo votes, and that Thomas H. Bradley, M. Hooper, and D. C. Cross be also admitted to Seats as delegates from the same State, with power to cast one vote; and, in case either portion of said dele- gates shall refuse or neglect to take their said seats and to cast their said votes, the other portion of said del^ gates taking seats in this Convention shall be entitled to east the entire three votes of said State. 4tH. Resolved, That J. M. Bryan, P. R. Lubbock, P, S. Stockdale, E. Green, H. R. Runnels, Wm. B. Ochiltree, U. W. Carey, Wm. H. Parrows, R. Ward, J. P. Crosby, B, Burrows, and V. H. Manning are entitle(| to seats' from Texas. 5th. Resolved, That James A. Bayard and William G. Whiteley are entitled to seats from the county of New- Castle, Del. 6th. Resolved, That E, S. CJhaffee, who was duly admit- ted at Charleston as a delegate from the fifth congress- ional district of Massachusetts, is still entitled to said seat in this Convention, and that B, F. Hallett, who has as- sumed said seat, is not entitled thereto. 7th. Resolved, That John 0*Fallon, who was* duly ad- mitted at Charlestpn as a delegate ftomthe eighth electo- ral district of Missouri,. is still entitled to said seat in this Convention, and that Johnson B. Gardy, who has as- sumed said seat, ia not entitled thereto. 6th. Resolved, That R. A. Baker, D. C. Humphrey, Johu Forsyth, Wm. Jewett, I. I. Beiblea, S. 0. Posey, L. K. Parsons, Joseph C. B);adley, Thomas B. Cooper, James Williams, C. H. Brynan, Daniel W. Weakley, L. M. B. Martyr, John W. Howard, W. R, R. Wyatt, B. Hanson, Thos. M. Matthews, andNorbert M, Lord are en- titled to seats in the Convention as delegates from the State of Alabama. 9th, Resolved, That the delegaUon from the State of Georgia, of which H. L. Benning is chairman, be ad- mitted to seats in the Convention, with power to cast one- half of, the vote of said State, and that the delegation from said State, of which Col. Gardner is chairman, ba also' admitted to the Convention, with power to cast one- half of the vote, of said State ; ,and if either of said dele- gations' refuse or neglect to cast the vote as above indi- cated, that in said case the delegates present in the Con- vention be authorized to cast the full vole of said Stato. NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 4a Mr. Stevens, of Oregon.— I viae, Mr. President, to pre- sent the report of a minority, of the Committee on cre- dentials, and I will proceed to read it ; MINORITY REPORT. To the President of the D&mooraUc Mational Cbn/oen- Hon: Sir : We, the undersigned, membera of the Committee on Credentials, feel constrained to dissent from many of the views anda lafge portion of the action of the majoi;- \ly of the Committee in respect to the rights of delegates to seats referred to them By the Convention, and to re- spectfully recommend the adoption of the following reso- lutions : 1. Jiesoh?ad, That B. P, Hallett is entitled to a seat in this Convention, as a delegate from the 5th Congression- '■&l district of the State of Massachusetts. 2. Jieaoh^ed^ That Jahnson B. G^rdy ia entitled to a seat in this» Convention as a delegate from the Sth Con- gressional district of the State of Missouri. 8. Setiolff^, That James A. Bayard and William Gt. Whiteley are entited to seats in this- 'Convention as dele- gates from the State of Delaware. 4. lieaolved^ That the delegation headed by R. W. Johnson arc entitled to seats in this Convention as dele- gates from the State of Arkansas. 5. jResolvedj That the delegation of which George "W. Bji'yan ia chairman are entitled to seats in this Conven- tion from the State of Texas. 6. EesoVoedy That the delegation of which John Tarle- ton is chairman are entitled to seats in this convention as delegates from the State of Louisiana. 7. Resolved^ That the delegation of which L. P. "Walker is chairman are entitled to seats in this Convention as delegates fcota. the State of Alabama. 8. That the delegation of which H^ry L. Benning is chairman are entitled to seats in this Convention aa dele- gates from the State of Georgia. 9. Resolved^ That the delegation from the State of Florida accredited to the Charleston Convention are in- vited to take s^ats in this Convention and cast the vote of the State of Florida. The Committee presented an elaborately argued report to sustain their resolutions, which was signed by I. I. Stetens, Oregon, E. W. Hubbard, Ya., A. R. Speer, N. J., R. E. Bridgers, N. 0., H. M. North, Penn., AV. H. Carroll, Tenn., John H. Bewley, Del., Geo. H. Morrow, Ky., D. S. Gregory, Cal, lu the points of (difference between the ma- jority and minority reports of the Committee on Credentials, I concur in the conclusions of the minority report in the cases of Georgia, Alabama, Missouri and Massachusetts. Aaron V. Hughes, New-Hampshire. Mr. Gittings, of Maryland, presented still an- other report, concluding with the following resolutions : Resolved^ That so much of the majority report of the Committee on Credentials as relates to Massachusettsj Missouri, Delaware, Arkansas, Georgia^ Louisiana and Texas, be adopted. RewVoed^ That the delegation of which L. P. Walker Is chairman, be, and they are hel-eby, declared the only regulai-ly authorized representatives of the State of Alabama, and as such are entitled to seats in the National Democratic Convention. Mr. Stevens demanded the previous question, which was sustained by the Convention, and the main question was ordered, but, without taking the vote, the CoDLvention adjourned. When the Conveiition assembled on the 22d, Mr, Gittings withdrew his report, which brought the minority report proper — that of Mr. Ste- vens, of Oregon — first in order, and the question being put on the substitution of tbe whole minority report for the report of the majority, ^the motion was lost, lOOj to 150, as follows : YBAt^-Maine, 2^ ; New-Hampshire, J; Vermont, H; Uai»achusetts, 8 ; Connecticut, %^i, New-Jersey, 4 ; Penn • sylvftnla, 17 ; Delaware, 2 ; Maryland, 5i ; Virginia, 14 ; North Carolina, 9 ; Arkansas, i; JMissouri, 5; Tennessee, 10 ; Kentueky, 10': Minnesota, H : OaliXornia, 4 : Oregon, 8-lOOi. Nays— Maine, 5J ; New-Hampshire, 4i; Vermont, 8f; Massachusetts, 6 ; Rhode Island, 4 ; Connecticut, 8| ; New-York, 35; New-Jersey, 8; Pennsylvania, 10; Mary- land, 2 ; 'Virginia, 1 ; North Carolina, 1 ; Arkansas, { ; Missouri, 4 ; 'Tennessee, 1 ; Kentucky, 2 ; Ohio, 2y ; In- di^^na, 13 ; Illinois, 11 ; Michigan, 6 ; Wisconsin, b\ Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 2^— -160. Maryland, i vote notvoted ; Tennessee, 1 vote not cast The question then recurred on adopting the majority report. A division being called for, the vote was taken on the first resolution, admitting tl^e original delegates from Mississippi, which was adopted almost unanimously, 250to2f Thff vote was then taken on the second resolution, admitting the Soul6 (Douglas) Delegates ft'om Louisiana, ' whi6h resulted— Ays, 153 ; Nays, 98— as follows : Yeas — Maine, 5j-; New-Hampshire, 4J-; Vermont, 4J; Massachusetts, 5; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 3f; New-York, S5 ; New- Jersey, 2^ ; Pennsylvania, 10 ; Mary- land, 2i ; Virginia, 1 ; North.CaroUna, 2 ; Arkansas, -j- ; Missouri, 4 ; Tennessee, 2 ; Kentucky, 2 ; Ohio, 28 ; In- diana, 1^; Illinois, 11 ; Michigan, 6 } Wisconsin, 5 ; Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 2^—153. > Nats— Maine, 2i; New-Hampshire, i; Vermont, \\ Massachusetts, 8 ; Connecticut, 2^ ; New- Jersey, 4^ ; Pennsylvania, 17; Delaware, 2; Maryland, 5J ; Virginia, 13 ; North Carolina, 8 ; Arkansas, f ; Missouri, 5 ; Ten- nessee, 10 ; Kentucky, 10 ; Minnesota, 1^ ; California, 4; Oregon, 3— 98. So the second resolution was adopted. The question was then taken on the third resolution, ad- nutting. Col. Hindman and his colleagues (the original dele- gates) with power to ,cast two yotes, and Mr. Hooper and hia colleagues (the contestant's) with power to cast one vote ; and providing that, if either set of delegates refuse to take seats,. th,e pt|ier shall be entitled to cast the wholo vote of the State, (Arkansas). A division of the question being called for, the President decided that the resoliitibn was divisible. The question was taken on the three several propositions, viz. :— l^t. The admission of the Hindman delegates, which was adopted, 182 to 69. 2d. The admission of the Hooper delegates, which was adopted, 150 to lOOi. 3cl. On the giving ponder to one set to cast the whole vote if the other set withdrew, which was adopl^d without a ^vision. A' vote was then taken on the fourth resolution of the majority report, admitting the original delegation, from the State of Texas, which was iadopted almost unani- mously. A vqte was next taken on the fifth resolution, admitting Bayard and Whiteley from Delaware. Adopted without di- vision. ' The sixtti resolution, giving R. L. Chaffee the seat in the Massachusetts delegation contested by Mr. Hallett, waa then adopted— yeas, 1^8, nays, li i^-. Ml'. Stuart, of Michigan, at this point, made mptions to re- consider each vote taken, a^d' to lay the same on the ta- ble, it Iseing understood that the motions were not to be put till votes on all the proposition^ had been taken. [Hie seventh resolution, declailti^ J.' O'lPallon entitled to the seat in the Missouri delegation claimed by John B. Gardy, was then adopted^— yeasi, 188},, nays, 112. The eighth resolution, admittmg the contesting delegates •from Alabama, was next adopted. Yeas, 148i : Nays, lOU. ' The question then being on the ninth and last resolution of the nif^prity report, admitting both delegations from Georgia, and dividing the vote of the State between tbem^ with the provision that, if either refused to take seats, the remaining delegate^ pas^the vote of the State. Befare the vote was taken, Mr. Seward, of Geor^a, pre- sented a communication from Col. Gardner, Chairman of the contesting delegates from Georgia, withdrawing from the contest, and the resolution was lost — 106J-to 145.' The ojiginal (seceding), delegation from (Jeorgia, headed by H. L. Benhing,""was subsequently admitted. The President stated the next question to Ibe'upon lay- ing upon the table the motion to reconsider the vote by which the Convention refused to substitute the' resolu- tions reported by the minority of the Committee oh. Cre- dentials for thoseXreported by the majority of said Com- ■ mittee. \ ■ The question bemg then taken by States, the motion to lay on the table was not agreed to^yeas, ll^i ; Nays, J28i ■as fc Hows: yKAs--Maine, 5J; New-Hampshire, 8; Vermont, 4^^; Massac&uaettB, o -, Rhode JMand, 4 ; Connecticut, 31 ; Nev 40 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. Jersey, 8i ; PanngylVania, 10 ; Maryland, 2 ; North Caro- lina, 1 ; Arkansas, i ; Missouri, .4^ ; Kentucky, 2 ; Ohio, 2^ ; Indiana, 1? ; IllinolB, 11 ; Michigan, 6 ; Wisconsin, 5; Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 21 — ^IISJ. Nays — Maine, 2*; New-Hampshire^ 2; Termont, i; M^sachusetts, 8 ; Connecticut, 2^ ; New- York, 85; New- Jersey, 8J; Pennsylvania, 17; JDelaware, 2; Maryland, 6 i Virginia, 15 ; North Carolina, 9 ; Arkansas, i ; Missouri, 4:^\ Tennessee, 12; Kentucky, 10; Minnesota, li; Cali- fornia, 4; Oregon, 8— 188J. When New-York was called, her delegates asked time to consult, but fiaally gave her thirty-fire rotes against the motion to lay upon the table, which, had it prevailed, would hare precluded all further reconsideration of the subject. The question recurred upon the motion to reconsider the rote rejecting the minority resolutions. Mr. Qesana, of Pa., moved the previous question, which was sustained, ^nd the question being taken by States, the motion to reconsider was r^ected — ^103 to 149 — as -fol- loWs : , , Yeas— Maine, 2^ ; New-Hampshire, 2 ; Vermont, 1 ; Mas- Bachusetts, 8 ; Connecticut, 2^ ; New-Jeraey, 4i- ; Pennsyl- rania, IT ; Delaware, 2 ; Maryland, 6 ;>Vu'ginia, 15 ; North Carolina, 9 ; Arkansas, ^ ; Missouri, 4^ ; Tennessee, 10 ; Kentucky, 10 ; Minnesota, 1^ ; California, 4 ; Oregon, 8 — 108, Nats — Maine, 6i ; New-Hampshire, 8 ; Vermont, 4 ; Mas- sachusetts, 5; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 3J-; New^ York, 85 ; New-Jersey, 2i ; Pennsylrania, 10; Maryland, 2 ; North Carolina^ 1 ; Arkansas, i ; Missouri, 4i ; Ten- nessee, 2; Kentucky, 2; Ohio, 23; Indiana, 13; Illinois, 11 ; Michigan, 6 ; Wisconsin, 5 ; Iowa, 4 ; Minnesota, 2) — 149. The several motions to lay on the table thequestion of reconsidering the votes by which each of the' resolutions of the majority had been adopted, were then put and car- ried in the affirmative, and the several delegates who had been voted in were then admitted to seats. VIRGINIA WITHDRAWS. Mr. Russell, of Virginia.— If it be the pleasure of your- self, Mr. President and the Convention, I will now mak^ the brief announcement of which I made mention this mot-ning. I will detain the Convention but a very brief time. I Understand thac the action of this Convention upon the various questions arising out of the reports from the Committee on Credentials has become final, complete and li'revocable. And it has become my duty now, by direc- tion of a large majority of the delegation from Virginia, respectfully to inform this body that it is inconsistent with their convictions of duty to participate longer in its deliberations. (Loud applause in the Convention and in the galleries, with loud ciies from the galleries.) ■The disorder continued for some minutes, after which ' Mr. Russell resumed — ^Tlie delegates from Virgima, who participate in this movement, have come to the con- clusion which I have announced, after long, mature and anxious deliberation, and after, in their judgment, hav- ing exhausted all honorable efforts to obviate this neces- sity. In addition to the facts which appear upon your record, I dash'e the attention of this body long enough only to state that it is ascertained that tWb delegations to which you, sir, upder the order of this Convention, have just directed ticl^ets to be issued — some of them at least and all of them whom we regard as the representa- tives of the Democracy of their States— will decline to join here in the deliberations of this body. For the rest, the reasons which impel us to take this important step will be rendered to those to whom only, we are responsi- ble, the Democracy of the Old Dominion. To you, sir, and,to the body over which you preside, I have only to say in addition that we bid you a respectful adieu. The portion of the delegjitlon from Virginia which re- tired then left their seats and proceeded out of the Hall, shaking hands with members of various delegations as they ijassed along. Mr. Moffatt, of Yirginia — made a speech in defense of his course, and that of hi3,coUeague9 who remained in the Convention. ■WITHDRAWAL OP NORTH CAROLINA. Mr. Lander, of North Carolhaa.-^Mr. President, painful as the duty is, it is, nevertheless, my duty to announce here, as a representative of the delegates from North Caro- lina, that a very large majority of them are compelled to retire permanently from tliis Convention on account of the nnjust action, as we conceive, that has this day been per- petrated upon some of our sovereign States an<3 fellow citizens of the South. 'We of the South have heretofore m vutained and supported the Northern Deniocracy for Uio reason that they are wilUug to attribute to us in the Soutb equality in the Union. The vote to- NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PLATFORMS. 47 mocvittiapa.rty. , (ApplBUb-c and laughter,) Yea, air, the destruction of the Democratic pavty, consummated by assassins now gi'luning upon this floor. (Loud cries of " order," " order," " put him out," and great confusion^,) DELAWARE WITHDRAWS. Mr. Saulsbury did not desire to occupy the attention of the Convention but for a moment. The delegates from his State had done all in their power to promote the harmony and unity of this GonveAtion, and it was their purpose to continue to do so. I am» however, instructed by tlie delegation to announce that they desire to be excused from voting on any further ballots or votes, unless cir- cumstafifces should alter this determination. It is our desire to be' left free'^o act or not act, their desire being to. leave the questign open for the .consideration of their constituents after Uieir return home. Mr. Steele, of North Carolina, briefly addressed the Convention, stating that he, for the preseat, at least, Bhould not retire. After explanations and debate, the motion ''Shall the main question'be now put," (to go into nomination of can- didates for President and Vice-President) was carried, and the Conventioa adjourned. KENTUCKY WITHDRAWS IN PART. On Saturday (23d), Mr. Caldwejl, of Kentucky, in be- half of the delegation from that StMe, said : The circumstances in which we (the Kentucky Dele- gation) are placed are exceedingly embarrassing, and we have not therefore been enabled to come to an entirely harmonious conclusion. The result is, however, that nine of the delegates of Kentucky temain in the Convention. (applause.) There are ten delegates who withdraw from the Convention. The exact character of their withdrawal !s set forth in a flDgle paragraph, with their names appended, which I desire the Secretary to read before I alt down. There are five others— 'Completing the delegation— who desire for the present to suspend their connection with the auction of this Convention. I will add here, that there may be no misunderstanding, that I myself am one of those five, and we have also signed a short paper, which I shall also »sk the Secretary to read to the Convention. I am requested by those who withdraw from the Con- vention, and by those who suspend their action for the present with the Convention, to say that it is their wish uiat their seats in this Conjention shall not be filled or occupied by any others ; and that no one shall Claim the ' right to cast their votes. The right of those remaining in the Convention to cast their individual vote, is not by us questioned in any degree. Bui we enter our protest against any one casting our vote. I will ask the Secretary to read the papers I have indi- cated, and also one which a gentleman of our delegation has handed me, which he desires to be read. I ask that the three papers be read. The first paper read was signed James G. Leach, the writer of which animadverted in rather strong terms upon the action of the Con- vention, in the matter of the admission and rejection of delegates from certain States. The - communication was regarded as disrespectful to the Convention, and, on motion of- Mr. Payne, of Ohio, it was returned to the writer. Th6^ Secretary, then read the other two communica- tions from the Kentucky delegation as follows : To the Jlon. Caleb 'Ovishing, President of the 27aiionaZ Defmocraiic Go7i/oentim^ assembled in t&e ciPy of Baltimore : The Democratic Conventinn for the State of Kentucky, held in tlie city of Frankfort, on the 9th day of January, 166(1, among others, adopted the following r&olution : Hesolved, That we pledge the Democracy of Kentucky to an honest and industrious support of the nominee of the Charleston Convention. Since the adoption of this resolution, ai^d the aasembling of this Convention, e\ -snts have transpired not then con- templated, notwithstanding which we have labored dilU gently to piesei-ve the harmony and unity of said Con- vention; but iliacord and disintegration Wave prevailed %o such &n extent that we feel that our efforts cannot Accomplish this end. Therefore, without intending to vacate our seats, or to loin or participate in any other Convention or organiza- tion in this city, and with the intention of again co- opeiatlng with this Convention, should its uaity and Ijarmony be restored by any future event, we now de- clare that we will not participate In the meantime !n the deliberations of this Convention, nor hold ouraelves or constituents bound by its action, but leave both at fuU liberty to act as future circumstances may dictate. ' , N. W. WiLUAMSos, W. Bbaslst, d. A,,CAtOWi:LL, SAUUJBt- B. FlKLD, ThOS. J. yODNG. * lieaolved, That .the Chairman of our delegation be instructed to inform the Convention in our behalf that, in the present condition of that body, we deem it inconsist- ent with our duty to ourselves and our constituents to participate further in Its deliberations. Our reasons fox so doing will be given to the Democracy of Kentucky. J»o. DigHMAN, L. Gkrbn, J. S. Kendall, K. M. Johnson, Jpa. B.. Beok, Gal. Butleb, D. yf. Qdaklbs, K. Nicegb, €0]>BBRT Cl^CIL, "^ JaUES&.JjEAOH. Mr. Reed, of Ky., spoke briefly in defense oi the course of the nine delegates from that State, who remained with the Convention, MISSOURI DEFINES HER POSITION. Mr. Clark, of Missouri, announced as the re- sult of a fconsultation of a portion of the Mis- souri delegation, that two of that delegation had decided to withdraw from the Convention. Mr. Hill, of N. C, who had refused to retire with his colleagues on the previous day, now announced his intention of withdrawing. Mr. Cessna, of Pennsylvania, called for the vote upon hia resolution to proceed to nominate, candidates for President and Vice-President, MR. CUSHINa RESIGNS THE CHAIR. ' Mr. Gushing resigned his post as presiding^ officer, in a brief speech, and left the chair. Gov. Tod, of Ohio, immediately assumed the- chair, and was greeted with enthusiastic and.', hearty cheers. After order was restoredy hfti said : As the presents presiding officer of this Convention bf- common consent of uiy brother Vice-Z'residen:ts„ with, great diffidence I assume the chair. When I announce to you that for thirty -four years I ha>ve. stood up in that^ district so long misrepi^esen&ed by Joshua R. GiddiogSy-. with the Democratic banner in my hand Capplau3e\ i know that 1 shall receive the good wishes of this Conven* tion, at least, for the discharge of the duties of the chatr. If there are no privileged questions intervening, the. Secretary will proceed with the call of the States. . MASSACHUSETTS DESIRfiig A HEARING. Mr. Butler, of Mass., addressed the chair, and desired to present a protest. Objection was made by Mr. Cavanaugh, of Minnesota, and the States were called dn- the question of proceeding to a- vote fo>r ' Pre^dent. When Massachusetts was called, Mr. Butler said: Mr. President, I have the instruction of a majority of the delegation from Massachusetts to present a wi'ltten pro- test. 1 will send it to the Chair to have it read. (Calls to order.) And further, with your leave, I desire to say what I think will be pleasant to this Convention. First, that, while a majority of the delegation from Massachu-- setts do not purpose ^rther to participate in the doin^ ' of this, Convention, we desire to part, if we may, to meet you as friends and Democrats again. We desire to part' in the same spirit of manly courtesy with which we came together. Therefore, if you will allow me, instead of' reading to you a long document^ I will state, within par- liamentary usage, exactly the reasons why we talie the step we do. "^ ■ Thanblng the Convention for their courtesy,, allow me to say that though we have protested against the atstlon.. of this body excluding the delegates, although we aic not: satisfied with that action— "We have not discussed the question, Mr. President^,, whether the action of the Convention, in excluding oer-- tain delegates, could be any reason for 'withdrawal We- now put our withdrawal before you, upon the simple^ gi'ound, among others, tha^ there has been a wivbdrawaL in part of a majority of the States, and further (and that, perhaps, more personal to myself), upon the ground that I wUl not gilia a Convention, where the Afncan slave- 4(S A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. trade— which is piracy by the laws of my country— is ap- provingly advocated, (ijjreat sensation.) A portion of the Massachusetts deiegation here retired. Mr. tStevens, of Massachusetts, said — I am not ready at this moment to cast the vote of Massachusetts, the deiegation being in consultation as to their i-ights. Tbe call proceeded, the chairman of eaeh Con- vention mailing a speech on delivering the vote of bis State ; and Mr. Stevens finally stated that, although a portion of the Massachusetts delega- tion had withdrawn, he was instructed by his remaining colleagues to cast the entire vote of the State; Mr. Russell, of New York, withdrew the name of Horatio Seymour as a candidate. The fol- lowing is the result of the ballotings for Presi- dent: FIBST BALLOT. « to I I ^ » tS ja BECOND BALLOT. t I A Maine 6i New-Hampshire.. 5 Vermont 5 Massachusetts. . ; . 10 Rhode Island 4 GpnnecticiTt.,...,. 3t New-York 36 New-Jersey...... 2i Fennsyivania ...10 Maryland 2^ Virginia li North Carolina. . . 1 AlEibama 9 I^onisiana 6 Arlcansas 1 Missouri H Tennessee 8 Kentucky — Ohio 28 Indiana 18 Illinois 11 Michigan 6 Wisconsin 6 Iowa 1 ' Minnesota 2^ W. A . T . 5 . 5 .10 . A ■ 8t .86 . 2* .10 . H . 8 . 1 ■ a . i . 8 .28 .13 .11 . 6 . 5 . 4 . 4 i - 1} u Xotal lT3i '6 10 ' ISli Ti Si On the first ballot, Henry A. Wise, of Vir^iiiia,-received i a vote from Maryland ; £ococl£, of Va., received 1 vote from Vu-ginia ; Daniel S. Dickinson, f vote fronl Virginia; and Horatio Seymour 1 vote from Pennsylvania. On the announcement of the first ballot, Mr. Chuzch, of IJew- York, offered the following : ^ \^6aQl/oed'una/n4i^tuil^, That Stephen A. Douglas, of the State of Illinois, having now received two-thirds of all the votes given in this Convention, is hereby declared, in ac- cordance with the rules governing this body, and in accord- ance with the uniform c)istoms and rules of former Demo- cratic National Conventions, the regular nominee of the Democratjic^party of the United States, for the office of President of the United States. Mr, Jones, of Pennsylvania, raised the- point of order, that the resolution proposed practically to rescind a rule of the 'Conventio;! (requiring two-thirds of a full Conven- tion, 202 votes,, to nominate), und could not, under the rales, be adopted without one day's notice. ' The Chair ruled that the resolution was in order, and after a lengthy and animated debate it.was withdrawn till after another ballot should be taken. When the result of the second ballot had been announced, Mr. Church's re- solution'was called up again and passed. Benj.-Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, was nominated for Vice-President, receiving'igSJ votes, and Mr. William 0. Alexander, of K. J., 1. [Mr. Fitzpatriok declined the' nomination two days afterward, and the National Comtnittee supplied the vacancy, by the nomination of Herscliel V. Johnson, of Georgia]. Gov. Wickllffe, of Louisiana, offered Uie following resolu- tion as iin addition to the Pla^orm adopted at Ohai'leston : Hesolved, That it is in accordanoe vvh the true Interpret*. tion of the Cincinnati Platform, that, during the existence of the Territorial Governments, the measure of restric- tion, whatever it may be, imposed by the Federal Consti tution on the power of the TerritCrial Legislature over the subject of the domestic relations, as the same has been, or shall hereafter be, finally determined by the Supreme Court of the United States, should be respected by aU good citi- zens, and enforced with prorapfcnef^ and fideUty by every branch of the General Government. Mr. Payne, of Ohio, movefl -the previous quM- tion, and this resolution was adopted, with ouJy two dissenting votes. THE BECEDEES' CONVBimON. The delegates who had withdrawn from the Convention at the Front-Street Theater, to- gether with the delegations from Louisiana and Alabama, who were refused admission to that Convention, met at the Maryland Institute on Saturday the 28th of June. Twenty-one States were represented either by full or partial dele- gations. The States not represented at all ^ere C9nnecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New-Hampshire, New-Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. The Hon. Caleb Cushing, of Massacfrusetts, was chosen to preside, assisted by vice-pre- sidents and secretaries. ^ The Convention adopted a rule requiring a vote of two-thirds of all the delegates present' to nominate candidates for Presideut and Vice- President ; also that each delegate cast the vote to wWch he is entitled, and that each State cast only the number of votes to which it isentitled by its actual representation in the Convention. The delegates, from South Carolina and Florida accredited to the Richmond Conven- tion, were invited to take seats in this. A committee of five, of which Mr. Caleb Cushing was chairman, was appointed to ad- dress the Democracy of the Union upon the principles which ha've governed the Convention in making the nominations, and in vindication of the principles of the party. The Convention alEjo decided that the next Democratic National Convention be held at Philadelphia. Mp. Avery, of N. C, chairman of Committee on Resolutions, reported, with the unanimous sanction of the Committee, the Platform re- ported by the majority of the Platform Com- mittee at Charleston, and rejected by the Con- vention, (see page 30) which was unanimously adopted. The Convention adopted a resolution in- structing the National Committee not to issue tickets of admission to their next National Cour vention in any case where there is a honajvk contestant. The Convention then proceeded to ballot for a candidate for President ; and John C. Breckin- ridge, of Ky., received the unanimous vote of th« delegates present as follows Vermont i Florida Sh Tennessee 9i Massacliusetts . S Alabama 9 Kentucky 4i New-York .... 2 Louisiana 6 Minnesota.... '1 Pennsylvania.. 4 Mississippi....' 7 California.,... 4 Maryland...... 44 .Texas. ....,,.. 4 Oregon ..,.. 3 Virginia, lli Arkansas 4 North Carolina. %\ Missouri 1 105 Georgia.. .^...10 . For Vice-President Gen. Joseph Lane, of Oregon, received the unanimous vote of the Convention, (105), on the first ballot, i And then, after Usteniug to a .speech from Mr. Taney, the Convention adjourned sine die. HISTORY OF THE STRUaGLE FOE SLAYERY EXTEISIOI OR RESTRICTIOI. MAINLY BY DOCUMElSrTS. SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES. Lust of gold .aijd power was the main im- pulse of Spanish migration to the regions beyond the Atlantic. And the soft and timid Abori- gines of tropical America, especially of its, islands, were first compelled to surrender what- ever they possessed of the precious metals to the imperious and grasping strangers; next forced to disclose to those strangers the sources whence they were most readily obtained ; and finally driven to toil and delve for. more, wher- ever' power and greed supposed they might most readily be obtained. From, this point, the transition to general enslavement was ready and rapid. The gentle and indolent natives, unac- customed to rugged, persistent toil, and revolt- ing at the harsh and brutal severity of their Christian masters, had but one unfailing re- source — d^ath. Through privation, hardship, €3(posure, fatigue and despair, they drooped and died, until mlllioiSs were reduced to a few miser- able thousands withiwthe first century of Span- ish rule in America. . A humane and observant priest (Las Casas,) witnessing these , cruelties and sufferings, was moved by pity to devise a plan for their termi- nation. He suggested and urged the policy of substituting for these feeble and perishing " Indians " the hardier natives of Western Af- rica, whom their eternal wars and marauding invasions were constantly exposing to captivity and ^ale as prisoners of war, and who, as a race, might be said to be inured to the hardshipsand degradations of Slavery by an immemorial ex- perience. The suggestion wa:s unhappily ap- proved, and the woes and miseries of the few rcjinaining Aborigines of the islands known to jis as " West Indies," were inconsiderably pro- longed by exposing the whole continent for un- htlmbered generations to the evils and horrors of African Slavery. The author lived ■ to per- ceive and deplore the consequences of his ex- pedient. The sanction of the Pope having been ob- tained for the African Slave-trade by represen- tations which invested it with a look of philan- thropy, Spanish and Portuguese mercantile avarice was readily enlisted in its prosecution and the whole continent, North and South of the tropics, became a Slave-mart before the close of the Sixteenth century. Holland, a comparatively new and Protestant State, unable to shelter itself from the re- proaches of conscience and humanity behind a Papal bull, entered upon the new tralOBo more tardily ; but its profits soon overbore all scruples, and British liierchants were not proof against the ' glittering evidences of their success. But the first slave ship tha,t ever entered a North American port for the sale of its human mer- chandise, was a Dutch trading-vessel which landed twenty negro bondmen at Jamestown, the nucleus of Virginia, almost simultaneoHsty with the landing of the Pilgrims of the May- flower on Plymouth Kock, December 22d, 1620, Tke Dutch slaver, had chosen his market with sagacity. Virginia was settled by Cavaliers — gentlemen-adventurers aspiring to live by their own wits and other men's labor — with the neces- sary complement of followers and servitors. Few of her pioneers cherished any earnest liking for downright, persistent, muscular exertion ; yet some exertion was urgently required to clear away th« heavy forest which all but covered the soil of the infant colony, and, grow the tobacco which early became its staple export, by means of which nearly everything required by. its people but food was to be paid for in England. The slaves, therefore, found ready purchasers at satisfactory prices, and the success of the first venture induced others ; until ijot only Virginia but every part of British America was supplied with African slaves. , This traffic, with the bondage it involved, had no justification in British nor in the early colonial kws ; but it proceeded, neverthelfes's, much as an importation of dromedaries to re- place with presumed economy our horses and oxen might now do. Georgia was the first among the colonies to resist and condemn it in her original charter unde'i; the lead of her nob'le founder-governor, General Oglethorpe ; but the evil was too formidable and inveterate fot local extirpation, and a few years saw it estab- lished, even in Georgia ; first evading or defy- ing, and at length molding and transforming the law. 49 so A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. It ia very common at this day to speak of our revolutionary struggle as commenced and hur- ried forward by a union of Free and Slavs colonies ; but such is not the fact. However slender and dubious its legal basis, Slavery ex- isted in each and all of the colonies tbat united to declare and maintain their independence. Slaves were proportionately more numerous in certain portions of the South ; but they were held with impunity throughout the North, ad- vertised like dogs or horses, and sold at auction, r or otherwise, as chattels. Vermont, then a ter- ritory in dispute between New-Hampshire, and New-York, and with very few civilized inhabi- tants, mainly on its Southern and Eastern bor- ders, is probably the only portion of the revolu- tionary confederation never polluted by the tread of a slave. The spirit of liberty, aroused or intensified by the protracted struggle of the colonists against usurped and abused power in the mother country, soon found itself engaged in natural antagonisin against the current form of domestic despotism. " How shall we complain of arbitrary or unlimited power exerted over us, while we exert a still more despotic and inex- cusable power over a dependent and benighted race ?" was very fairly asked. Several suits were brought in Massachusetts — where the fires of liberty burnt earliest and brightest — to test the legal right of slave-holding ; and the lead- ing Whigs gave their money and their legal services to support these actions, which were generally, on one ground or another, success- ful. Efforts for an express law of emancipation, however, failed even in Massachusetts; the Legislature, doubtless, apprehending that such a measure, by alienating the slave-holders, would increase the number and power of the Tories ; but in ll'll, a privateer haying brought a lot of capture d slaves into Jamaica, and advertised them for sale, the General Court, as the Legis- lative Assembly was called, interfered and had them set at liberty. The first Continental Con- gress which resolved to resist the usnVpations and oppressions of Great Britain by force, had ali'eady declared that our struggle would be "for the rights of human nature," which the Congress of 1776, under the lead of Thomas Jefferson, expanded into the noble affirmation of the right of " all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," contained in the immor- tal preamble to the Declaration of Independence. A Hke averment that "all men are born free and equal," was in 1780 inserted in the Massa- chusetts Bill of Eights ; and the Supreme Court of tbat State, in 1783, on an indictment of a master for assault and battery, held this declaration a bar to slave-holding henceforth in the State. A similar clause in the second Constitution of . New-Hampshire was held by the courts of that State to secure Freedom to every child, born therein after its adoption. Pennsylvania, in 1780, passed an act prohibiting the further in- troduction of slaves, and securing Freedom to all persons bprn in tliat State thereafter. Oon- ' neotiout and Khode-Island passed similar acts in 1784. Virginia, in 177-8, on motion of Mr. Jefferson, prohibited the further importation of slaves; and in 1782, removed all legal restric- tions on emancipation : Maryland adopted both of these in 1783. North-Carolina, in 1786, de- clared the introduction of slaves into that Stats " of evil consequence, and highly impolitic," and imposed a duty of £5 per head thereon. New-York and New-Jersey followed the example of Virginia and Maryland, indluding the domes- tic in' the same interdict with the foreign slave- trade. Neither of these States, however, de- clared a general emancipation until many years thereafter, and Slavery did not wholly cease in New-York until about 1830, nor in New-Jersey till a much later date. The distindtion of Free and Slave States, with the kindred assumption of a natural antagonism between the North and South, was utterly unknown to the men of the Bevoiution. Before the Declaration of Independence, but during the intense ferment which preceded it, and distracted public attention from everything else, Lord Mansfield had rendered his judgment from the King's Bench, which expelled Slavery from England, and ought to have destroyed it in the colonies as well. The plaintiff in this famous case was James Somerset!, a native of Africa, carried to Virginia as a slave, taken thence by his master to England, and there in- cited to resist the claim of his master to his services, and assert his right to liberty. In the first recorded case, involving the legality of modern Slavery in England, it was held (1677) that negroes, " being usually bought and sold among merchants as merchandise, and also being infidels, there might be a property in them sufficient to maintain trover." But this was overruled by Chief Justice Holt from the King's Bench (1697,) ruling that " so soon as a negro lands in England, he is free ;" and again, (17U2) that " there is no such thing as a slave by the law of England." This judgment proving ex- ceedingly troublesome to planters and mer- chants from slave-holding colonies visiting the mother country with their 3ervants,the merohanta concerned in the American trade, in 1729, pro- cured from Yorke and Talbot, the Attorney General and Solicitor General of the Crown, a written opinion that negroes, legally enslaved elsewhere, might be held as slaves in England, and that even baptism was no bar to the mas- ter's claim. This opinion was, in 1749, held to be sound law by Yorke (now Lord Hardwicke,) sitting as judge, on the ground that, if the con- trary ruling of Lord Holt were upheld', it would abolish Slavery in Jamaica or Virginia as well as in England ; British law being paramount in each. Thus the law stood until Lord Mansfield, in Somerset's case, reversed it with evident re- luctance, and after having vainly endeavored to bring about an accommodation between the parties. When delay would serve no longer, and a judgment must be rendered, Mansfield declared it in these memorable words : " We cannot direct the law : the law must direct us. .... The state of Slavery is of such a nature tliat it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political, but only by positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasion, and time itsell whence it was created, is erased from the memory. It ia Bo odious that nothing can be sufficient to support it bul positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from the decision, I cannot say that this aase is allowed or approved by the law of England, and there, fore the black m^st be discharged." THE STKITGGLE FOR SLAVERY RESTRICTIOK. 51 The natural, if not necessai?y, effect of this decision ou Slavery in these colonies had their connection with the mother country been con- tinued, is sufficiently obvious. SLAyBRT UNDER THE CONFEDERATION. The disposition or management of unpeopleyi territories, pertaining to the thirteen recent colonies now confederated as independent States, early became a subject of solicitude and of bickering among those States, and in , Congress. By the terms of their charters, some of the colonies had an indefinite exteftsion westwardly, and were only limited by the power of the grantor. Many of these charters con- flicted w.'th each other — the same territory being included within the limits of two or more totally distinct colonies. As the expenses of the Revolutionary struggle began to bear heavily on the resources of the States, it was keenly felt by some that their share in the advantages of the expected triumph Would be less than that of others. Massachusetts, Con-" necticut, New-York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, laid claim to spacious dominions outside of their proper boundaries ; while New- Hampshire (save in Vermont), Rhode Island, New-Jersey, Maryland, Delaware,/ and South Carolina, possessed no such boasted resources to meet the war-debts constantly augmenting. They urged, therefore, with obvious justice, that these unequal advantages ought to be surrendered, and ali the lands included within the territorial limits of the Union, but outside of the proper and natural boundaries of the several States, respectively, should be ceded to, and held by. Congress, in trust for the common benefit of all the States, and their proceeds em- ployed in satisfaction of the debts and liabilities of the Confederation. This reasonable requisi- tion was ultimately, b^t with some reservations, responded to. ^ The IXth Continental Congress, under the Ar- y^icles of Confederation, assembled at Philadel- X phia, Nov. 3, 1783, but adjourned next day to ' Annapolis, Md. The House was soon left without a quorum, and sb continued most of the time of course, doing no business — ^till the 1st of March, 1784, when the delegates from Virginia, in pursuance of instructions from the Legisla- ture of that State, signed the conditional deed of cession to the Confederation of her claims to • territory northwest of the Ohio River. New- York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts had al- ready made similar concessions to the Confede- ration of their respective claims to territory "^ westward pf their present limits. Congress hereupon appointed -Messrs. Jefferson , of Vir- ginia, Chase of Maryland, and Howell of Rhode ^ Island, a Select Committee to report p. Plan of Qovernment for the Western Territory. This plan, drawn up by Thomas Jefferson, provided Jbr the government of all the Western terri- tory, including that portion which "had not yet r been, but which, it was reasonably expected, '.;■ would be, surrendered to the Confederation by J' the States of North, Carolina and Georgia (and which now forms the States of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi), as well as that which had already been conceded by the more uorthern States The report of the committee was in the following words: THE JEFFERSONIAN ORDINANCE, 1784, E0aoPB6d, That the territory cedeS, or to i& ceded by individual Siatea to the United States, whensoever the Bame shall hav,e been purchased of the Indian inhabitants and offered for sale by tlie United States, shall be formed Into additional States, bounded In the following manner, as nearly as such cessions will admit - that is to say, northwardly and southwardly by parallels of latitude, so that each State shall comprehend from south to north, two degrees of latitude, beginning to count fi-om the completion of thirty-one degrees north ol the equator ; [the then southern boundary of'the U. S.] but any territory northwardly of the forty-ieventh degrefl shall make part of the State next below. And east- wardly and westwardly they shall be hounded, those on the Mississippi, by that river on one side, and the meri- dian of the lowest point of the rapids of the Ohio on the other; and those adjoining on the east, by the same meridian on their western side, and on their eastern by the meridian of the western cape of the' mouth of the Great Kanawha. And the tei-rltory eastward of this last meridian, between the Qhlo, Lake Erie, ^d Pennsyl- vania, shall be one State. That the settlera within the temtoryso to be pur- chased and offered for sale shall, either on their own petition or on the order of Congi'ess, receive autliority h'om them, with appointments of time and place, for their free males of full age to meet together for the pur- 4)ose of establishing a temporary government, to adopt the constitution and laws .of any one of these States, so that such laws nevertheless shall be subject to altera- tion by their ordinary Legislature, and to erect, subject to a like alteration, counties or townships for the elec- tion of members for their Legislature. Th»tsuch temporary government shall only continue in force i^i any State until it shall have acquired twenty thou- sand ^ee inhabitants, when, giving due proof thereof to Congi'ess,^ they shall receive from them authority, with appointments Of time. and place, to call a convention of representatives to establish a permanent constitutiou -.^ and government for themselves : Provided, That both \ the temporary and pm^manent gov^Timmta- i>e estab- ] liahed on these principles as t(beir pasis : 1. That they shall forever remain a part of the United States of America. \ 2. That in their persons,- property, and terrKorj^, they shal'i be subject to the Government of the United States in Congress assembled, and to the Articles di Confederation in all those cases in which the original States shall be so subject. 8. That they shall be subject to pay a part of the Federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same common rule and Aeasure bjr which apportionments thereof shall be -made on the other States. 4. That their respective governments shall be in republican forms, and shall admit no person to be a citizen who holds a hereditai^ title. 5. That after ike year ISOO of tFie OhrisHan era^ there shall, be neither stasery nor mvohtntary serm- tude in atvy of &tf said States^ otherwise than la punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted to have been personally guilty. That whenever any of the said States shall have, of free inhabitants, as many as shall then be in any one of the least numerous of the thirteen original States, such State shall be admitted, by its Delegates, into the Con- gress'of the United States, on an equal footing with the said original States ; after which' the assent of two-thirds of the United States, In Congi-ess assembled, shall he requisite in all those cases wherein, by the Confederation, the assent of nine States is now' required, provided the consent of nine States to such admission may be op- tained according to the eleventh of the Articles of Confederation. Until such admission by their Delegates into Congress, any of the said States, after the establish- ment of their temporary government, shall have autho- rity to keep a sitting member in Congiess, with- a right of debating, but not of voting. That the territory northward of the forty-fifth degree, that is to say, of the completion of forty-five degiees from the equator, and extending to the Lake of the Woods, shall be called SyVoaMa; that of the territory under the forty-fifth and fony-fouvth degress, that which lies-westward of Lake Michigan, shall be called Mich^ gania; and that which is eastward thereof, within the peninsula. 'formed by the lakesand waters of Michigan, Huron, St^ Clair, and Erie, shall be called (JheraoneniiiS^ and shall include any part of the peninsula which cis^v 1 62, A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. extend above the forty-fifth degree. Of the territory under the forty-third and forty-secon^ degreea, that tp the westward, throi^gh whiuh the Assenisip! or Hock Kiver runa, shall be called Assemis^iia; and that to the eastward, in which -are thte foantains of the Muskingum, the two Mlamiea of the Ohio, the Wabash, the lUlnois, the Miami of the Lake, and the Sandusky rivers, shall be called Metropotamia. Of the territoiy which lies under the forty-first and fortieth degrees, the western, through which the river Illinois runs, shall be called JUmoia ; that next adjoining to the eastward, Sa^atoga^j and that between this last and Pennsylvania, and extending from the Ohio to Lake Erie, shall be called Wa^limgton. Of the territory which Jles under the thirty-ninth and thirty-eighth degrees, to which shall be added so much of the point of land within the fork of the Ohio and Mis- sissippi as lie| under the thirty-seventh degree ; that to the westward, within and adjacent to which- are the confluences of the rivers Wabash, Shawanee, Tanisee, Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri, shall be called iPpl/ypota/mia ; and' that to the eastward, further up the Ohio, otherwise called the Felislpi, shall be called PeUiipia. ,. Tiuit all the pyeeedilng ariiaUt ehall be formeS, into a tihart&r of compdistt shall be duly executed by the President of the United States, in Congress assem- bled, undei-%is hand and the seal of the United States, shall be promulgated, -and 8Aa22 eland OAfmida/mental eonditiona between the thirteen original States and those newly-.described, imaUerable but by the joint consent of the United States, ih Congress assembled, and of the particular State within which such alteration is proposed to be made. ., April 19, this reported plan came up for consideration in Congresa. Mr. Spaight of N. C. moved that the 5th proposition (prohibiting Slavery after the year 1800) be striolien.outof the plan of ordinance, and Mr. Read of S. C. seconded the motion. The question was put in this form : " Shall the words moved to be stricken out stand ?" and on this question the Ayes and Noes were taken, and resulted as follows : ^y. Ay. N. Haupbbibs Mr. Foster, ay / Mr. Blanchard, ay "' Massachdsbtts..., Mr. Geny, ay 1 Mr. Partridge, ay '"' Rhode Islahd Mr. EUery , ay 'I Mr. Bowell, ay '■ CoNNECTlCDT Mr. Sherman, ay Mr. Wadsworth, ay New-York Mr. De Witt, ay 1^ \ Mr. Paine, ay " New- JKRSKT Mr. Dick, * ay ]- * PitMKsrLVANiA Mr. Mlfliin, ay Mr. Montgomery, ay yAy. Mr. Hand, ay J Maryland Mr. McHenry, no \ jw- Mr. Stone no f-""- Virginia Mr. Jefferson,.... ay 1 Mr. Hardy, — no VJVb. Mr. Mercer, ... .' no \ N. Caroliha Mr. WilUamson, ay [ ns^^./i Mr. Spaight,.... no }-Z>>w««<2 S. Carousa Mr. Kead, ^° LjiTr. Mr. Beresford, no 1 •"''• ^ Here we find the votes sixteen, in favor of Mr. Jefferson's' restriction to barely Hven against it, and the States divided six in favor to three against it. But the Articles of Confederation (Art. IX.) required an aiErmative vote of a majority of all the States — that is, a vote of seven States — to carry a proposition ; so this clause w.as defeated through the absence of one delegate from New-Jersey, in spite of a vote of more than two to one in its favor. Had the New-Jersey delegation been full, it must, to a moral certainty, have, prevailed ; had Delaware then been represented, it would probably have been carried, even without New-Jersey. Yet, It is this vole, so given and recorded, that Mr. Douglas ia his "Harper" essay claims as bus- * No quorum. . taining bis views of "non-intervention by Congress." The Ordinance, thus depleted, after undergo- ing some further amendments, wasi finally ap- proved April 23d — all the delegates, but those from South Carolina, voting in the affirmative. In lYS'T, the last Continental Congress, sit- ting in New-York simultaneously with the Conventioh at Philadelphia which framed our Federal Comstitutioa, took up the subject of the government of the Western Territory, raising a Committee thereon, of which Nathan Dane, of Mas^chusetts, was Chait'nian. That Committee reported (July 11th), "An Ordinance for the government of the Territories of the United States, Northmest of the OAio"^-the larger area contemplated by Mr. Jefferson's bill not having been ceded by the Southern States claiming dominion over it. This bill embodied many of the provisions originally drafted and reported by Mr. Jefferson, but with some modificationis, and concludes with six unalterable articles of •perpetual compact, the last of them as follows : " There sfcall be neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, in the said Territory, othpwise than m punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall be dulf convicted." To this was added, prior to its passage, the stipulation for the delivery of fugitives from labor or service, soon after embodied in the • Federal Constitution ; and in this shape, the entire ordinance was adopted (July 13th) by a unanimous vote, Georgia and the Carolinaa concurring. ' UNDER THE COHSTIT0TION. The old Articles of Confederation hiving proved inadequate to the creation and main- tenance of a capable and efficient national or central authority, a Convention of Delegates from the several States, was legally assembled in Philadelphia, in 11%1 — George Washington, President'; and the result of its labors was our present Federal Constitution, though some amendments mainly of the nature of restrictions on Federal power, were proposed by the several State Conventions assembled to pass upon that Constitution, and adopted. The following are all the provisions of that instrument, which are presumed to bear upon the subject of Slavery : (Preamble) : We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure -domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the< blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posteiity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Art. 1. § 1. .All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. § 2 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined, by adding to tho whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. § 9. The niigr-ation or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1803 ; but a tax or -duty may be imposed, not exceeding ten dollars on each person. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or inva^on, the public safety may require it. No bill of attainder or ex post facto laws shall b< poesed. Art. III. § 8. Treason against the United States THE STRUGGLE FOR SLAVERY RESTRICTION. 68 d^U cODB^Bt only in levying war against them, or in ad- hering to tlielr enemies, giving tiiera aid and comfort; Alt. IV. § 2. The sitizens of eacli State sliail be en- titled to all the privileges of citizens, in the several States-. No perpon held to .service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall^ in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis- charged' f I'oni suoh service or labor, but shall be "de- Uvered up on claim of the party to whom Huch service or labor may be due. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulatioiis respecting the territory or other ijroperty belonging to the United States : ,and nothing in this Constitution shall be so con- strued as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. § 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State, in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion ; and on application of the ie&islature, or of the executive when the legislature caniiot be convened, against domestic violence. Art. VI. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all the treaties made, or which shall be made, t^ider> the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law ^f the land ; and the, judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. The above are all — and perhaps more th.in all — the clauses of the Constitution, that have been quoted on one side or the other as hear- ing upon the subject of Slavery. It will be noted that the word " slave " or " slavery " does not appear therein. Mr. Madi- son, who was a leading and observant member of the Conventioij, and Who took notes of its dKily proceedings, affirms that this silence was designed — the Convention being unwilling that the Constitution of the United States should recognize property in human beings. In pas- sages where slaves are presumed to be contem- plated, they are uniformly designated as "per- sons," never as property. Contemporary "his- tory proves that it was the belief of at least a large portion of the delegates that Slavery could not long survive the final stoppage of the slave-trade, which was expected to (and did) occur in 1808. And, were Slavery this day banished forever from the country, there might, indeed, be some superfluous stipulations in the Federal compact or charter ; but there are none 'which need be repealed, or essentially modi- fted. A direct provision for the restoration of ' fugitive slaves to their masters was, at least ' once, voted down by the Convention. iFiualiy, the clause respecting persons " held to service or labor,'" was proposed by Mr. Butler, of South Carolina, and adopted with little or no opposi- tion. > The following,,' among the amendments to the Constitution, proposed by the ratifying con- ■ventions of one or more States, and adopted, are supposed by some to bear on the questipns now agitated relative to Slavery : Art. I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,, or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof; or 'abridging the freedom of speech, or of the Press, or of the rights of the people peacefully to assemble, ^nd to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Art. II. A weU-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Art. V. No persons shall be ... . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use Without just compensation. CESSIONS OP SOUTHERN TERRITORT. The State of Kentucky was set off from tha . State of Virginia in 1790, by mutual agree- ment, and admitted into the Union by act of Congress, passed February 4th, 1791 ; to take efi'ect June 1st, 1792. It was never a territory of the United States, nor under Federal juris- diction, except as a State, and inherited Slavery from the'" Old Dominion." The State of North Carolina, like several others, claimed, during and after the Revolu- tion, that her territory extended -yvestward to the Mississippi. On the iid of December, 1799 — one month after the ra,tification of the Federal Constitution ^-^Ndrth Carolina pagsed an act, ceding, on cer- tain conditions, all her territory west of her present limits to the United States. Among the .conditions exacted by her, and, agreed lo by Congress (Act approved April 2nd, 1790) is the following : Pi'ovide^ always^, that no regulations made, or to be made, by Congress shall tend to emancipate slaves. Were it not then conceded that Congress had the power to make regulations for the territories which would " tend to e^aiioipatfe slaves," this proviso would be utterly meaning- leas. Georgia, in like manner, ceded (April 2nd, 1802) the territories lying west of her present limits, now forming the States of Alabama and MississipjJi. Anrtng the conditions exacted by her, and accepted by the United States, is the following : Kfthly. That the territory thus ceded shall become a State, and be admitted into the Union as soon as 14 shall contain sixty tjiousand free inhabitants, or, at an earlier period, if Congress - shall t^ink it expedient, on the same conditions and restnctions, with the same privileged, and in the same manner, as is provided in the ordinance of Congress of the 13th day of July, 1787, for the government of the Western territory of the United States ; which ordinance shall, 1^ all its parts, extend to the territory contained in the present act of cession, the article only excepted which forbids slavery. EARLY ATTEMPTS TO OVERRIDE THE ORDINANCE. When Ohio (1802-3) was made a State, the residue of the vast regions originally conveyed by the ordinance of '87 was continued under Federal pupilage, 'by the natne of "Indiana Territory," whereof Wm. Henry Harrison (since President) was appointed G'pvernor. It was quite commonly argued that, thodgh Slavery was inj'urious in the long run, yet, as an expe- dient while clearing away the heavy forests, opening settlements in the wilderness, and sur- mounting the inevitable hardships and priva- tions of border life, it might be tolerated, and even regarded with favor. Accordingly, the new Territory of Indiana made repeated efforts to procure a relaxation in her favor of the re- strictive clause of the Ordinance of '87, one of them through the Instrumentality of a Conven- tion assembled in 1802-3, and presided over by the Territorial Governor ; so he, with the great body of his fellow-delegates, memorialized Con- ' gressj among other things, to suspend tempor- arily the operation of thft sixth article of the Ordinance aforesaid. This memorial was re- ferred in the House to a select committee of three., two of them from Sli^e States, with tiie since celebrated John Randolph as chairman. R4 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK JFOR 1860. On the and of March. 1803, Mr. Randolph made what appears to have been a unanimous report from this Committee, of which we give so much as relates to Slavery — as follows : The rapid population of tlie State of Ohio sufficiently evinces, in the opinion of your Committee, that the labor of slaves is not necessary to promote the growth and settlement of colonies in that region ; that this labor — demonstrably the dearest of any — can only be employed in the cultivation of products more valuable than any. known to that quarter of the United States ; that the Committee deem ijijiighly dangerous and inexpedient to Impair a provision wisely calculated to promote the hap- piness and prosperit of the northwestern country, and to giw strength and security to that extensive frontier. In the salutary operation of this sagacious and benevo- lent restraint, it is believed that the inhabitants of Indi- ana will, at*no very distant day, find ample remunera- tion for a temporary privation of labor, and of emigra- tion. ■ The Committee proceed to discuss other sub- jects set forth in the prayer of the memorial, and conclude with eight resolves, whereof Jhe only one relating to Slavery is as follows : Jieso^ed, That it is inexpedient to suspend, for a timlted time, the operation of the sixth article of the compact between the original States and the people and States west of the river Ohio. * This Report having been made a,t the close of the Session, was referred at the next to a new Committee, whereof Cffisar Rodney, a new Representative from Delaware, was Chairman. Mr. Rodney, from this Committee, repoi ted (February 17 th, 1804), That, taking into their consideration the facts stated in the said memorial and petition, they are in- duced to believe that a qualified suspension, for a limit- ed time, of the sixth article of compact between the original States and the people and States west of the river Ohio, might be productive of benefit and advan- tage to said Territory. The Report goes on to discuss the other topics embraced In the Indiana memorial, and concludes with eight resolves, of which the first (and only one relative to Slavery) is as follows : R*>soh>ed^ That the sixth article of the Ordinance of 1787, which prohibited Slavery within the said Territory, be suspended in a qualified manner, for ten years, so as to permit the introduction of slaves, born within the United States, from any of the individual States ; pro- vided^ that such individual State does not permit the Importation of slaves from foreign countries : and pro- vided^ further, that the descendants of all such slaves shall, if males, be free at'the age of twenty-five years, and, if females, at the age of twenty-one years. The House took no actioti on this Report. The original memorial from Indiana, with several addjtionar memorials of like purport, . was again, in 1805-6, referred by the House to a select committee, whereof Mr. Garnett of Vir- ginia was chairman, who, on the 14th of Febru- ary, 1806, made a report in favor o\ the prayer of the petitioners — as follows : That, having attentively considered the facts stated In the said petitions and memorials, they are of opinion that a qualified suspension, for a limited time, of the ' sixth article of the compact between the original States, and the people and States west of the river Ohio, would be beneficial to the people of the Indiana Territory. The Suspension of this article Is an object almost univer- sally deshred in that Territory, After discussing other subjects embodied in the Indiana memorial, the Committee close with a series of Resolves, which they commend to the adoption of the House. The first and only one germane to our subject is as follows : Resolved, That the sixth article of the Ordinance of 17S7,whlch prohibits Slavery within the Indiana'Terrltory, D« suspended for ten years, so as to permit the Introdue- tion of slaves, born within the United States, from any ol the individual States. Tlris report and resolve were committea and made a special order on the Monday following, b!it were never taken into consideration. At the next session, a fresh letter from Got. William Henry Harrison, inclosing resolves of the Legislative Council and House of Represen- tatives in favor of suspending, for a limited pe- riod, the sixth article of compacT; aforesaid, was received (Jan. 21st, 1807) and referred to a Se- lect Committee, whereof Mr. B. Parke, delegate from said Territory, was made Chairman. The entire Committee (Mr. Nathaniel Macoir, of N. C, being now Speaker,) consisted of MasSKS. Alston, of N. 0. JSjisa, of Tenn. Masters, of N. T. Sandford, of Ky. MOKEOW, of Ohio. Trigo, of Ta. Parks, of Ind. Mr. Parke,from this Committee, made (Feb. 12th,) A third Report to the House in favor of granting the prayer of the memorialists. This, report, with its predecessors, was com- mitted, and made a special order, but never taken into consideration. The same letter of Gen. Harrison, and resolves of the Indiana Legislature, were submitted to the Senate, Jan. 21st, 1801'. They were laid on the table " for consideration," and do not ap- pear to have even been referred at that session ; but at the next, or first session of the founh Congress, which convened Oct. 26th, 1807, the President (Nov. 7th) submitted a letter from Gen. Harrison and his Legielature — whether a new or old one does not appear — and it was now referred to a Select Comnjittee, consisting of Messrs. J. Franklin, of N. C, Kitchel, of N. J., and Tiffin, of Ohio. Nov. 13th, Mr. Franklin, from said committee, reported as follows : The Legislative Council and House of Representa- tives, in their resolutions, express their sense of the pro- priety of introducing Slavery into their Territory, and solicit the Congress of the United States to suspend, for a given number of years, the sixth article of compact, in the ordinance for the government of the Territory northwest of the Ohio, passed on the 13th day of July, 1787. That article declares : " There shall be neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude within th^ said Ter- ritory." The citizens of Clark County, in their remonstrance, express their sense of the impropriety of the measure, and solicit tlle Congress of the United States not to act on the subject, so as to permit the introduction of slaves into the Territory ; at least, until their population shaij entitle them to form a Constitution and State Govern- ment. Your Committee, after duly considering the matter, re- ( spectfuUy submit the following resolution : SeeoV&ed, That it is not expedient at this time to sus- p'end the sixth article of compact for, the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the river OKio. And here ended, so far as we have been able to discover, the effort, so long and earnestly persisted in, to procure a suspension of the re- striction in the Ordinance of 1787, so as to admit Slavery, for a limited term, into the Teiv ritory lying between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, now forming the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinpisj Mich:.gan, and Wisconsin. THE PIEST MISSOURI STRTJQOLB. The vast and indefinite Territory known aa Louisiana, was ceded l)y France to the United States in the year 1803, for the sum of $15,000,- 000, of which $3,750,000 was devoted to the THE STRUGGLE FOR SLATERY RESTRICTION. 56 payment of Amerfean claims on France. Tliis territory had just before been ceded by Spaiii to France without pecuniary coQsiderationi Slave- holding had long been allowed therein, alilte under Spanish and French rule, and the Treaty of Cession contained ttie following stipulation: Art, III. The inhabitants of the ceded TsTitory Bhail be incorporated into the Union of the United Slates, and admitted as soon as possible, according lb the prin- ciples of the Federal Conet.itution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages vand immunities of citiaens of the United States ; and in the meantime they shi^il be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, properly, and the religion which they prof^s. •The State of Louisiana, embodying the south- ern portion of this acquired territory, was re- cognized by Congress iu ISll, aiid fully admit- ted in 1812, with a State Constitution. Those who chose to dwell among the inhabitants of the residue of the Louisiaiia purchase, lience- forth called Missouri Territory, continued to hold slaves in its sparse and small but iucreas- ing settlements, mainly in its southeastern quar- ter, and a pro-Slavery Court — perhaps any Court — would undoubtedly have pronoutfeed Slavery legal anywhere on its vast expanse, from the Mississippi to the crests of the Rocky Mountains, if not beyond them, and from the Red River of Louisiana to the Lake of the Woods. The XV th Congress assembled at Washington, on Monday, Dec. 1st, 1817. Henry Clay was chosen Speaker of the House. Mr. John Scott appeared on the 8th, as delegate from Missouri Territory, and was Admitted to a seat as such. On the 16th of March following, he -presented petitions of sundry inhabitants of Missouri, in addition to similar petitions already presented by him, praying for the admission of Missouri into the Union as a State, which were, on mo- tion, referred to a Select Committee, c'onsist- ing of Messrs. Scott, of Mo. ; Foindexter, of Miss, ; Robert- son, of Ky. ; Hendricks, of Ind. ; Livermore, of N. fl. ; Mills, of Mass. ; Baldwin, of Pa, April 3d, Mr, Scott, from this Committee, re- ported a^bill to authorize the people of Missouri I'erritory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States ; which bill was read the first and second time, and sent to the Committee of the Whole, where it slept for the remainder of the session. That Congress convened at Washington for its second session, on the 16th of November, 1818, Feb. 13th, the Honse went into Committee of the Whole — Gen. Smith, of Md., in the Chair — and took up the Missouri bill aforesaid, which was considered through that sitting, as also that of the ISth, when several amendments were adopted, the most important of which was the following, moved in Committee by Gen. James Tallmadge, of Tluchess county, New-York, (lately deceased) : And provided aUo, That the further introduction of Slavery or involuntary servitude ba prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall be duly convicted: and that all children of slaves, bom within the said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free, but may be held to service until the age of twenty-five years. On coming out of Committee, the Yeas and Nays were called on the question of agreeing to this amendment, which was sustained by the following vote : [taken first on agreeing to so nauch of it as precedes and includes the word " convicted."] Tma—For the Restriction ; New-York 23 New- Jersey 5 Pennsylvania 20 Ohio , 5 Indiana 1 1 New-Hampshire 4 Massachusetts... 15 Rhode Island • 1 Connecticut .» T Vermont 6 Delaware..,. Total Yeas 87 — only one (Delaware) from a Slave State. Ifays— Against ike Hestrielion : Massachusetts 8 New-York 8 New-Jersey 1 New-Hatapshire 1 Ohio * 1 Illinois ., 1 Delaware 1 Maryl^d 9 Virginia 18 North Carolina 13 South Carolina 6 Georgia 4 Kentucky 9 Tennessee ,, 4 IKssissippi 1 Louisiana 1 Total Nays, 76—10 from Free States, 66 from Slave States. The House now proceeded to vote on the residue of the reported amendment (from the word " convicted " above), which" was likewise sustained. — Yeas, 82 ; Nays, 78. So the whole amendment — as moved by Gen. Tallmadge in Committee of the Whole, and there carried^— was sustained when reported to the House. Mr. Storrs, of New York (opposed to the Re- striction), now moved the striking out of so much of the bill as provides that the new State shall be admitted into the Union " on an equal footing with the original States " — which, he contended, was nullified by the votes just taken. The House negatived the motion. Messrs. Desha, of Ky,, Cobb, of 6a., an(J Rhea, of Tenn,, declared against the bill' as an!tended. Messrs. Scott, of Mo., and Anderson, of Ky, preferred the bill as amended, to none. , The House ordered the bill, as amended, to a third reading ; Yeas, 98 ; Nays, 56. The bill thus passed the House next day, and was sent to the Senate. The following sketch of the debate on this question (Feb. 15th) is condensed from that ~in the Appendix to Giles's Register, vol. xvi. HOnSE 01 KEPKESENTATIVES, FEB. 15, 1819. Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, having moved the following amendment on the Saturday pre- ceding—' *'■ And provided thai (he introduction of Slavery, or involimtar}/ servitude, he prohibited, except for the pwmshmentofarimes, whereof tlie party has teen duiL connoted; and that all cMldr&n bom within the saia State, after the admission thereof into the Union, sKall be deelaredfree at the age ofiS years," ^ Mr. Fuller, of Massachusetts, argued that, to effect a con- cert of interests, it was proper to make conces4ons. The States where Slavery existed not only claimed the right to continue it, but it was manifest that a general emancip^ tion of slaves could not be asked of them. Their political existence would have been in jeopardy ; both mastera and slaves must have been involved in i±ie most fatal conse- quences. To guard against such intolerable evils, it is provided in the Constitution, " that the migration or importation of such persons, as any of the exeis^g States think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited till 1808, — Art. 1, sec. 9. And it is provided elsewhere, that persons held to service by the laws of any State, shall be given up by other States, to which they may have escaped, etc. — ^Art. 4, sec. 2. These provisions effectually recoguized the right in tho 66 A POLrTICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. States, Which, at ttie time of framing the Oonatltutior., held the, blacks in Slavery, to contvnAie so to ho^d them until they should think proper to meliorate their condition. Trie Odnstltution is a compact among all the States then e:^ting, by which certain prmciples of government are established for the whoje^ and for each individual State. The predominant principle in. both respects is, that ALL MEN AKE FREE, and htive an EQUAL BIGHT TO LIBEHTY, aad all other privUeges ; or, in other words, the pre- dominant principle la BEPDBLiCAiiiSM, in its largest sense. But, then, the same compact contains certain excep- tions. The States then hol&ing slaves are permitted^ from the necessity of the case, and for the sake of union, to exclude the republican principle so far, and onl^ so far, as to retain their slaves in servitude, and also their progeny, as had been the usage, until they should think it proper or safe to conform to the pure principle, by abolish- ing Slavery. The compact contains on its face the 'gwi6rg.l prmciple and the e^iaceptions. But the attempt to extend Slavery to the n&w States, is in direct violation of the clause which guarantees a republican form of gov- ernment to all the States. This clauBCj indeed, roust be construed in connection with the exceptions befoye men- tioned ; but it cannot, without violence, be applied to any other States than those in which Slavery was allowed at the formation of the Constitution. ^ The Speaker (Clay) cites the first clause In the 2d section of the 4th article— "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizen of the several State's," wMch he thinks would be violated by the condition proposed in the Constitution of Missouri. To keep slaves — to make one portion of the population the property of another— hardly deserves to be called a prwileffe, sirice what is gained by the masters must be fost by the slaves. But, independently of this coneideration, I think the observations already offered to the committee, showing that holding the black population In servitude is an exception to the general principles of the Constitution, and cannot be allowed to extend beyond the fair import' of the terms by which that exception is provided, are a sufficient answer, to the objection. The gentleman proceeds in the same train of reasoning, and asks, if Congress can requb'e one condition, how many more can be required, and where these conditions will thd ? With regard to a republican constitutio»,^ Congress fcre ohUged to require that condition, and thalj'is enough ftfr the present question; but I contend, further, that Congress has a right, at their discretion, to require any ofSier reasonable condition. Several others were required of ■ Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Mississippi. Thrf State of Louisiana, which was a part of the territory ceded to us at the same time with Missouri, was required to provide in h^r Constitution for trials by jury, the writ of habeas cor- pus, the principles of civU and religious liberty, with several othera, peculiar to that State. These, certainly, are none of them more indispensable ingredients in a re- publican form of government than the equality of privi- leges'of all the population ; yet these have not been denied to be reasonable, and warranted by the National Consti- . tutioQ in the admission of new States One gentleman, however, has contended against the amendment, because it abridges the rights of the slave- holding States to transport their slaves to the new States, for sale or otherwisG. This argument is attempted to be enforced in various ways, and particularly by the clause in the Constitution last cited. It admits, however, of a very clear answer, by recurring to the 9th sec- tion of article 1st, which provides that " the migration or importation of such persons as any of the States then ex- isting shall admit, shall not be prohibited by Congress till ISOS." This clearly implies that the migration and im- portation may be prohibited after thatyear. The impor- tation has been prohibited, but the migration has not hitherto been restrained ; Congress, hb'wever, may restrain it, when it may be judged expedient. The expediency of'this measure is very apparent. The opening of an extensive slave market will tempt the Cupidity oif those who,'otherw'iae, perhaps, might gradu- ally emancipate their slaves. We have heard much, Mr. Chairman, of the Colonization Society; an institu- tion which is the favorite of the humane gentlemen in the slave-holding States. They have long been lament- ing the miseries of Slavery, and earnestly seeking for a remed;j compatible with their O'Tn safety, and the happi- ness of :heir slaves. At last, 'ue great desideratum Is found — a colony in Africa for the emancipated blacks. How will the geiierous intentions of these humane pei"- Bons be frustrated, if the price of slaves Is to be doubled by a new and boundless market ! Instead of emancipa- tion of the slaves, it is much to be feared that unprinci- pled wretches will be found kidnapping those who are alr<3ady free, and transporting and selling the hapless Victims into hopeless bondage. Sir, I really hope that Oongress will not contribute to discountenance and reft., der abortive the generous and philanthropic views of this most worthy and laudable society, ^Mr. TaUmadge, of New York, followed— Sir, said he, it has been my desu-e and my intention to avoid any debate on the present painful and unpleasiint subject. When I had thfe honor to submit to this Hon^-g the amentoent now umder consideration, I accompanied it with a declaration that it was intended to confine its operation to the newly acquired Territory across the Mississippi; and I then expressly declared that I would in no manner intermeddle with the slave-holding States, nor attempt manumission in any one of the original States in the llnion. Sir, I even went further, and stated that I was aware of the delicacy of the subject— and, that 1 had learned from Southern gentlemen the difficulties and the dangers of having free blacks intermingling with slaves; and, on that account, and with a view to the safety, of the white population of the adjoining States, I woujd not even advocate the prohibition, of Slavery in -the Alabama Territory ; because, surrounded as it was by slave-holding States, and with only imaginary lines of division, the intercourse between slaves and free blacks could not be prevented, and a servile war might be the result. While we deprecate and mourn over the evil of Slavery, humanity and good morals re- quire us to wish its abolition, under circumstances con- sistent with the safety of the white population. Wil- lingly, therefore, will I submit to an evil which we can- not safely remedy. I admitted all that had been said of the danger of fiaving free blacks visible to slaves, and, therefore, did not hesitate to pledge myself that I would Aeither advise nor attempt coercive manumission. But, sir, all these reasons cease when we cross the banks of the Mississippi, into a Territory separated by a natural boundary — a newly acquired Territory, never contem- plated in the formation of our goverflment, not included within the Comprortiise or mutual pledge in the adoption of our Constitution — a new Territory acquired by our common fund, and which ought justly to be subject to our common legislation. Sir, when I submitted the amendment now under con- sideration, accompanied with these explanations, and with these avowals of my intentions and of my motives I did expect that gentlemen who fiiight differ from me in opinion would appreciate the liberality of my views', find would meet me with moderation, as upon a fair subject for general legislation. I did expect, at least, that the frank declaration of my views would pro- teci me from harsh expressions, and from the unfriendly imputations which have been cast out on this occasitra. Eur-, sir, such has been the character and the violence Of this debate, and expressions of so much intemperance, and of an aspect so threatening have been used, that continued silence on my part would ill become me, who had submitted to this House the original proposition. Sir, has it already come to this : that in the Congress of the United States — that, in the Legislative councils ol Republican America, the subject of Slavery has become a subject of so much feeling — of such delicacy — of such danger, that it cannot safely be discussed? Are mem- bers who venture to express their sentiments on this subject, to be accused of talking to the galleries, with Intention to excite a servile war ; and of meriting the fate of Arbuthnot and Ambrister? Are we to be told of tlie dissolution of the Union, of civil war and of seas of blood ? And yet, with such awful thieatenings before us, do gentlemen, in tlie same breath, insist upon the encour- agement of this evil ; upon the extension |er introduction of Slavery or invoiuntaipy servitude be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party sbail have been duly convicted. The vote on this clause was as follows : Teas— Jf'or strikirig out tM MestricUon —ifi. Says ^-Against striking out — ^16. The.bill thus amended was ordered to be en- grossed, and was (March 2nd — last day but one of the Session) read a third time, and passed •without a division. The bill was on that day returned to the House, and the amendBQents of the Senate read : whereupon, Mr. Tallmadge, of New-York, moved that the bill be postponed indefinitely. Yeas 69 ; Nays 74. [The record shows harSly a vote changed from Tea, on the original passage of the Kestriction, to Nay now, but many members who voted then were now absent or eilent.] The vote was then taken on concurring in the Senate's amendments, as aforesaid, and the House refused to concur ; Yeas 76 ; Nays 78. [Hardly a vote changed ; but more members voting than on the previous division, and less than when the Bestriction was carried.] The bill was now returnfed to the Senate, wilh a message'of non-coucurreuce ; when Mr. Tait moved that the Senate adhere to its amendment, which was carried without a division. The bill feeing thus remanded to the House, Mr. Taylor, of New-York, moved that the House adhere to its disagreement, which prevailed. Yeas 78 ; Nays 6fi. So' the bill fell between the twb Houses, and was lost. The Southern portion of the then Territory of Missouri (organized by separation from Louisiana in 1812) was excluded from the pro- posed State of Missouri, and organized as a separate Territory, entitled Arkansas. The bill being under consideration, Mr. Tay- lor, of New-York, moved that the foregoing re- striction be applied to it also ; and the clause, proposing that slaves born therein after the passage of this act be free at twenty-five years of age, was cstrried (February 17th) by 75 Yeas to 73 Nays; but that providing against the further introduction of Slaves was lost ; Yeas 70; Nays 71. The next day, the clause just adopted vras stricken out, and the bill ultimately passed without any allusion to Slavery.. Ar- kansas of course became a Slave Territory, and uitimately (1836) a Slave State. THE SECOND MISSOURI STRUSBtE. A new Congress assembled on the 6th of December, 1819. Mr. Clay was again chosen Speaker. On the 8th, Mr. Scott, delegate from Missouri, moved that the memorial of her Ter- ritorial Legislature, as also of several citizens, praying her admission into the Union as a State, be referred to a Select Committee ; carried, and Messrs. Scott, of Missouri, Eobertson, of Kentucky, Ten-ell, of Georgia, Strother, of Vir- ginia, and De Witt, of New-Tork, (all but the last from the Slave region,) were appointed said committee. Mr. Strong, of New-York, that day gave notice of a bill " To prohibit the further exten- lion of Slavery in the United States." On the 14th, Mr. Taylor, of Nevf-York, moved a Select Committee on this subject, which was granted ; and the mover, with Messrs. Liver- more, of New-Hampshire, Barbour, (P. P.) of Virginia, Lowndes, of South-Carolina, Fuller, of Massachusetts, Hardin, of Kentucky, and Cuth bert, of Georgia, were appointed such committee, ■A majority of this Committee being Pro-Slavery, Mr. Taylor could do nothing; and on the 28ih the Committee was, on motion, discharged from the further consideration of the subject. On the same day, Mr. Taylor moved : That a Committee be appointed with instructions to report a bill prohibiting the, further admission or slave* into tlie Territories of the United States "West of the river Mississippi. ^ ■ On motion of Mr. Smith, of Maryland, this resolve was sent to the Committee of the Whole, and made a special order for January 10th; but it was not taken up, and appears to have slept the sleep of deatji. In the Senate, the memorial of the Missouri Territorial Legislature, asking admission as a State, was presented by Mr. Smith, of South- Carolina, December 29th, and referred to {he Judiciary Committee, which consisted of Messrs. Smith, of South Carolina ; Leake, of Mississippi ; Burrili, of Khode Island ; Logan, of Kentucky ; Otis of Massachusetts. DANIEL WEBSTER ON SLAVERY EXTENSION. The following is extracted from the " Memor- ial to the Congress of the- United States, on the subject of restraining the'inerease of Slavery in New States to be admitted into the Union," in pursuance of a vote of the inhabitants of Boston and its vicinity, assembled at the State House on the 3d of December, 1819, which was drawn up by Daniel Webster, and signed by himself, George Blake, Josiah Quincy, James T. Austin, etc. It is inserted here instead of the resolves of the various New England Legis- latures, as a fuller and clearer statement of the views of the great body of the people of that section during the pendency of the Missouri question : " MEMORIAL To the senate and Mouse of Mepresenialmes of the Umtad /States^ i/ti Congress assembled : The undersigned, inhabitants of/ Boston and its vicinity, beg leave most respectfully and humbly to repre- sent: That the question of, the introduction of Slavery into the new States to be formed on the west side of tlie Mississippi •Rive.i', appears to them to be a question of the last iinportanct^to the future welfare of tlie United Slates. Ifthe pKOgress of this gteat evil is ever lobe aiTested, it seenis to the undersigned that this is the time to arrest it. A false slatp taken now, cannot be retraced ; and it appears to us that the happiness of unborn millionb rests on the measure which Congress on tlijs occasion may adopt. . Considering this as no local question, nor a question to be decided by a temporary expediency, but as involving great interests of the whole United States, and a.ffecting deeply and essentially those objects of common defense, general welfare, and the .perpetuation of the'blessings of liberty, tor wliich the Constitution it- self was formed, we have presumed, in this way, to offer our sentiments and express our wishes, to tlie National Legislature. And, as various reasons have been sug- gested against prohibiting Slavery in the new States, it - may perhaps be permitted to lis to state our reasons, belli ,\ir believing that Congress possesses the Constitu- tional power to make such prohibition a condition, on the admission of a new Slate into the Union, and tliat it is just and proper that they should exercise that power. *' And in the first -place, as to the Constitutional au- thority of Congress. ' The Constitution of the United 00 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. States has declared that " Congress shall have power to dispose of aad make all needful irules and regulationa re- specting the Te;TitQr7 or oth«r property belonging to the United Sta(Ws : and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prgudice the claims of the tJnited Stales or of anypariicular State." It is very well known, that the saving in this clause of the claims of, any par- ticular State, was designed to apply to claims by the then existing States^ of territoiy which was also claimed by the United States as their owni property. It has, there- fore, no bearing on the present question. The power, then, of Congress over its own Territories, is, hj. the very terms of the Constitution, unlimited. It may make all *' needful- rules and regulations," which of course include all such regulations as its own views of policy or expedi- ency shall, from time to time, dictate. If, therefore, in its j udgment it be needful for the benefit of a Territory to enact a prohibition of Slavery, it would seem 'to be as much within its power of Legislation as any other act of local policy. Its sovereignty being complete and uni- versal aa to the Tfirritoiy, it may exercise over it the ^ most aniple jurisdiction in every veEipect. It possesses, in this view, all the authority which any Statre Legisla- ture possesses over its own Territory ; and if any State Legislature may, in its discretion, abolish or prohibit Slavery v/ithinits own limits, in virtue of its general Legislative authority, for the same reason Congress also may exercise the like authority over its own Territories. And that a State Legislature, unless restrained by some Constitutional provision, may so do, is unquestionable, and has been established by general practice. .... If the constitutional power of Congress to make the proposed prohibition be satisfactorily shown, the justice and policy of such prohibition seem to the undersigned to be supported by plain and strong reasons. The per- mission of Slavery in a new State, necessarHy draws after'' it an extension of that inequality of representation, which already exists in regard to the original States. It cannot be expected that those of the original States, Which do not hold slaves, can look on such an extension as being politica>lly jUst. As between the original States the representation rests on compact and plighttd faith; and your memorialists have no wish that that compact should bs disturbed, or that plighted faith in tJie slightest degree violated. But the Bubject assumes an entirely diffeif^nfc character, when a pew State proposes to be ad- mitted. Witih her there is no compact, and no faith plighted ; and where is the Reason that she could come into the Union with more than an equal share of political importance' and .political powgr? Ah-eady the ratio pf representation, esiablished by the Constitution, has given to the States holding slaves twenty members of the House of Representatives more th^l they would have been en- titled to, except under the particular provision of the Conjstitution. In all probability, this number will be doubled in thirty years. Under these circumstances, we deem it not an unreasonable expectation that the inhabi- tants of Missouri should propose to come into the Union, renouncing the right in question, and establishing a Con.«titution prohibiting it forever. Without dwelling on this topic, we have still thought it our duty to present it to the consideration of Congress. We present it wiih a deep and earnest feeling of its importance, and we re- spectfully solicit for it the full consideration of the Na- tional Legislature. Your memorialists were not without the hope that the time had at length arrived when the inconvenjence and the dangler of this description of population had become appa- rent in all parts of this country and in all parts of the civil- ised world. It might have been hoped that the new States themselves would have had suoh a view of their own per- manent interests and prosperity as would have led them to prohibit its extension and increase. The wonderful in^ crease and prosperity of the States north of the Ohio is un- questionably to be ascribed, in'agreat measure, to the con- sequences of the ordinance of 1787 ; . and few, indeed, are the occasions, in the history of nations, in which so much can be done, by a single aet, for the benefit of future generations^ as was done by that ordinance, awd as may now be done by the Congress of ,the United States, We appeal to the Justice and to the wisdom of the National Councils to prevent the further progress of a great and Berious evil. We appeal to those who look forward to the remote consequences of their measures, and who cannot balance a temporary or trifling inconvenience, if there were such, against a permanent, growing, and desblating evil. We cannot forbear to remind the two Houses of Congress that the early and decisive me^isures ac opted iy the American Government for the abolition of the ilave-trade, are among the proudest meraoi-ials of our nation's gltory. That Slavery was ever tolerated iti the Republic is, as yet, to be attributed to the't)olicy of an- other Government. No imputation, thus far, rests on any portion of the American Confederacy. The Mlaaourl Territory \s a new country. If its extensive ^.nd ^rtila field shall be opened as a market for slaves, the Govern- ment will seem to become a party to a traJBac whicij, in so many acts, through so many years, it has denounced as impolitiu, unchristian, inhuman. To enact laws to pun- ish the traffic, and, at the same tjmje, to tempt cupidity and avarice by the allurements of an insatiable market, is inconisistent and iri'econcil'able. Government, by suqti a course, would only defeat its own purposes, and lender nugatory its own measures. Nor can the laws derive support from the manners of the people, if the power of moral sentiment be weakened by enjoying, under the per- mission of Government, great facilities to commit of- fenses. The laws of the United States have denounced heavy penalties against the traffic in slaves, because such traffic is deemed unjust and inhuman. We appeal to tlie spirit of these lawis. We appeal to this justice and huma^u^ ity. We ask her whether they ought not to opei-ate, on the present occasion, with all their force? We have a strong feeling of the injustice of any toleration of Slavery. Cir- cumstances have entailedit on A portion of our communi- ty, which cannot be immediate^ relieved from it without consequences more injurious than the suffering of the eviL But to permit it in a new country, where yet no habits are formed which render it indispensable, what is it, but to en- courage that rapacity, and fraud and violence, against which we have so longi pointed the denunciations of our penal code ? What is it, but to tarnish the proud fame &f the country? Whatisit, butto throw suspicion on its goad faith, and to render questionable all its professions of re- gard for the rights of humanity and the liberties of fnun- kind? As inhabitants of a free country — as citizens of a great and rising Republic^-as members of a Christian communlty^ag living in a liberal and enlightened age, and as feeling ourselves called upon by the dictates of re- ligion and humanity, we have presumed to oflfer our senti- ments to Congress on this question, with a solicitude fAr the event far beyond what a common occasion could inspire." Instead of reprinting the Speeches elicited by this fruitful theme, which must necessarily, to a great extent, be a m^re reproduction of ideas expressed in the debate of the last session, already given, we here insert the Resolves o£ the Legislatures of New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware^ and Kentucky — the first three being unanimous expressions in favor of Slavery Restriction ; the fourth, from a Slay© State, also in favor of such Restriction, though probably not unanimously agreed to by the Legislature ; the last against Restriction, and also (we presume) unanimous. The Legislatures of the Free States were generally unanimous for Restriction ; those of the Sla.ve States (Dela- ware excepted) against it. It is not deemed necessary to print more than the'foUowing : NEW-YORK, State of New-York, in Assembly, Jan. IT, 1820 : Whereas, The. Inhibiting the fiirther , extjension of Slavery in these United States is a subject of deep concern among the people of this State ; and whereas we consider Slavery as an evil much to be deplored; and that every constitutional barrier should be interposed to prevent Its furtaier extension ; ind that tije Constitution of the Unifed States dearly gives Congress the. right to require of new Stages, not comprised within the ori^i^l boundaries of these United States, the prohibition of Slavery, as a condi- tion of Its admission into fJie Union: Therefore Resolved (if the honorable the- Senate concur herein) That our Senators be instructed, and our Representatives in, Congress be requested, to oppose the admission as a State Into the Unior^, any territory not comprised as afore- said, without makhig the prohibition of Slavery therein an ind^enaable condSMon of admission ; therefore M&solved, That measures be taken by the clerks of the Senate and Assembly of this State, to transmit copiea of the preceding resolutions to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress. (Unaaimously concurred ia by 'ihe Senate.) THE STRUGGLE FOR SLAVERY RESTRIOTION". til HEW- JERSEY. HOUSB pF RBPRKSBHTATTTXa, 1 j0/tmary 2Atfh^ 1820. J Mp, Wilson, of N. J., communicated the fol- lowing Resolutions of the Legislature of the State of New-Jersey, which were read: Whereaa. A Bill is now depending in the Congress of the United States, Km. the application of the, people in the Turritory of Missouri for. the admission of that Territory as a State into the Union, not containing provisions against Slavery in such propose^. State^ and a question is made upon the right abd expediency of such provision, The representatives of the people of New-Jersey, in Legislative Council and General Assembly of the said Stat^, now in session, deem it a duty they owe to themselves, to their constituents, and posterity, to de- clare and make known the opinions they hold upon this momentoufl subject; and, 1,' They do, resolve and dealare^ That the further admission of Territories into the Union, without restric- tion of Slavery, would, in their opihion, essentially im- pair th« right of this'snd other existing States to equal representation in Congress (a right at the foundation of t^^political compact), inasmuch as such newly-admitted slaveholding States would be represented on the basis of their slave population ; a concession made at the forma- tion of the Constitution in favor of the then existing States, but never stipulated for new States, nor to be in- fei-red from: any artidle or clause in that instrument. 2; Jiesolved, That to adn^t the Teridtory of Missomi as a State into the Union, without prohibiting Slavery there, would, in the opinion of the representatives of the people of New-Jersey aforesaid, be no less than to sanc- tion this great political and moral evil, furnish' the ready means of peopling a vast Territory with slaves, i^nd per- pebnate all the dangers, crimes,, and pernicious effects of domestic bondage. S. Iteaoived^ As the, opinion of the Repr^entatives aforesaid, That inasmuch as no Territory has a right to ha admilied into ihe Union, but on the, priociples of the Federal Constitution, and only by a law of Congress, con- senting thereto on the pd,rt of the existing Sfates, Con- gress may rightfully, and ought to refuse such law^unless upon^tte reasonable and just eonditions^ assented to on the part of the people applying to become one of the States. 4. }i66oloed^ In the opinion of the Representatives aforesaid, That the article of the Constitution which re- strains Congress from prohihiiing the 'migration or impor- tation of sUres, until after th6 year 1803, does, by neces- sary implication, admit the general power of Congress over the subject of Slavery, and concedes to them -the right to regulate and restrain such migration and impor- tation after that time,into the existing, br any newly-to- \be-creaied State. 5. Ji6aal/V6(^f As the opinion of the Representatives of the people of New-Jersey aftj^esald. That inasmuch as Congress have a clear right to refuse the admission of a Territory into the Uoioo, by.the terms of the Constitu- tion, they ougihti in the present case, to exercise that ab- solute discretion in order to preserve the political rights of the several existing.States, and prevent the great na- tional disgrace aad muliiplied mischiefs, which must ensue from conceding it, as a matter of right, in the immense Territories yet to claim admission into the Union beyond the, Mississippi, that they maytolerate Slavery. 6. Mesolved, (with the concurrence of Council,) That the Governor of this State he requested to transmita copy of the foregoing resolutions to each of the Senators and Rfpi-esencatives of this State in the Congress Qf the Uni- ted Stales. PENNSYLVANIA. Housti: OF Reparsbntativbs, ) .December lWbjl8\9. f A 'motion was made by Mr. Duane and Mr. Thackara, and read as follows : The Senate and House of Represientativffl of ths Com- monwealth ojf Pennsylvaoia, while they cherish ths right of the individual States to express their opinion upon all public measures proposed in the Gongiess of the Union, are aware that itsusefulaess musfc in a jjreat degree de- Eend upon the discretion with which it is exercised ; they elieve that the right ought not to be resorted to upon ti-irial subjects or unimportant occasions; but they are also persuaded that there are moments when the neglecr to exercise it would be a dei''elietion of public duty. Siri3h>an occasion, as in their judgment demands the frank expression of the sentiments of -Pennsylvania, is now presented. A measure was ardently supported in the last Congress of the United States, and will probrvbly be as earnestly urged during the existing session of that body, which has a palpablp tendency to impair the politi- cal relations of the several States ; which is calculated to roar the social happiness of the present and fuiui e gene- rations; which, if adopted, would impede the march of humanity and Freedom through the world ;■ and would transfer from a mlsguidied' ancestry an odious Stain and fix it indelibly upon the present race— a measure, in brief, which proposes to spread the crimes and cruellies of Sla- very from the banks of the Mississipplto the shores of the faciflc. Wlien a measure of this character is seriously advocated in the republican Congress of America, in'the nineteenth century, the several States are invoked by the duty which they owe to the Deity, by the veneration which they entertain for ^he memory of the founders of tbe Re- public, and by a tender regard for posterity, to protest against its adoption, to refuse to covenant with crime, and to limit the range of an evil that already hangs in awful boding^over so large a portion of the Union. Nor can such a protest be entered by any State with greater pi'opriety than by Pennsylvania. This Common- wealtt) has as sacredly respected the rights of other* States as it has been careful of its own : it has been the invariable aim of the people of Pennsylvania to, extend to the universe, by their example, the unadulterated , blessings of civil and religious freedom ; and it is their pride that they have been at all times the practical advo- cates of those improvements and charities among men which are so well calculated to enable them to answer the purposes of their Creator; and above all, they may boast that they were foremost in removing the pollution of Sla- very from among them. If, indeed,. the measure, against wKich Pennsylvania considers it her duty to raise her voice^ were calculated to abridge any of the rights guaranteed to the several States ; if, odious as Slavery is, it was proposed to hasten its extinction by means injurious to the States upon which it was unhappily entailed, Pennsylvania would be among the first to insist upon a sacred observance of the ConsM- tutional, compact. But it cannot be pretended thali the rights ot any of the States are at all to be affected by re- ftlsing to extend the mischi^s of human bondage over the boundless regions of the West, a Territory which .formed.no part of the Union at theadoption of the Con- stitution; which has been but lately purchased from a European Power by the people of the Union at large; which may or may not be admitted as a State into the Union at the discretion of Congress ; which must estab- lish a Republican- form of Government, and no other; and whose cHmate,^flford3 none of the pretexts -urged for resorting to the labor of natives of ^the tori'id zone ; such a Territory has no right, inherent or acquired, such as those States possessed which established the existing Cod!> stitution. When that Constitution was framed in Septem- ber, 17S7, the concession that three-fifths of the slaves in the Sta,tes then existing should be represented in Con- gress, could not have been ii.ttended^'lio embrace regions at that time held by a foreign power. On the contrary, so anxious were the Congress of that day to confine hu- man bondage within its ancient home, that on the 18th of July, 1787, that body unanSuiously declared that SIsm very or involuntary servitude should not exist in the ex-l- tensive Territories bounded by the Ohio, the Mississippi, Canada and the Lakes; and in the ninth article of the Constitution itself, the power, of Congress to prdhibit the emigration of servile persons after 1B(J8, is expressly re- cognisetf; nor is there to be found in tthe statute-book a single instance of, the admission of a Territory to the rank of. ^ State, in which Congress have not adhered to the right, vested in them by t^e Constitution, to stipu- late with the Territory upon the conditions of the boon. The Senate and House of Representatives of Penn- sylvania, therefore, cannot but deprecate any departure from the humane and enlightenedpojicy pursued not only jby the illusirious Congress which framed the Constitution, but by their successors without exception. They are per- suaded that, to open the fertile regions of the West to a servile race, would tend to increase their numbers beyond all past example, would open a new aad steady market for the lawless venders of human flesh, ahd.would render all schemes for obliterating, this most tc^ul blot' upon the American character, useless and unavailing^ Under these convictions, and in the full persuasion that upon this topic theie is but one opinion iu Pennsylvania— " MesQhjed by ihe Senate and Sbuae of H^resentOr twea of Me Commonwealth qf Fennsylpania, That the Senators- of this Sta^ in. the Congress of the United 'states be, and they are he(*e^y. instructed, and that the Repi-esentatives of this State ta ^the Congress of the Uni- ted States be,! and they are hereby requested, to vote against the adinission of any Territory as a State into thi Union, unless said Territory shall Etipula,te and agres 62 A POLITICAL TEST-BOOK FUR 1860. that " the further introduotiop of Slavery or involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of cringes whereof the pai-iy shall have been duly convicted, shall be pro- hibited ; and that all children born within the said Ter- ritory, afler its admission into the Union as a State, sljall be free, but may be held to service until the age of twenty- five years." ■ . . liesolv&d, That the Governor be, and he is hereby, re- quested -to cause a copy u| the foregoing preamble and resolution to be transmitted to each of the Senator^ and Kepresentatives of this State in the Congress of the United States. Laid on the table. Thursdat, Beoember 16, 1819. Agreeably to the order of the day, t^e House reauffled the consideration of the resolutions postponed on phe 14th inst., relative to preventing the introduction of Slavery into States hereafter to be admitted into the Union. And on the question, " Will the House agree to the resolution?" the Yeas and Ways were required by Mr. llandall and Mr. Souder, and stood— Yeas 74~{54; Democrats, 20 Federalists) ; Nays none. Among the 'Teas were David R. Porter, late Governor, Josiah. Ran- dall of Philadelphia, late Whig, now a leading Democrat, William Wilkina, late minister to Russia, since in the State Senate, Dr. Daniel Sturgeon, late U. S. Senator, etc., etc. "William Duane, editor of The Attrora^ then the Democratic organ, also voted for the resolutions, las he had prominently advocated the principle they asserted. The Senate unanimously concurred, and the Resolves were signed by Gov. William Findlay. f>ELAWARE. In Senate' of the tlrjited States, early in 1820, Mr. Van Dyke communicated the following Resolutions of the Legislature of the State of Delaware, which wej-e read : 2iesoh)ed, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware, in General Assembly met : That it is, in the opinign of this General Assembly^ the constitutional right of the United States, in Congress' assera.bled, to enact and ^tablish, as one of the condi- tions for the admission of a new State into the Union, a provision which shall effectually prevent ■the further introductiou of Slavery into such State;- and that a due regai'd to the true interests of such State, as well as of the (^ther States, require that the same should be done. Mesoh}ed; That a copy of the above and foregoing resolution be transmitted, by the Speaker of the Senate, to each of the Senators and Representatives from this State in the Congress of the Unitied States. EfiNTUCKT. In Senate, January* 24th, 1820, Mr. Logan communicated the following. preamble and Re- solutions of the Legislature of the State of Kentucky, which were read : Whereas^ The Constitution of the United States pro- vides for the admission of new States into the Union, and it is just ai^d proper that all suc^ States should be estab- lished upon the footing of origmal States, with a view to the preservation of State Sovereignty, the prosperity of such new State, and the good of their citizens ; and wheHas, successful attemjj^ts have' been heretofore made, and are now malting, to prevent the People of the ^ Territory of Missouri from being admitted into the Union as a State, unless trammeled by rules and regulations which do not exist in the original States, particularly in relation to the toleration of Slavery. Whereas, abo, if Congress can thus trammel or control the powers of a Territ'ory in -the formation, of a State government, that body may, on the same principle, reduce its powers to little more than those possessed by the peoi)le of the District of Cciumbia, and whilst professing to make it a Sovereign State, may bind it in perpetual vassalage, and reduce it to the condition of a province ; stich State must necessarily' become th^ dependent of Congress, asking such powers, &nd not the independent State, demanding rights. Andiohereas, it is necessary, in preserving the State Sovereignties in their present rights, that no new State should be sub- jected to this restriction, any more than an old one, and that there can be no reason or justice why it should no^, be entitled to the same privileges, wh^n it is bound to bear all the burdens and taxes laid upon it by Congress. ^ In passing the ■ following resolution, the General^ Assembly refrains from expressing any opinion either in favor or against the principles of Slavery ; but to sup- port and maintain State rights, whiph it conceives nece* iary to be supported' and maintained, to preserve the liberties of the free people of these United States, it avows its solemn conviction, that the States already confederated under one common Constitution,- have not a right to deprive new States of equal 'privilegra with themselves. Therefore, MesoJ/oed^ by the General Assembly of the Common- wealth of Kentucky, That the Senators in Congress from this State be instructed, and the Representatives be requested, to use their efforts to procure the passage of a, law to admit the people of Missouri into the Union, as a State, whether those people will sanction Slavery by their Constitution or not, ^ M&8oh36d^ That the Executive of this Commonwealth be requested to transmit this Resolution to the Senators and Representatives of this State. in Congress, that it may be laid before that boTiy for its consideration. The bill authorizing Miasouri to form a con- stitution, etc., came up in the House as a special order, Jan. 24rth. Mr. Taylor, of N. Y., mored that it ba postponed for one week; Lost: Yeas 87-; Nays 88. Whereupon the House adjourned. It was considered in com- mittee the next day, as also on the 28th and 30th, and thence debated daily until the 19th of February, when a bill came down from the Senate "to admit the State of Maine into the Union," but with a rider authorizing the people of Missouri to form a State Constitution, etc., without restriction on the subject of Slavery. The House, very early in the session, passed a bill providing for the admission of Maine aa a State. This bill came to the Senate, and was sent to its Judiciary Committee aforesaid, which amended it by adding a provision for Missouri as above. After several days' debate in Senate, Mr, Roberts, of Pa., moved to recommit, so aa to strike out all but the admission of Maine ; which was defeated (Jan. 14th, 1820)— Yeas 18 ; Nays 25. Hereupon Mr. Thomas, "of 111., (who voted with the majority, as uniformly against any restriction on Missouri) gave notice that he should " ask leave to bring a bill to prohibit the introduction of Slavery into the Territories of iJie United State* North and WeB*- of the contemplated State of Mi»- aov/ri ;" 1 — which he accordingly did on the 19th ; when it was read and ordered to a third reading. [Note.— Great confusion and misconception exists In the public mind with regard to the " Missouri Restiic- tlon," two totally different propositions being called by that name. The origirbal Hestriction, which &Ir. Clay vehemently opposed, and Mr. JefiFerson In a letter characterized as a " fire-bell in the night,*' contemplated the limitation of Slavery In its exclusion from the State of Missouri. This was ultimately defeated, as we shall see. The second proposed Restriction was that of Mr. Thomas, just cited, which proposed the exclusion of Slavery, not trova. the State of Missouri, but froTH the Teri-itoriee of the United States North and West of that State., This proposition did not emanate from the ori^- nal Missouri Restrictionist^, but from then* adversaiira, and was but reluctantly and partially accepted by the former.] ■ The Maine admission bill, with the proposed amendments, was discussed through several days, until, Feb. 16th, the que&tion was taken on the Judiciary Committee's amendments (authorizing Missouri to form a State Constitu- tion, and saying nothing of Slavery), which were adopted by the following vote : 2^6(25— Against the Restriction on Missouri, 28. [20 from Slave States ; 3 from Free States.] Nays— Tor Restriction, 21. [19 from Free States ; 2 from Delaware.] Mr. Thomas, of lU.^ then proposed his amend- THE STBUGQLE FOR SLAVERT RESTRICTIOlf. 63 ment, which, on the follovcing day, he withdrew and substituted the following : Jnd le it farther emacted. That In" all that Territory teded by France to the Udiled States under the name of Louisiana which lies north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, excepting only such part thereof as is included within the limits of the State contemplated by this act, Slavery and involuntai-y servitude, otherwise than m the punishment of crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is hereby forever prohibited. Promdea always, that any person escaping hito the same, from where labor or service Is lawfully claimed in any State or Territory of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid. Mr. Trimble, of Ohio, moved a substitute for this, somewhat altering the boundaries of the regions shielded from Slavery, which was rejected: Yeas 20 (Northern); Nays 24 (Southern). " The question then recurred on Mr. Thomas's aroendment, which was adopted, as follows : Yeas — For e:icluding Slavery from all the Territory No^th and West of Missouri : Messrs. Brown of La., BuriiUofR. I., Dana of Conn., Dickei'son of N. J., Eaton of Tenn., Ddwards of 111., Horsey of Del., Hunter of R. I., Johnson of Ky., Johnson of La.. Mellen of Mass., Morrill of N. H., Otis of BfasB., Palmer of Vt., ParrottofN. H., Pinkney of Md., Roberts of Pa., Ruggles of Ohio, Sanford of N. Y., I Stakes of N. 0., King (Wm. R.) of Ala., Thomas of lit., King (Rufus) of N. Y., Ticbenor of Vt., Lanman of Conn., . Trimble of Ohio, Leake of Miss., / Van Dyke of Del., Lowrie of Pa., y. Walker of Ala., Lloyd of Md., Williams of Temi., Logan of Ky., Wilson of N. 3.—^ Nays — Against such Restriction: Messrs. Barbour of Va., PleasantB of Va., Elliott of Ga., Smith (Wm.) of S. C. Gaillard of S. 0., Taylor of Ind., Macon of N. C, Walker of Ga., Noble of Ind., Williams of Miss.— 10. [It will here be seen that the Restriction ulti- mately adopted — thjlt excluding Slavery from all territory then owned by the United States North and West of- the Southwest border of the State of Missouri — was proposed by an early and steadfast opponent of the Restriction originally proposed, relative to Slavery in the contem- plated State of 'l&lissouri, and was sustained by the votes of fourteen Senators from Slave States, including the Senators from Delaware, Mary- land, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana, with one vote each from North Carolina and Mississippi. The current assumption that this Restriction was proposed by Rufus King, of New- York, and mainly sustdined by the antagonists of Slavery Extension, is wholly mistaken. The truth, doubtless, is, that it was suggested by the more moderate opponents of the proposed Restriction on Missburi — and supported also by Senators from Slave States — as a means of overcoming the resistance of the House to Slavery in Mis- souri. It was, in effect, an offer from the ■ milder opponents of Slavery Restriction to the more moderate and flexible advocates of that Re.'itrifltion — " Let us have Slavery in Missouri, and we will unite with you in excluding it from all the uninhabited territories North and West of that State.'"- It was in substance au agree- u)ent between the North and the South to that effect, though the more determined champions, whether of Slavery Extension or Slavfery Re- striction, did not unite in it.] The bill, thus amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading by the following vote : Feffls— For the Missouri Bill ; Messrs. Barbour of ya., Lloyd of Md., Brown of La,, Logan of Ky., Eaton of Tenn., Pariott of N H., Edwards of 111., Pinkney of Md., Elliott of Ga., Pleasants of Va., Gaillard of S. C, Stokes of N. C, Horsey of Del., Thomas of 111., Hunter of R. I.j Van Dyke of Del., Johnson of Ky., Walker of Ala., Johnson of La., Walker of Ga., King of Ala., Williams of Miss., Leake of Miss., Williams of Tenn— 24. Nays — Against the Bill : Messrs. Burrill of R. I., Otis of Mass., Dana of Conn., ' Palmer of Vtl, Diokerson of N. J., Roberts of Pa., King of I N. Y., Ruggles of Ohio, Lanman of Conn,, Sanford of N. Y., Lowrie of Pa., Smith of S. C, Macon of N, C, . Taylor of Ind., Mellen of Mass., Tichenor of Vt., t Morrill of N. H., Trimble of Ohio., Noble of Ind., Wilson of N. J.— 20. ' The bill was thus pas'sed (Feb. 18th) without further division, and sent to the House for con- currence. In the House, Mr. Thomas's amend- ment (as above) was at first rejected by both parties, and defeated by the strong vote, of 159-, to 18. The Yeas (to adopt) were, Messrs. Baldwin of Pa., Meech, of Vt., Bayly of Md., Mercer of Va., Bloomfleld of N. J., Quarles of Ky,, ' Cocke of Tenn., Ringgold of Md., Crafts of Vt., Shaw of Mass., ' Culpepper of N. C, Sloan of Ohio Kinsey of N..J., Smith of N. J., Lathrop of Mass., Smith of Md., Little of Md., Tarr of Pa — ^18.. Prior to this vote, the House disagreed to< the log-rolling of Maine and Missouri, into one.- bill by the strong vote of 93 to 72. [.We. do. not give the Yeas and Nays on this dflcisioii ; , but the majority wa^ composed of the repre- sentatives of the Free States with only four cx-.- ceptions ; and Mr. Louis McLane.of Delaware, who was constrained by instructions from hia> legislature. His colleague, Mr, Willard Hall, did not vote.] The members from Free States who voted with the South to keep Maine and Missouri . united in one bill were. Messrs. H. Baldwin of Pa^ Bloomfleld of N. J., Henry Meigs of.N.T., Henry Shaw of Mass.,., The House also disagreed to the remaining amendments of the\penate (striking, out the re- striction on Slavery in Missouri) by the strong vote of 102 Yeas to 68 Nays. [Nearly or quite every Representative, of a . Free State voted in the majority on this division, with the following from Slave States : Louis McLane, Del., Nelson, Md., Ahiey McLean, Ky. ' Trhable, Ky.] So the House rejected all the Senate's amendments, and returned 'the bill with a cor-- responding message. The Senate took up the bill on the 24th, and debated-it till the 28th ; when, pn a direct vote, it was decided not to recede frbm the attach- ment of Missouri to the- Maine bill: Yeas 21; (19 from Free States and two from Delawarp;) 64 A POLITICAI rEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. Nays, 23 ; (20 from Slave States with Messrs. Taylor of Ind., Edwards and Thomas of 111.) The Senate also voted not to recede from its amendment prohibiting Slavery west of Mis- souri, and north of' 86° 30' north latitude. (For receding, 9 from Slave States, wil^h Messrs. Noble and Taylor of Ind. ; "against it, 33 — (22 from Slave States, 1,1 from Free States.) The remaining amendments of the Senate were then insisted on without division, and the House notified accordingly. The bill was now returned to the House, which, on motion of Mr. John W. Taylor of N. Y , voted to insist on its disagreement to all bat Sec. 9 of the Senate's amendments, t^y Teas 97 to Nays 76 : (all but a purely sectienal vote : Hugh Nelson of Va. voting with the North j Baldwin of Pa., Bloomfield of N. J., and Shaw of Mass., voting with the South). Sec. 9, (the Senate's exclusion of Slavery from the Territory north and west of Missouri) was also rejected — ^Yeas 160 ; Nays, 14, (much as before). The Senate thereupon (March 2nd) passed the House's Missouri bill, striking lOut tl)e restriction of Slavery by Yeas 27 to Nays 15„ and adding without a division the exclusion of Slavery from the territory west and north of Raid State. Mr. Trimble again moved the ex- clusion of Slavery from Arkansas also, but was again voted down, Yeas, 12 ; Nays, 30. The Senate now asked a conference, which the House granted without a divisioa. The Committea of Conference was composed of Messrs. Thomas of Illinois, Pinkney of Maryland, and Barbour of YA. (all anti-restrictioni?ts), on the part of the Senate, and Messrs. Holmes of Mass., Taylor of N. Y., Lowndes of S. C, Parker of Mass., and Kinsey'of N, J., on the part of the House. (Such constitution of the Committee of Conference was in effect a sur- render of the Restriction on the part of the House.) John Holmes of Mass., from this Com- mittee, in due time (March 2nd), reported that, 1. The Senate should give up the cotnbina- tion of Missouri in the same bill with Maine. 2. The House should abandon the attempt to restrict Slavery in MissourC S. Bdth Houses should agree to pass the Senate's separate Missouri bill, with Mr. Thomas's restriction or compromising proviso, excluding Slavery from all Tferritory north and west of Missouri. The report having beep read, the first and most important question was put, viz : Will the House concur with the Senate In so much of th& said ' amendments as proposes to 'strike from' the tourth^section of the (.Missouri) .bill the provision prohib- iting Slavery or involuutaj'y servitude, in the contem- plated State, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes ? On which question the Yeas and Nays were demanded, and were as follows : Yeas — For giving up Jiestriotions on Mis- louri ; MA3Si.cHUSETTB. — Mack jLai^don Hill, John Holnui, Jonathan Mason, Henry Shaw — 4. Rhodi! Islakd.— Samuel Eddy— 1. tQoNHBGTiGD'F.— Samuiel A. Foot,' James Stephens— 4. Nbw-Yokk.— Henry Meigs, Henry R. Storrs— 2. New-^ebskv— Joseph Bloomfield, Charles Kinsey,Ber- 4ard Smith— 8. PiiHNSTLT.iiiiA. — Henry Baianin, David Fullertoli-^ Total from Free-States 14. DffLAWAKB. — Louis Mcliane — 1. Ma nTLAKD.— Stephenson Archer, Thomas Bayly, Thomas Oulbreth) Joseph Kent, Peter Little, Raphael Neale, Samuel Ringgold, Samuel Smith, Henry K. War. fleld-9. Virginia.— M^rk Alexander, William S. Archer, Philip P. Barbour, William A. Bmwell, John Floyd, Robert 8. G-arnett, James Johnson, James Jones, William McCoy, Charles P. Mercer, Hugh Nelson, Thomas Nelson, Severn E. Parker, Jas. Pindall, John Randolph, Ballard Smith, Alexander Smyth, George P. Strother, Thomas, Van Swearingen, G-eorge Tucker, John Tyler, Jared Williams —22. ) North Caroltha.— Hutchina G. Burton, John Gulpep. per, William Davidson, Weldon N. Edwards, Charles Pi^her, Thomas H. Hall, Charles Hooks, Thomas Settle, Jesse Slocumb, James S. Smith, Felix Walker, Lewis Williams— 12. SoiTTH Carolina. — Josiah Brevard, Ellas Earle, James Erwin, William Lowndes, James McCreary, James Over- street, Charles Pinckney, Eldred Simkins, Sterling Tucker— 9. Georqia.- Joel A. Abbot, Thomas W. Cobb. Joel Crawford, -John A. Cuthbert, Robert R. Reid, William Terrill— £ AI.ABAHA. — John Crowell— 1. Mississippi. — John Rankia— 1. Louisiana. ^Thomas Butler — 1. KeNTUCET — Richard C. Anderson, jr., William Brown, Beojamln Hardin, Alney McLean, Thomas Metcalf, Tan. stall Quarles, Geo, Robertson, David Trimblie— 8. Tennbssbk, — Robert Allen, Henry H. Bryan, Newton Cannon, Johii Cooke, Francis Jones, John Rhea — 5.. Total Yeas from Slave States, 76 ; in all 90. Nats — jigainut giving up the Restrictiun on Slavery in Missouri : Nbw-Hampshire. — Joseph Buffam, jr., Josiah Butler, Clifton Clagett, Arthur Livei'more, William Plumer, jr., Nathaniel Upham— 6. Massachusetts (including Maine). — Befnjamin Adams, SamueL C. Allen, Joshn^ Cushman, Edward Dowse, Wal- ter Foiger, jr., Timothy Fuller, .Jonas Kendall, Martin Kinsley, Samuel Lathrop, Enoch Lincoln, Marcus Mor- ton, Jeremiah Nelson, James Parker, Zabdiel Sampson, Nathaniel Silsbee, Ezekiel Whitman — 16. Rhoog Island. — Nathaniel Hazard — 1. Connecticut. — Jonathan 0. Moseley,'Eli8ha Phelps, John Russ, Gideon Tomlinson — i. Vermont.- Samuel C. Crafts, Rojlin C. Mailary, Ezra Meech, Charles Rich, Mark Richards, William Strong— 6. N»w-Y0RK.— Nathaniel Allen, Caleb Baker, Robert Clark, Jacob H. De Witt, John D. Dickinson, John Fay, William D. Ford, Ezra C. Gross, James , Guyon, jr,, Aaron Hackley, jr., George Hall, Joseph S. Lyman, Robert Monell, Nathaniel Pitcher, Jonathan Richmond, Randall S. Street, James Strong, John W. Taylor, Albert H. Tracy, Solomon Van Rensselear, Peter H. Wendover, Silas Wood— 22. , NEw-Ja'asaT. — Ephraim 'Bateman, John Linn, Henry Southard— 8l Pbnnstlvania.— Andrew Boden, 'Vftlllam Darlington, George Dennison, Samuel Edwards, Thomas Forrest, Samuel Gross, Joseph Hemphill, Jacob Hibschman, Joseph Helster, Jacob Hostetter, William P. Maclay, David Marchand, Robert Mooi'e, Samuel Moj3fre, John Murray, Thomas Patterson, Robert Fhilson, Thomas J. Rogers, John Sergeant, Christian Tarr, James M. Wal- lace — 21, Chic- Philemon Beecher, Henry Brush, John W. Campbell, Samuel Herrick, Thomas R.. Ross, John Sloane — 6. * Indiana.— William Hendricks — ^1. Illinois. — Daniel P. Cook— 1. Total, NayS) 87— all from Free States. (The members apparently absent on this im- portant division, were Henry W. Edwards of Ooijn., Walter Case and Honorius Peck of N. Y. and John Condit of N. J., from the Free States ; with Lemuel Sawyer of N. C, and David Walker Of Ky., from the Slave States. Mr, Clay of Ky., being Speaker, did not vote.) This defeat broke the back of the Northerb resistance to receiving Missouri as a SlaVe State. ■ Mr. Taylor, of N. Y., now moved an amend; ment, intended to include Arkansas Territo^* V THE STRUGGLE FOR SLAVEKT KESTEIOTION. 6S under the proposed Inhibition of Slavery west of Missouri ; but this motion was out off by the Previous Question, (^hich then cut off amend- ments more rigorously, according to the rules of the House, than it now does), and the House proceeded to concur with the Senate in inserting the exclusion of Slavery from the territory west and north of Missouri, instead of tliat just stricken out by, 134 Teas to 42 Nays, (the Nays being from the South). So the bill was passed in the form Indicated above; and the bill ad- mitting Maine as a State, (relieved, by a confer- ence, from the Missouri rider,) passed both Houses without a diylson, on the following day. Such was the virtual termination of the strug- gle for the restriction of Slavery in Missouri, which was beaten by the plan of proffering in- stead an exclusion, of Slavery from all the then federal territory west and north of that State. It is unquestionable that, with out this compromise or equivalent, the Northern votes, which passed the bill, could not have been obtained for it. 'THE THIRD MISSOURI STRnOGLK. Though the acceptance of Missouri as a State, with a Slave Constitution, was fofevei; settleciby the votes just recorded, a new excite- ment sprang up on her presenting herself to Congress (Nov. 16,. 1820),) with a State Consti- tution, framed on the 19th of July, containing the following resolutions : The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws, FlF^t., for the emancipation of slaves .without the consent OT their owners, or without paying them, before such emanc^ation, a^full equivalent for such slaves so emancipated ; and, Second, to. preV'Cljt Itojt^Jide emi- grants to tliia State, or actual settlers therein, fVom bringing from any of the United States, or from any of their TerritM'ies, such persons as may there be deemed- to be slaves, so long as any persons of .the same description are allowed to De held as slaves by the laws of this State. ... It shall 1)e their duty, as soon as may be, to pass such laws as may be necessary. First, to prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to, and settling in, this State, under any pretext whatever. The North, still smarting under a seiise of its defeat on the question of excluding Slavery from Missouri, regarded tliis as needlessly defiant, insulting, and inhuman, and the section last quoted as palpably in violation of that clause of the Federal Constitution whjcli gives to the ;citizens of each State (which blacks are, in several Free States), the rights of citizens in every State. A determined resistance to any ?uch exclusion was manifested, and a portion of the Northern Members evinced a disposition to renew the struggle against the further intro- duction of slaves into Missouri. At the first effort to carry her admission, the House voted it dowii — Yeas, 'fS; Nays, 93. A second, at- tempt to admit her, on condition that she would expunge the obnoxious clause (Jast quoted) of her ConstitUition, was voted down still more de- cisively — Yeas, 6 ; Nays 146. The House now rested, until a joint resolve, admitting her with but a vague and ineffective qaalification, came down from the Senate, where it was passed by a vote of 26 to 18 — six Sena- tors from Free States in the affirmative. Mr. Clay, who had resigned in the recess, aid been Buceeeded, as Speaker, by John W. Taylor, of New-York, now appeared as the leader of the Uisarari admissionists, and proposed terms of comproihise, which, were twice voted down by the Northern members, aided by John Randolph and three others from the South, who would have Missouri admitted without condition or qualifioatiom At last, Mr. Clay proposed a Joint Committee on this subject, to be chosen by bal- lot — which the House agreed to by 101 to 55 ; and Mr. Clay became its Chairman. By this Committee, it was agreed that a solemn pledge should be required of the Legislature of Mis- souri that the Constitution of that State should not be construed to authorize' the passage of any Act, and that no Act should be passed, " by which any of the citizens of either of the States should bfe excluded from the enjoyment of the privileges and immunities to which thej are entitled under the Constitution of the United Sliates," The Joint Resolution, amended by the addition of this proviso, passed the House by 86 Yeas to 82 Nays ; the Senate concurred (Feb. 27th, 1821,) by 26 Yeas to 15 Nays— (all Northern but Macon, of N. C.) ; Missouri com- plied with the condition, and became an ac- cepted member of the Union. Thus closed the last stage of the fierce Missouri. Controversy, Wljich for atime seemed to threaten— as so man^ other c'ontroversies have harmlessly threatened — the existence of the Union. EXTENSION OP MISSOURI. The State of Missouri, as originally organized, was bounded on the west by a line already specified, which excluded a triangle west of said line, and between it and the Missouri, which was found, in time, to be exceedingly fertile and' desirable. It was free soil by the terms ' of the Missouri doinpact, and was also covered by Indian reservations, not to be removed without a concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate. Messrs. Sejitou and Linn, Sena- tors from Missouri, undertook the difficult task of engineering through Congress a bill includ- ing this triangle (large enough to form seven Counties) within the State of Missouri ; which they effected, at the long session of 1835-6, go ' quietly as hardly to attract attention. The bill was first sent to the Senate's Committee on the Jiidiciary,, whpre a favoirabia report was pro- cured from Mr. John M. Clayton, of Delaware, its Chairman ; and then it was floated through, both Houses without encountering the perils of a division. The requisite Indian treaties were likewise carried through the Senate ; so Missouri became possessed of a large and desirable accession of territory, which has since become one of her most populous and wealthy sections, devoted to the growing of hemp, tobacco, etc., and cultivated by slaves. This is the most pro- ' Slavery section of the State, in which was originated, and was principally sustained, that series of inroads into Kansas, corruptions of her ballot-boxes, and outrages upon her people, which. earned fbr their authors the appellation of Border Ruffians. , THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. The name of Texas was . originally applied to a Spapish possession or province, lying between the Mississippi and tl^e Rio Grande del Norte, but not extending to either of these great rivers. It was an appendage of the Viceroyalty of AS - A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. Mexico, but Lad very few civilized inhabitants do'vn to tte time of the separation of Mexico from, Spain. Ou two or tlnee occasions, bands of French adventurers bad landed on its coast, or entered it from the adjoining French colony of Louisiana; but they had uniformly been treated as intruders, and either destroyed or made prisoners by the Spanish military authori- ties. No line had ever been drawn between the two colonies; but the traditional line be- tween them, south of the Kcd Biver, ran some- what within the limits of the present State of Louisiana. ' When Louisiana was transferred by France to the United States, without specification of Doundaries, collisions of claims on this frontier was apprehended. General Wilkinson, com- manding the United States troops, moved gra- dually to the west ; the Spanish commandant in Texas likewise drew toward the frontier, until they stood opposite each other across what was then tacitly settled as the boundary between the the two countries. This was never afterward disregarded. In 1819, Spain and the United States seemed on the verge of war. General Jackson had twice invaded Florida, on the assumption of complicity on the part of her rulers and people — first with our British, then with our savage enemies — and had finally overrun, and, in effect, annexed it to the Union. Spain, on the other hand, had preyed upon our commerce during the long wars in Europe, and honestly owed our merchants large sums for unjustifiable seizi^rcs and spoliations. A negotiation for the settle- ment of these differences was carried on at Washington, between John Quincy Adams, Mr. Monroe's Secretary of State, and Don Onis, the Spanish embassador, in the course of which Mr. Adams set up a claim, on the part of this country, to Texas as a natural geographical appendage not of Mexico, but of Louisiana. This claim, however, he eventually waived and relinquished, in consideration of a cession of Florida by Spain to this country — our govern- ment agreeing, on its part, to pay the claims of our merchants for spoliations. Texas remained, therefore, what it aways had been — a depart- ment or province of Mexico, with a formal qUit-olaim thereto on the part of the United States. The natural advantages of this region in time attracted the attention of American adven- turers, and a small colony of Yankees was set- tled thereon, about 1819-20, by Moses Austin, of Connecticut. Other settlements followed. Originally, grants of land in Texas were prayed for, and obtained of the Mexican Government, on the assumption that the petitioners were Roman Catholics, persecuted in the United States because of their religion, and anxious to find a refuge in some Catholic country. Thus all' the early emigrants to Texas went pro- fessedly as Catholics, no other religion being tolerated.. Slavery was abolished by Mexico soon after the consummation. of her independence, when Tery few slaves were, or ever had been, in Texas. But, about 1834, some years after this event,, a qiilet, but very general, and evidently con- certed, emigration, mainljr from Tennessee and other southwestern States, fiegan to concentrate itself in Texas. The emigrants carried rifles ; many o,f them were accompanied by slaves; and it was well understood that they did not intend to become Mexicans, much less to relin- quish their slaves. When Gen. Sam. Houston left Arkansas for Texas, in 1834-5, the Little Kock Journal, which announced his exodus and destination, significantly added : " We shall, doubtless, hear of his raising his flag then shortly." That was a foregone conclusion. Of course, the new settlers in Texas did not lack pretexts or provocations for such a step. Mexico was then much as she is now, mis- governed, turbulent, anarchical, and despotic. The overthrow of her Federal Constitution by Santa Anna was one reason assigned for the rebellion against her authority which broke out in Texas. In 1835, her independence was declared ; in 1836, at the decisive battle of San Jacinto, it was, by the rout and, capture of the Mexican dictator, secured. This triumph was won by emigrants from this country almost exclusively ; scarcely half a dozen of the old Mexican inhabitants participating in the revolu- tion. Santa Anna, while a prisoner, under restraint and apprehension, agreed to I. peace on the basis of thevindependeuce of Texas — a covenant which he had no power, and probably no desire, to give effect to when restored to liberty. The Texans, pursuing their advantage, twice or thrice penetrated other Mexican pro- vinces — Tamaulipas, Coahuila, etc., — and waved their Lone-Star flag in defiance on the banks of the Rio Grande del Norte ; which position, however, they were always compelled soon to abandon — once with severe loss. Their govern- ment, nevertheless, in reiterating^ their declara- tion of independence, claimed the Rio Grande as their western boundary, from its source to its mouth, including a large share of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Durango, and by far the more impor- tant and populous portion of New Mexico. And it was with this claim, expressly set forth in the treaty, that President Tyler and his responsible advisers negotiated the first of&cial project of annexation, which was submitted to the Senate, during the session of 1843-4, and rejected by a very decisive vote : only fifteen (mainly.South- ern) senators voting to confirm it. Col. Benton, and others, urged this aggressive claim of boundary, as affording abundant reason for the rejection of this treaty; but it is not known that the Slavery a^spect of the case attracted especial attention in the Senate. The measure, however, had already been publicly eulogized by Gen.. James Hamilton, of S. C, as cal- culated to " giye a Gibraltar to the South," and had, ou that ground, secured a very general and ardent popularity throughout the vSouth- West. And, more than a year previously, seve- ral northern members of Congress had united in the following : TO THE PEOPLB OF THE FREE STATES OF THH UNIOIS. We, the undersigned, in closing our duties to our con- stituents and our country as members of tlie 27tli Con- gi-ess, feel bound to call your attention, very briefly, to the project, long entertained by a portion of the people of these United States, still pertinaciously adhered to, and intended soon to be consummated : Tui'. ammiexatidn' OF TicxAS TO THIS UtiiOM. In the press of business infu- THE STRUGGI,B POR SLAVERY RESTRICTION". e7 *ent to the fast days of a session qt OongrfiHB, we have | mot time, did we deem it necessary, to enter upon a detailed statement of the reasons which force upon our minds the conviction that this project is hy no meoQia aibaTbdoned : that a large portion of the country, inter- ested in the continuance of Domestic Slavery' and the Slave-trade in these United States, have solemnly and luialterahly determined that it shall he speedd^ car- ried itbto execution; and that, by this admisBion of new Slave Territory and Slave States, the wndue ascend- tncy of the Slav&-holding poioer m the Government e/uUl 06 secured and riveted heyonJL Ull rede/mp' ition ! I That it was with these views and intentions that set- Vements were effected in the province, by citizens of the United States, difficulties fomented with the Mexican Ctovernment, a revolt brought about, and an Indepen- dent Government declared, cannot now Admit of a doubt; and that, hitherto, all attempts of Mexico to re- duce her revolted province to obedience have proved unsuccessful, is to be attributed to the unlawful aid and assistance of designing and interested individuals in the United States, and the direct and indirect cooperation of our own Goreinment, with similar views^ is not the ( less certain and demonstrable. ^ The open and repeated enlistnient of troops hi several States of this Union, in aid of the Texan Revolution ; the Intrusion of an American Army, by order of the Presi- dent, far iijto the territory of the Mexican Government, at a moment critical for the fate of the insurgenta, under pretense of preventing Mexican soldiers from fomenting Indian disturbances, but in reality in aid of, and acting in singular concert and coincidence with, the army of the Revolutionists ; the entire neglect of our Government to adopt any efficient measures to prevent the most un- warrantable aggressions of bodies of our own citizens, enlisted, organized and officered within our own borders, and marched in arms and battle array upon the t^ri-i- tory, and against the inhabitants of a friendly govern- ment, in aid of freebooters and insurgenta, and theatre- mature recognition of the Independence of 'Texas, py a finap vote, at the heel of a session of Congi-ess, and that, too, at the very session when President Jackson had, by special Message, insisted that "the measure would be contrary to the policy invariably observed by the ITnlted Stales in all similar cases;" would be marked frith great injustice to Mexico, and peculiarly liable to the darkest suspicions, inasirvibch as the Texans were almost all emigrants froTn the United /States, and BOUGHT THE REGOG-KITION OF THEIB INDBPBNDENCE WITH THR AVOWED PUKPOSl^OF OBTAINING THEIR ANNEXATION To'tHE United Statks, Th^e occurrences are too well known f^d too fresh in the memory of all, to need more than a passing notice. These have become matters of history. For further evidence upon all these and other important points, we refer to the memorable speech of John Quincy Adams, delivered in the House of Representatives during the morning hour in June and July, 18-33,'and to his address to his constituents, de- Uvered at Braintree, ITth September, 3842. The open avowal of the Texans themselves — the fre- quent and anxious negotiations of oui; own Government —the resolutions of various States of the Unioiv-the numerous declarations of members of Congress— the tone of the Southern press— as well as the direct applica- tion of the Texan Governmeht, make it impossible ^or any man to doubt, that annsxation, a^ the formation of several new Slaveholding States, wei^ originally the poUcy and design of the Slaveholding states and the £xecutLve of the Nation. The same reference will show, very conclusively, that Viit particular objects of this new acquisition of Slave Territory were thb pebpbtoation of Slavery and the COSTINUHD ASCENDEKCY OF THE SLAVB POWEBR, The following extracts 6*om a Report on that subject, adopted by the Legislature of Mississippi, from a mass of similar evidence which might be adduced, will show witlL what vi&ws the annexation was ^Ae^urged: *' But we hasten db suggest the importance of the annexation of Texas to this Republic upon grounds somewhat local la theu* complexion, but of an import infinitely grave and inter- esting to the people who inhabit the Southern portion of this Confederacy, where it is known that a species of domestic Slavery is tolerate4*aud protected by law-, whose exlatfence Is Drohlbited by the legal reguIatioK-rf of bther States of this Con- fedetacy : which system of. Slavery Is held by all, who are Hamlliarly acquainted with its practical effects, to be of Mghly bejiejicial influence to the cowUri/ withwiishose limits it is per- "'^'The Committee feel authorized to say that this system is aherished by oar conatltuenta as the very pcUUi^im. of their oraawritv and happineas, and whatever ignorant fanatics may slsevriiere coirjeciure, the Comrriittee are fully assured, upon Ke most dillsent observation and reflection on the subject, ihat Ae Soit^ does notpoBseat iciiAwi her limits a bleaaing icith mhich tJiB affections 0/ Tier people are so chs^ enticined and so eom^ pletely enJUtred, and whose value is more highly appreciated, than that which we are now consldermg. • » * « w f • * "It may not be Improper here to remark that, durhigtbe last session of Congress, when a Senator from Mississippi pro- posed the acknowledgment of Texan independence, It wafl ibund, with a few exceptions, the members of that body wera ready to lake ground upon it, as upon the suMecd of Slavery itself, '*With all these fects before us, we do not hesitate In be- lieving that these feelings influenced the New England Bena- tOEB, but one voting in favor of the measure ; and, indeed, Mr. Webster had been bold enough, in a public speech recently delivered in New-York, to many thousand citizens, to declare that the reason that iofluenced nls opposition was hU abhcr- rence of Slavery in the South, and that it might, in the event of its recognition, become a slaveholding State. He also spoke of the efforts making In favor of Abolition; and that, being pre- dicated upon and aided by the powerful influence of religious feeling. It would become irresistible and overwhelming. . "This language, coming from so distinguished an indWidoal as Mr. Webster, so fkmillar with the feelings of the North and entertaining so thigh a respect for piiblic sentiment in New Ei^gland, speaks so plainly the voice of die North as not to b& uusundersiood. ' ' We sincerely hope there is enough good sense and genuine love of country among our fellow-fiountrymen of the Northern States, to secure us final justice on this svljecl ; yet-we cannot codsider it safe or expedient for the people of the South to en- tirely disregard the efforts of the fanatics, and the opinions of such men as Webster, and others who countenance such dan- gerous doctrines. "■^ The NoTth&m States have no interests of their o?™ which require any special safeguards for their defense, s.'i.Te only their domestic manuCaeiures j and God knows they have already received protection from Govermneut on a most liberal scale ; under which encouragement they have im- proved and nourisrt\ed beyond example. The South has very peculiar interests to preserve : interests already violently as- sailed and boldly threatened. " Your Commiitee are fully pa'suaded that this protection to her best interests itill Pe affordea by the annexation of Texas; am, equipoise of ii^uence in the hails of Congress will he seoured, which uill furnish us a permanent guaranty ttfprotectfutn." The speech of Mr. Adams, exposing the whole system of duplicity and perfidy toward Mexico, had marked the conduct of our Government; and the emphatjc expresBiona of opposition w-hich began to come up from all parties in the Free States, however, for a time, nearly silenced the clamors of the South for annexation, and Jhe people of the North have been lulled into the belief that the pro- ject is nearly, if not wholly abandoned, and that, at least, there is now no serious danger of ite consumma- tion. Believing this to be a. false a/nd dangerous secn^iy ; that the project has never been' abandoned a moment, by its originators and abettors, but that it has been de^ feiTcd for a more favorable moment' for its accomplislv ment, we refer to a few evidences of more recent de- velopment upon which this opin'ion is founded. The last Election of President of the Republic of Texas, is undei-stood to have turned, mainly, upon the question of annexation or no annexationj and the candidate favorable to that measure was successful by an over- whelming majority. The sovereign States of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, have recently adopted Reso- lutions, some, if not all of them, unanimously, in favor of annexation, and forwarded ^hem to Congress. The Hon. Henry A. yyise, a member of Congress from the District in which our present Chief Magistrate resided when elected Vice-President, abd who is understood to be more intimately acquainted with the views and de- signs of the present administration than iCny other mem- ber of Congress, most distinctly avowed his desire for, and expectation of annexation, at the last session of Congress. Among other things, he said, in a speech delivered January 26, 1S42 : "True, if Iowa be added on the one side, Florida will be added on the other. But there the equation must stop. Let one more NorOiern State be admitted, and the equilibrium is gone— gone forever. The balance of interests is gone—the safe- guard of American property— of the American Cohstitution — of Uie American Umon, vanished into thin air. This must be the inevitable result, nntess by a treaty with Mexico, the South CAN ADD MOKB WEIGHT TO HEB END OF THE LBVEB ? Let tht. South stop at the Sahine, (the eastern boundary of Texas,) while the Norm may spread unchecked beyond the Rocky Moun- tains AND the Southern scale must kick the beam." Finding difficulties, perhaps, in the way of a cession by Treaty, in another speech delivered in April, 1842, on a motion made by Mr. Xinn, of New-Yorfc, to sti-lke out the salary of the Minister to Mexico, on the ground that the design of the Executive, in making the appointment, was tft accomplish the -annexation of Texas, Mr. Wise said, " ne earnestly hoped and trusted that the President was as desirous (of annexation) as he was represented to be. We may well suppose the President to be in favor of it, as every wise statesman must be who is not governed by fanaticism. 3r local sectional ^^ejudices." 68 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. He Bald of TexEig, tha^-— _ . *' While she waa, as a State, wealc »pd almost po-wSrlesa Xa resisting invasion, sh3 was herself irresistible as an Invading and a conquering power. She had but a sparse population, and neither men nor money of her own, to raise and equip an army for her own defense ; but let her once raise the flag of fovelga eonquBstr-let her ono0 proclaim a crusade against the E^ch States to the south of her— and in a moment volunteers would flock to her standard in crowds, from all the States in ike great valley of (Ae ififfli«ip^pi— men of enterprise and valor, be- fore whom no Mexican troops could stand for an hour. They wotild leave their own towns, arm themselves, and travel on their own cost, and would come up in thousands, to plant the lone star of the Texan banner on the Mexican capitol. They would drive Santa.Annato the South, and in bpuadlesswealui of captured towns, and rifled chi^rchea, and a lazy, vicious, and luxurious priesthood, would soon enable Texas, to pay her soldiery, and redeem her State debt, and push her victorious armsi to the very, shores of the ^pacific. -A-iid would not all this extend the bounds of Slavery f Yes, the result would be, that, before anoUier quarter of a century, the , ex.tenslon of Slavery would not stop short of the ■Western Otjean. JFe-Aod hut two aUervwii-aes he/ore ua ; eiiher to receive Texasintcour ^at&miW of States,, tional sectiou, as follows : 78 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOE 1860. See. ST. And it it further enacted. That It shall be the duty of the attorneys for said Territories, respeo- tively; on the complalD* of any person held in involun- tary serritiide therein, to make application in his be- half in due form of law, to the court next thereafter to be holden in said Territory, for a writ of habeas corpus, to be directed to the person so holding such applicant in service as aforesaid, and to "pursue all needful mea- sures in his behalf; and if the decision of such court shall be adverse to the application, or If, on the return of the writ, relief shall be denied to the applicant, on the ground that he is a slave held in servitude in said Terri- tory, said attorney shall cause an appeal to be taken' therefrom, and the record of all the proceedings in the case to be transmitted to the Supreme Court of the United States as speedily as may be, and to give notice thereof to the Attorney General of the United States, who shall pi-osecute the same before said Court, who shall proceed to hear and determine the same at the first term thereof. Yeas, 15 (all Northern, except Benton) ; Nays, 31. Mr. Davia, of Mass., moved to strike out sec- tion 12, and insert as follows: Sec. 12. And Tie it farther enatsted; That so much of the sixth section of the ordinance of the ISth July, 1T87, as is contained in the following words ; viz. ' There shall be neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Xer>itory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly con- victed,' shall be and remain in tbrce in the Territory of Oregon. This vpas defeated; Yeas, 21 ; Nays, 33. The bill was then engrossed for a third read- ing ; Yeas, 33 ; Nays, 22 ; as follows : Yeas — For Clayton's Compromise : Messrs. Atchison, Atherton, Benton, Berrien, Borland, Breese, Bright, Butler, CaUioun, Clayton, Davis, Mis's. Dickinson, Douglas, Downs, foots, Hannegan, Houston, Hunter, Johnson, Md. Johnson, La. Johnson, (ja. King, Lewis, Mangum, Mason, Phelps, Eusk, Sebastian, Spruance, Sturgeon, Tumey, Westcott, Yulee— 1 Ifays — Against Clayton's bill : Messrs. Allen, Felch, Badger, Fitzgerald, Baldwin, Greene, Bell, Hale, Bradbury, Hamlin, Clarke, Metcslt Corwin, Miller,^ Davis, Mass. Piles, ) Dayton, Underfed, Dlx, Upham^ Dodge, Wsilker— 22. So the bill was engrossed, and immediately passed without a division. July 28, James S. 'Wiley— 2. New- York. — Frederick w. Lord — 1. Ohio. — Thomas Richey — ^1. Indiana. — Charles W. Cathcart, Thomas J. Henley, Johi L. Robmson, William W. Wick— 4. IluSois.— Robert Smith— 1. Messrs. Clark and H. Williaihs, of Maine, Bh-dtoll adl Ma«lay, of New-York, Erodhead aad Mann, of Fa., Pettlt of lad., Ficklin and McClelland, of Bl., who voted with the^South at the former session — now failed to vote. Mr. Jackson, of N. Y , who then voted with the South had been succeeded by Mr. H, Greeley, who voted with th| North. JTajB- Ailthe tiembers voting from the Slave States with the following from the Free States : New- York.— Henry C. Murphy — 1. Pennsylvania.- Charles Brown, Charles J.Ingersoll — i, Ohio. — William Kennon, jun., John K, Miller, Williau Sawyer- 8. Illinois. — William A. Richardson — ^1, Iowa.— Shepherd LelBer— 1. Total Nays from Free States— 8. Mr. Robinson, of Ind., moved a reooQsilera- tion of this vote, which motion (Dec. 18), on motion of Mr. Wcntworth, of 111., was kid on the table : Yeas, 105 ; Nays, 83. The Civil and Diplomatic Appropriation bill having passed the House in the usual form, came up to tl^e Senate, where it was debated several days. Feb. 21s<. — Mr. Walker, of Wise, moved an amendment, extending all the laws of the United States, so far as applicable, to the Territories acquired from Mexioti. Mr. Bell, of Tenn., moved to add further sec- tions organizing the State of California, to be admitted into the Union on the 1st of. October next. This was rejected: Yeas, 4 (Bell, Dodge of Iowa, Douglas, Davis) ; Nays, 39. Feb. 26pat-ailel of north latitude and wedt of the Colorado, shall be equal to the ratio of representation in Congress, under the last preceding apportionment, ac- cording to the provisions of the Constitution, and the people of such Territory shall, with the assent of the new State contemplated in the preceding resolution, have Adopted a State Constitution,, republican in form, they be admitted into the Unioji as. a State, upon an equal *ooting with the original States. . JResolved^ Thatallthe Territory now claimedbyTexas, lying north of the thirty-fourth parallel of north latitu(4e, and which may be ceded to the United States by Texas, . be incorporated with the Territory of New-Mexico, ex- cept such part thereof as lies east of the Kio Grande and south of the thirty-fourth degree of north latitude, and that the Territory so composed form a Sta.te, to be ad- mitted into the Union when the inhabitants thereof shall adopt a State Constltuiion, republican in form, with the consent, of Congress; but jn the' mean time, and until Congress shall give such qonsent, provision be made for the government of the inhabitants of said Territory suit- able to their condition, but vrlthout any restriction as to Slavery. 6. Beaoloedf That all the Territory ceded to the United States, by the Treaty of Guadaloap.c Hidalgo, lying west of said Territory of New MelxlcO| and east of the contemplated new State of California, for the present,, constitute one Territory, and for which some form of government suitable to the conditioh of the inhabitants be provided, without any restriction as to Slavery. 6. Jieaolved, That the Constitution recedtly formei^ by the people of the western portion of Oaliforhia, and presented to Cbngress by the President, on the iSth day y of February, 1850, be accepted, and that they be admit- ted into the Union as a State, upon an equa,! .footing in aU;*e3pects with the original States. M6Sol/06^^ That, in future, the formation of State Coh'- Ktitutions, I>y the inhabitants of' "the Territories of the United Stales, be regulated, by law; and that no such Constitution be hereafter formed or adopted by the in- liiibi.tants of any Tei;ritory belonging to the United States, witlwut the consent and authority of Congress. a. Mesolted^ Thattheinhabitantsof any Territory of the United States, when they shall be authorized byCon- gress to f07m a State Constitution, shall have the sole and exclusive power to regulate and adjust all questions of internal State policy, of wh3,tever nature thfey may be, controlled only by the restrictions expressly imposed by Uie Gpnstltution of the United States. , Q. Hesolvedj That the Committee on Territories be instructed to report a bill in conformity with the spWfc and principles of the foregoing resolutions. A debate of unusual duration, earnestuess, and ability ensued, mainV ^^ ^^' Clay's Reso- lutions. They were regfirded by uncomptoaiSS- ing champions, whether of Northern or of Sbutt- ern views, but especially of the latter, as con- ceding substantially tlie matter in dispute to the other side. Thus, January^ 29th. — Mi', Clay having read and briefly commented on his propdsitious, seriatim^ he desired that tiiey should be held over with- out debate, to give time for consideration, and made a epe^cial order for Monday or Tuesday following. But this was not assented to. Mr. Foote, of Mississippi, spoke against them generally, saying: If I understand the resolutions properly, they are ob- jectionable, as it seems to me, 1. Because they only assert that it is not &iapedi&nt that Congress should abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia ; thus allowing the implication to arise that Congress has power to legislate on the subject of Slavery in the Distnct, which may hereafter be exercised, if it should become expedient- to do ao : whereas, I hold that Congress has, under the Constitution, tko such power at all, and that any attempt thus to legislate would be a gross fraud upon all the States of the Unionl 2. The Resolutions of the honorable Senator assert that Slavery does not now exist by law in the Territories recently acquired from Mexico ; whereas, I am of opinion that the treaty with theMexican republic carried the Constitution, wWicUlits guaranH&a^ to all Hie Ter- ritory obtained by treaty, and secured the pri-^ege to every Southern slaveholder to enter any part of it, at- tended by his slave-property, and to enjoy the same therein, free from aU molestation or- hindrance whateo- ever, 8. Whether Slavery is or is not likely to be introduced into these Territories, or into any of them, is a proposi- tion too uncertain, in my judgment, to be at present positively affirmed ; and ■ 1 am unwilling to make a solemn legislative declaration on the pomt. Let the future provide tfis appropriate eoCiUion of this into- resilng guesUon. 4. Considering, as I have several time* heretofore for- maUy declared, the "title of Texas to all the Territory embraced in her boundaries, as laid down in her law of 1836, full, complete, and undeniable, I am unwilling to say a^tliing, by resolution or otherwise, which may in the lent degree draw that title into question, as I think is done in one of the resolutions of the honorable Sena- tor from Kentucky. 6. As to the abolition of the Bl(ih&4r'ade in the District of Columbia, I see no particular objection to it, provided it is done in ajialicate and judicious manner, and is not a concession to the menaces and demands of factionists and fanatics. If other questions can be adjusted, this one will, perhaps, occasion.but little difi&culty. 7. The resolutions which provide for the restoration of fugitlve%from labor or service, and for the establishment of territori&l governments, free from all restriction on the subject of Slavery, have my hearty approval The last resolution — wMch asserts that Congress has no power to prohibit the trade in slaves ftom State to State— I equally approve. 8. If all other questions connected with the subject ni Slavery can be satisfactorily adj'^sted, I see no objec- tion to admitting all California, abov« the line of 86 degrees 30 minutes, into tbe 0nion ; provided a-noiher new Slave iSiotti can be laid of witfwn, the present limits ofTmas^ bo as to keep the present equipoiid&r- athoe between the Slave and Free States of the Unioa: ajjvd provided further, all^thia is done by way of com- proMise^ arid in order to save tHe ITudon. (as dear to me as to any manjiving. ) Mp. Mason, of Virginia, after expressing his deep - anxiety to '• go with him who went, furthest, but within the Hmits of* strict duty, in adjusting these unhappy dififerencea " added : 1 Sir, so far aa I have read these resolutions, there in but one proposition to which I can give a hearty assent, and that is the resplutioc ^hich proposes to organize Territorial governments at once in these Territories without a declaration one way or the other as to tiieir THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. W d'^ mestio institutions. But there la an^bftr which I deeply regret to^s^e iqtrodaced into this Senate, by a Senator fi-oni a Bla,vieholding ^tate ; it is that which assuuiea that Slavery fortg sinte SMfffiklted to the uses of the Aborig-r o- — not merely those who had originally inhabited it, but the tribes from time to time removed frdm' the Ststtea eastward of the Mississippi., Very little, if any, of it was legally open to. settl'ement by Whites; and, with th-e 'exception i of the fe% and sttiall military and trading pOstS ■ thinly scattered over its surface, it is prerbsible- that scarcely two hundred white ftimiUea were- located in the spacious wilderoess bounded by Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota on the east, the- British possessions on the north, the crest of the; Rooky Mountains oh the west, ami theisettled -. portion of New-Mexico and' the line of 36° 30' pu.tlve south, at the, timp when Mr. Douglas ; fi-rst^ at the session of 1852-S',' submitted a bill! orgaijiziug the TJerritory of NfebVaska, by which , title the region tlbove bounded had come to be - vaguely indicated. This region was indisputably included within , the scopB of the exclusion of Slivery ft-om all i Federal Territory north of 36° 30', to which the South had assented' by the terms of the 'Mis- souri compact, in order thereby to secure the i admission of Missouri as a Slave' Sl^ate. Nor - was it once intimated, during the long, earnest, . and searching debate in the Senate on the Com-^- promise Measures of 1880, that the adoption of those measures,, whether together or separately, would involve or imply, a repeal of the Missouri > Restriction. We have seen on a former page how Mr. Clay's original sti^estion of a Compro- mise, which was substantially that ultimately adopted, was received by the Sou^ern Senatorai v/ho spo]j;e, on its introduction, with hardly a qiieJjfliBaitioB) as a virtual surrender of all'that the South-bad ever claimed with respect to the new Territories. And, froBi the beginning to. the close of the long and' able discussion Which followed,' neither friend new foe of the Compito,-- mises,, nor of any of them, hinted that oncr effect of their adoption would be the lifiing of the Missouri restriction from the Territooy, now covered by it. When the Ooniliromises of> 1860 were accepted in 1852 by the Rational Couvcn; tioDS af tho two great) parties, as a settlement, of' the distracting coBitroiTerBy thereiuicoatem* 80 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. plated, no hint was added thst^ the 'Sehia.gkaf- region was opened thereby to Slavery. Several petitions ifor the organization of a Territory westward of Missouri and Iowa were presepted at the; session of 3,851-2, bujt no de- cisive action talcen thereon, until the next, ses-, aion, when, , Dec. lSth.—M.v. W. t. Hall, of Mo.,,- pursqant to notice, submitted to the House a bill to organ- ize the Territory of Platte, which was read twice,:and sent to the Gommittee on Territories. From that, Committee, . , ■> Feb. 2d, 1853.-;--J!Ci;. W. A.' Richardaon, of 111., reported a bill to organize the Territory of. Nebraska, which was read twice , and com- Jii,itted. ^ : . , Feb. 9th.^-The bill was ordered to be taken out of Committee, on motion of VV. P. Hall., , Feb. lOfft.-^The bill was reportecl from tHe Committee of the Whple to the Sonse, with a recommendation that it do not pass. Mr. .Bicbardspn mov^d the previous question, whioh prevailed. Mr. Xietcher, of Ta., moved that tl^ebiU do lie on the table. Lost : Yeas, 4^9 (maM; Southern) ; tia.yi, 107. The bill was then, engrpssedj read a pird time, and passed. Teas, 98 ; .Nays, 43, (as before.) Feb. nth. — ^The bill reached the Senate and was referred to the Committee on Terri- tories. Feb. 11th. — ^Mr. Douglas reported it without amendment. March 2d. — (Last d^y but one of the session), Mr. Douglas n^ojed.tbat, the bill be takenup : Lost; Yeas, 20 ; (all, Northern but Atchison and Geyer, of Mo. ;) Nfiys, 25 ; (21 SoufEeifn, i Northern.). ,, , , , 1 March 3rd. — Mr. Douglas again mo^ed that chje bill be taken up. . Mr. Borlapd, of Ark,, moved that it dp; lie on the table. Carried : ^eas, 23 ; (all Southern but 4 ;) N^ys, 17 ; (all Northern but Atchi-sou.and Geyer.) So the biH.was put to sle.ep for the session. On the inotion to take up — Mr. Rusk of Texas objeeliugr— Mf. Atchison said: , , | I must ask-.tbe indulgence of the Senate tft say one word in relation to this matter. Perhaps thei'e is not a State il the TJilion' more deeply intei^6Bfa^d in this ques- tion than the State of Missouri. If not the largest,! will say the best, portion of jtiiat Territoryrperhaps the only portion of it that In half a century w^n^hecome a State, lies Immediately west of the State of Slissouti. It is only a question' of' time, whether we will organize the Territory at this session of Congress,, or whether we will do .it at the next session ; and, for my own pa^t, I acl^nowledge now'that, as the S'enatAr ftotA Illinois {^ell knows, when I came to this city, at the beginning of the last session, :X was perhaps as much opposed to the pro- position, as tlifi Senator from Texas now is. The Senator fi'om Iowa lEnows it ; and it was for reasons wMch I iMll not nbw mention or suggest. But, sir, I have from reflection and investigation in -my own mind, and from the opinions of others — my constituents, whose, opinions I am .bound to respeCt— coqie to the condluslou that now is the time for the organization of this Tewy tory. It is the most propitious time. The treaties yAlM the various Indian tribes, the titles to whose possessions must be extinguished, can better be made now than at any future time; for, as the qfaestioh is agitated, and as it is understood, white men, speculators, will interpose, and interfere, and the longer ,it is postponed the (^ore we will have to fear from them, and the more diSiouU it will be to iktinguish the Indiab title in that couh'trjf,' and the harder the tertns to be imposed. Therefore, Ur. President, .for. this reason, without ffoing in^o.detay, I am williiig pojr tijsit tfte question tjjafl be tatm,; whetlier we will pr9ceed to the consideration of the fiflj. or not. ..'.<. " ' • ' Tlie meaning is here diplomatically veilodj yet is perfectly plain. Gen. Atchison hid be^ri averse to organizing t.his Territory until .Hb' coUli'procure a relaxation of the Missouri Re- striction as to Slavery; but, seeing no present hope of this, be was willing to waive the point, and assent to an Organization under a bifl silent with respect to Slavery, and of course leaving the Missouri Restriction unimpaired. Gen. Fierce was inaugurated Fresiilieitt'On tha 4th March, 1853; . The XXXIIId Congress assembled at Wash, ifigton, Dec. 6th,. 1853, with a Urge- Admiais- tratiou majority in either House. Linn Boyd of Ky.,, yrs^ qhof^fl,. Speaker ,of the Pqu^. The President's Annual Mes.'^age cout^ued thq following allusion to the subject of Slavery ;- It is no part of my purpose to give prominence to any subject \^hteS|u^y' properly be regarded as eet^atrehension. A successful war had just, terini. nated. Peace brought with it a vast augniehtatioli of territory, disturbing questions arose, bearingupon-'tlu domestic institutions of one .potion of^he confederals and involving the constitutio|ial rights of ttie ^t^tes. Btit, notwitlistandingQifferences of opinion and sentiment which then existed in relation to details, and specific pro^ vision^, the ao^uieSQenfie.of d!?^nguUhed,,citizen8„wl}ose devptjon -to the tjniQu can never, be, douijted, ^as. gi,ypa r^heweu vigor to our institutions, aAii restored aisehse'of repose .and security to the public mind througMoUt thi coofed^rapy. That thi^ { repose is to' suffer .no , shoclf during mjr official term, if I iiave power to'avert i^Uips^ who placed tne here may be assured. Dec.' 15. — Mr., A. C. Dodge of Iowa submitted to ,the Senate a' bill (No..22J "To orga,n.ize the Territory of Nebraiska," which was read, twice, and, referred to the Cojnmittee on Tpfcitories. > /an. 4. — Mr. Douglas, from, said Committee', reported said bill with amendments, wUich were prifited, He' said in his' Report: The principal amendments . .wljich your qopamitteo deehi it their duty to commend to the favoriable action of tlre'Senate,' in a special' repor't, are those in which thd ? IV n copies establis|ied by the Comprondse Measures of S50, so far as they are applicable to territorial qrgaoi^af Ijons, are proposed to be affirmed, a^id carLJed.ihto practical operation within' the limits of the ncW-'l^rrt- tory. . J . . With a view of conforming their, action to what they regard as the settled policy of the Government, sanc- tioned by the approving voice of the American Peoplp, your Cominittee have deemed it their duty toi incorporate and perpetuate, in their territorial bill, the.puoQi|)les and spirit of .those measures. If any other . consideration were fieceasary to render' the propriety of this bourse imperative u^on the Gommittee, ttiey ^aybe foutid in the ..feet .that, ^0 Nebraska, country o.eoupies th? same relative, position tio the Slavery question, as did New Mexico and Utah, wfaen those "Territoi'ie'3 were organized. It was a drsputsrd poiflt, whether Slavery^ was pro- hibited ^x>^aw, in, the country acquii^d from. Mexico. On the oue hand, it was contended, as a legal propoa- tlon, that Slavery ha.ving been prohibited by the ena6t- m«hts' of Mexico,' aec6i^ing' lb wie laws of'ViaMons*,we reoeived tiie country with all its ^ocal laws and domes^i institutions , attijcjied t.q ^h^jsoil^so far as they did not conflict with the'Cottstltution of the United States; antj that a law eitheri'priltttiiiin^ or prohibiting Slavery, was not repugnant.'to tlu^t iJMtNiment, aa^was evidenced by tlie fact tiiat one-half nf-the St^ajt^s q^ tl^.Unlon to}dr^^(k THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRTJOGLE. 81 while the other half prohibited, the institution of Slavery, On the otheir hand, it was Insisted tliat, by Virtue of tks Constitution of the United States, every xttiiea had, a ifromthls>dirersityof opinion were greatly aggravated by tlie fact that there were many persons on both sides of the legnl.conbroTersy, who were unwilling to abide the deeision of the' courts on the legftl matters in dispute ; thusj. among those -who claimed that; the Mexican laws were stJll in force, and, consequently, that Slavery was already prohibited in those Territories by' valid enactments, there were many who insisted Upon Congress making the matter certain, by enacting another prohibition. Iniilnemaaaer, some of those who argued that Mexican law had ceased ta have any bindlngioi-ce, and that the Constitution tolei-ated and protected Slave' 'property in tho9e Territories, wei'eunwalling to trus^.jthef dedsloa of the ertuicta upon the pointy and. insisted, t^at Oongreas'sho^ildyby direct power of said Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation, consistent With the Constitution of the United States, and the pro- ' rjaions of this act ; but no law shall be passed Interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed upon the property o£ the United States; nor shall the. lands or -flfther property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or>other property of resi- dents. Jan. 24. — The bill thus reported wag con- sidered ia dominUtee ofthe Whflle and post- ' poued to Monday next, when it was imade'the order of the day, ' The bill was further considered Jan. 31st, ■peb. 3d, Feb. Sth^ and Feb. 6th, when an amend- ment reported by Mr. Douglas, declaring the Missouri Restriction on Slavery *' inoperative and void," being under consideration, Mr. Chase, of Ohio, moved to strike out the assertion that saidRestriation , i , " was superseded by the principles of the legislation of 1850, commonly called the Oompromfee Measures." This motion was defeated by Teas, 13 ; Nays, 30. jfeb. IB. — The bill having been discussed daily until no.w, Mr. Douglas moved to strikfe out of his amendment the wopds^ above quoted (which the Senate had refused^ to strike out on Mr. Chase*s motion,) and insert instead the fol- l&wing.: Which being Inconsistent frith thfe jJrinciple of Non-in- tervention by Confess with Slat^^y^ **^® States and Territories, as r&cognized by the legisMlpn of 1850, (com- monly called thp Comproifllse Measure^p U heteby declared Inon?rative and Void ; it being the trdfe intent and mean- Inir of this act not to legislate ShlVeiy,infO ftHy Territory or State nor to exclude it therefi-om, but to leave the people thereof perfecOy free to fbhn and regxilate their domestic Imtltutlons hi their own way, Sulyect only to the Constitu- tion of the United States— a which prevailed-vTeas, 25; Nays, 10 — as foh- lows: . , m; , 1 . ,-, ^f >., ,., Yeas — ^For DaijgWs new arnentiment : Messrs. Adaqia, Gwin,, Atchison, . Hunter, Bayard, Johdidn, BeU, Jones^ pf Iowa, Bei^amln, Jones, of ^enn., Brodhead, Mason^' Brown, ' MOtftbnj Butler, ' ' Norris, ' Ca^, ' '■ Pearce, Clayton, Pettit, Dawson^ ',' Pratt, ■ ' DixonV" ' Sebastian,' Dodge, of lowp,, SlideU, ' Douglas, '■ ' ": Stuart, Kvans," i . , .■ i') J Thprnpson, of Ky., Fitzpatrick, ToombSj,, Gey6r, . TV'eller, Williams— 85. ■ \ 2^ays — ^Against said amendment ; , Messrs. Allen,, Foot, Chase,. Houston, Dodglej of Wise, Sewavd, Evetet*,' ,^ Sumner, Fish, ] Wade— iQi [Note.— Prior to thU move of Mr. Douglas, Mr. Dixon, (Whig)' of Kentucky, Jones, of Tenn., 4 ' Belinda, Mason, > 'BrodheSid] ' Morton^ Browuj ' J ' " Notris, Butler, '- ■• Pettit, Clay, (C. 0.J, Pratt, Clayton, ' Rusk, Dawson, Sebastian, - Dixon, ■ Shields, Dodge, of Iowa, ' Slidell, . Douglas, ■ • ■ ' Stuart, Evans, : Toucey, PitzpaMok Walkei*^ Gwin, ■ Weller, ' Houston, Williams— 86w Mi;. Badger, qf N. .0., moved to add to the aforesaid section : Provi^0k "that nothing ^er^ contained shall h eonstriM^ to v^e^ifly^ orpv$ i» ./bro^ awy lam gr.retu- laUan> toMah may have, existed^r^oir ito iAe act ty^pih of Marohj ,1820, eiiher protecUng^.^^oliahdnQ^^o- M&i^in0>, or a^oheM^g^. Sktv6rff. " ,' Carried ; Yeas, 35 ; ■ Nays, ' 6. Mr. Clayton now moved to strike ovit somufch of said Deuglas amendment as permits emigrants 82 A POLITICAL TBXT-BOaK FOR 1860. from EuropCj who shall hare ddclared theit in- tention to become citizens^ to vote. Carried: Teas, 23 ; Nays, 21 — as follows : Yeas'-'FoF Clayton's amendment : Messrs. Adama, DbEon, Atcbison, Evans, Badger, FitEpatrick, Bellj ■■ Houston, BerjaDain^ Hunter, , Brbdhead, Johnson, Bro^ra, Jones, of TenzL, Butler, Mason, Clayj MoTton, Claytlon, Pritt, Dawson, .. Sebastian, SUdeU— 28. . J^ays — ^Against Clayton's amendment : Messrs. Chase, Nords, DoiJge, of Wise., P6tt!t, Dodge, of Iowa, Seward, DouglaSj ' Shield^, FeasendeDt Smith, Fish, Stuai^ Foot,. Sumner, 0win, ' Toacey, Hanmn, Wade, Jones, of Iowa, Walker, WUUams— 21. Mr. Chase moved to amend, by providing for the appointment of three Commissioners resid- ing in the Territory to organize the Territory, divide it into election districts, notify an election on the first Monday in September then ensuing, etc., at which election the people should choose tlieir own Governor, as well as a Territorial Legis- lature — the Governor to serve for two years, and the Legislature to meet not later than May, 1855. , This extension of the principle of " ScLuatter , Sovereignty" was defeated — Teas, 10; Nays.SO. Mr. Douglas's amendment was then agreed to. And the bill reported from the Committee of the Whole to the Seaate. The-question on the engrossment of the bill was now reached,, and it was carried: Yeas, 29; Nays, 12. March 3. — The rule assig^iing Frid^s for the consideration of private bills having been sus- pended, on motion of My. Badger, the Senate proceeded to put the Nebraska-Kansas bill on its final passage, when a long and earnest de- bate ensued. At a late hour of the night Mri. Seward, of New York, addressed the Senate, in opposition to the bill, as follows.: Mb, Paebibbnt : I rise with no purppse of further rei- ■Is^ing or «ven delaying the passage of this bill. Let it^ advocates have ohly a little patience, and they will soop reach the object far which they hare struggled so earnestly and so long, The sun has set for the lasb time upon the guaranteed and certain liberties of all the unsettled ana unorganized portions of the Amei^can. oontin«it that life Within the jumdiction of the United StQites. To-morrow*B Bun will rise in dim eclipse over them. How long that ob- scuration shall last, Is known only to the Power that di- recta and controls, all human events. For myself, I kno# only this — ^that now no human power will prevent its com- ing on, an(i that its passing off will be hasteqed and se- cured by oAbers than those now here, and perhaps by only those belonging tcf future generations. Sir, It would' be almost factious to offer fuj^her resist- ance to this n\ea,sure here. Indeed, siiccessfui resiiM'&Q<^ was never «^edted to fee made in'this Hall. The' Sfenate- flooris an old battle-ground, on wl^Gh have l)een fotight many contests, and always, at least since is^, with fortune Adverse to the cause of equ^land universal freedom. We Vete only & fg^ here who engaged In that cause in the bei^nii^g of this contest. All that we could hope to do '•—all that we did hope to do— was to organice and pre- pare the issue for the House of Repi-esentatiVes, to whJcb the country would' look fOf its, decision as authoritative, and to awakeo the country that it mlgbt 1)6 ready for the Sppeal which wottld be Madfi, whatever the diecM&n of. ongress ml^ "Vie. We are no stronger now. Onlj^ four- teen at the first, It will be fortunate if, among the ills and accidents wUch^ surround us, we sbaU miuntaia that nunir berto theend.- We are-on ttfe ere of the consummation of a great ni^ tional toafDsacUon^a transaction' whioh. will closd & cycle in the hi^ory of our country — and. it is in^possible not to desire to pause a moment and survey tl»& scene* around m, and the prospect before us, H^^rever obspuce we may individuaUy be, our connection with tiiis great transaction will pe^etuate our names for the praise or for tbe ce^ sure of future ages, and perhapsi in regions far nemote. If, then, we had noother motive for our actions than but that of the honest desire for a |ust fame, ve could not be indifferent.to that scene and that prospect. But individual interests and ambition sink into iasl^&cance.in view ts[ the interests of our countiy and of mankind. These inter- ests awaken, at least in me, an intense soUcUude, It was said by some in tiie be^bnlng, and it has: beep s£dd by others laterin this debate, t^at. it was doubtfiil whether it would be the cause of Slavery or the cause of Freedom that would g£^n advantages. from the passage (tf this bill. I do not find it necefflary to he censorious, nor even unjus^ to others, in order that my own coui:se .may be approved; I am sur^'that the honorable S^atoF from lUinois [Mn Boir^las] did not mean thai, the ^ave States should gain an-advantage over the Free States; for.be disclaimed It when he introduced tins bill.^ I b«U&ve Injall candorj t^at the hoDorable ' S^niator ftrrati iGeorf^, [&k. Toombs,Twfao comes out at the ek«e of ttie battlers ope of tbe oMefest leaders of the victoviouB> pasty, is.smcwein declaring bis own opinion ^ that the Sl^ve States will g«^ no unjust advantage over ttie Free States, because he dis- claims it aa a itriumph in their behaUl Notwithstanding all this^ howeveif, what has occurred here, and m itlie country, dating this contest, has compelled a coavJetton that Slareiy wUl gala something), and Ihvedom wiU eo^re a severe, l^ou^ I hope not an irretrievable^ loss. The slaveholding 1 States are passive, < -quiet, and content, and satisfied with the prospective boon ; and the Free States are excited and alaiaued witb &arC^ forebodings and apprehensions^ The impatiience for the ^eedy pa^ sage of the bill, manifested by its fricnda, betrays»ra knowledge that this, is the condition of public seatirawl in the Free States. They tiiougfat in the beginning that it was necessary to guard the measure by iDserting tbe Clayton amendment, which would exclude unnoturalisd foreign iahabitants of the Terrkories from the ligbt of suffrage. Arad^now they seem willing, with ajmost perfect nnanMity, to relinquish that safeguard, rather tiian to delay the adoption itf the principal measure for at juost a year, perhaps f^ only a week or a day. Suppose that the Senate ^ould ^aiUiere to that condition, wjuchso lat^y was thought so wise and. so important — what then? The biU eoutd only go back to the House, of Representatives, which must either yield or Insist ! In the one case or in the othec^ a decision in ^vor of the l^ill would4)e §,e&ured: for even if the House should disagree, the Senate \rould have time to recede. But the majorfty'will Imiard no- tlnng, even mn ^a. prospect so owtain as ihi^, ?!hey wH recede at once, without a moment^s further str4ggle,, t^6m the conditi^, and thus secure the passage of t^is bill now, to-night. Wliy such haste f Even if t^e question were to go to l^e eovsntiy before a fihal decision hene, what would there be wa;ong in that?. . Ther^^is no m^ Uxing who w411 say that the country aiM^icipated, or ttiat As anticipated, the a^tatlpn of ttiis measdr^ in Congress, when this Con* gross was elected, or even when it assembled in Decem- ber last. Under such circumstances, and in the midst of abla- tion, and excitement, and debates, it ia only fax^ to say, that cerbaMly 4he country has not decided ia fiaror oJE the bill. The-reAi&al, then, to let the vmestion go tq the Cpun- tryf JB a <5onclusive proof that the Slave StateSias^pre- sented'here,' expect-from the passage of this bill what the Free States insist that they will lose by it — an advantage, a material adi^ntage^ aad2iota.mereabst£aptiDn. There are men in the Slave States, as in tb^ Free States, who in- sist always too ijertbatitrasly upon mere abstractions. But that is not the pbllby of th^e Slave States to-day. They are l|i But the honorable Senator says that the people of Nebvaska' will have the privilege of establishing institutions for themselves. They have now the privilege of establishing frde institutions. Is it a pri- vilege, then, to establUh Slavery ? If so, what a mookery are aUour'ConatituIbioiks, whioh prevent the inhabitants from capriciously sub vei'ting free institutions and estab- lishing institutions i)f Slavery ! Sir, it is a sophism, a sub- tlety, to talk of confen'ing upon a country, already secure in the blessings of Freedom, the power of self-destruction. What mankind everywhra'e w'ant, is not the removal of the Constitutions of Freedom which they have, that they may make at theit* :ideasure Constitutions of Slavery ax of Freedom, but the privilege of retaining Consiitu^- tions of Freedom when they already have them, and the remo'waL of Constitutions of Slavery when they have them, t^t t^y may establish Constitutions- of Freedom in their place. We hold on tenaciously to all existing CoustJtj^ions pf Freedom. Who denounces any man for diligently adhering to such Constitutions? Who would dare to denounce any one for disloyalty to our existing Constitutions, if they were Constitutions of D^potism and 84 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. SiaTory ? But it ^ sappoaed by some that (his principle l& less Import^Qtla regard to i^ansas '^nd N^braslca than i a^ general one-^a general principle applicable to all other present and future TerritorleB of the United States. Do honorable Senators then indeed suppose they are establishing a principle at all? < If so, I thinlc tfiey egre^ously err, ^rhether the principle . 1^ either good or bad, right or wrong. They are not establishing it* and cannot establish it i^ this way., You subvert one law capriciously, by malcing another law in its place. That ta all^ Will your law have any more weight, authority, solemnity, or binding force on future Congr«sses, than thjB first had? You abrogate the law of your predeces- sors — otheia will have equal power and- equal liberty to abrogate yours. Xou. allow no barriers around the pld law, to prplect it from, jabrogation. You erect aone around your new lawi to stay the han^ of future innova- tors. ....,;. Sir, in saying ihat; your neiir. principle will not be established by this bill, I reason froni obvious, clear, well Be1^tledi>rincin]es of humaanatur^. gl^e^y and Freedom are, antagqnlstical elements in this country. The founders of the Constitution Jramed it with « Icnowledge of that antagonism, and suffered it to continue, that it might work out its own ends* There is a commercial antagonism, an irreconcilable onerbetween-tltesystems of free labor and slave labor. They have been at war with each other ever since the Qiovernment was estab- lished, and that war is to continue forever. The contest, when it ripens between these two antagonistic elements, Is to be settled somewhere ; it la to be settled in the seat of central powjer, In the Federal Legislature. The Con- stitution makes it the duty of the central G-overnment to determine questions, as often as they shall arise, luilavor of one or the other party, and refers the dedaion of them, to the piqjonty'of the votes in the two Houses' of Oongress. It wUl come back here, then, in spite of all the efforts to escape from it. .^his antagonism must end cit^berin ai separation of the antagonistic parties — the Slaveholding States and the E'ree States— or, secondly, in the complete establishment of the influence of the Slave power over the Free — or ^lse,.on the other hand, in the establishment lOf the eupedor influence of Freedam over the interests of Slavery. It will not be terminated by a voluntary seces- sion of either party.- Commercial intereata bind the Slare States and the Free States together la links of gold that are riveted with iron, and they cannot be broken by passion or by ambition. Either party will Bubmit to the ascendency of the other, rather than yield the commer- GiiaL advantages of this Union. Political ties bind the Union together — a common necessity, and not merely a . common necessity, but the common interests of empirie— ^of such empire as the world has never before seen. The .control of the national power is the control of the great Western Continent ; and the control of this continent is to be,,iu a very few years, the controlling in- fluence in the world. Who is there, North, that hates Slavery so much, or who. South, that hates emancipa- tion, so intensely^ that he can attempt, with any hope of success, to break a Union thus forged and welded to- gether r I have always heard, with equal pity and dis- gust, threats of disunion in the Free States, and similar threats in the Slaveholding States. I know that men may rave in the heat . of passion, and under great politi- cal excitement ; but I know that when it comes to a ques- tion whether this Union shall stand, either with Freedom or with Slavery, the masses will uphold it, and it will rtand until some inherent vitie In its Constitution, not yet Usclosed, shall cause its dissolution. Now, entertaining hese opinions, there are for me only two alternatives, tiz. : either to let Slavery gain unlimited sway, or so to exert what little power and influence I may have, as to secure, if I can, the ultimate predominance of Free- dom. .... ! ; Sir, I have always said that I should not despond, £ven if this fearful measure should be effected; nor do I now despond. Although, reasoning from my present convictions, 1 should not Iiave voted fbr the compromise of 1820, I have labored, in the very spirit of those who .establishadit, to save the landmark of Freedom whidi it assigned. I have not spoken irreverently even of tlie compromise of 1850, which, as all men know, I opposed earnestly and with diligence. . Nevertheless, I have al- ways preferred the compromises of the Constitution, and have wanted n^ others. . I feared all others. This was a leading principle of the great statesman of the South, (Mr. Calhoun). Said he : *'I see my wa,y In^e Constitution; I cannot In a com- promise. AcompFomiseisbutanactof Oongresg. Itmaybe overruled at any Ume. It glres us no securi^. But the Consll- tuiiou is stable. It is a rock on which we ban stand, and on which we can meet our fi-i^nda from the non-slaveholcUug States. It is a^flrm and stable ground, on which we am bet- ter stand In oftpo^aioE to fanaticism than pn the shifilng sands of compromise. Let us be done *rllh compramiBea. Letug go back and stand upon the Constitution." I flt06d upon this ground in 1850, defending Freedom upon it as Mr. Calhoun did in defending Slavery. I was overruled then, and 1 have waited since without propos- ing to abrogate any compromises. It has been no proposition of mine to abrogate them now ; but the proposition has come from another quar- ter—from an adverse one. It Is about to prevail. The shifting sands of compromise are passing from under my feet, and they are now, without' agency of iny own, tak ing hdid' again on the rOck of the Cbnstitutiofi. It shall be no fault of intne if they do not remain Arm. This seems to me auspicious of better days and wiser legisla- tion. Through all the darkness and gloom of the pre^ sent hour^ bright stars are breakiri^, that inspire me with hope, and excite me to perseverance, They show that the day ot compromises ^as past forevet, and that hence- forward all great question^ between Freedom and Slavery legitimately coming h^e— and none other can come— shall be d'ecided, as they dught to be, upon their merits, by a fair esTercise of le^latlvC pnwer, and not by bargains of equlrocf^ prudence,' if not of doubtfiU morality. ^ , Mr. Douglas closed the debate, reiterating and enforcing the views set forth In his Report already referred to ; and at last the vote was taken, and, the bill passed: Teas, 37; Nays, JTeoa— For the Kansas-Nebraska bill : Messrs. Adams, Atchlaoq, iitid'ger. Bayard, ' Benjamin, Brodhead, Brown, Butlet, Cass,' Clay, of Ala., Bawson, Dixon, Dodge, of Iowa, Douglasj Dvans, Fitzpatrlck, Geyer, ' Gwin, Hnnter, Jolinaon, Jones, of Iowa, Jones, ofTenn., Mason, Morton^ N orris, Pettit, Pratt, Busk, Sebastian, Shields, Slidell, Stuart, Thompson, of Ey. Thomson, of N. J., Toucey, WeUer, Williams— 87. j/o^s— Against the said biU :.. . MessrSi. Bell, Houston, ■ Ohase, James, Dodge, of Wise, Seward, Fessenden, Smith, iFiah, Sumner, - Foot, • Wade, Hamlin, Walker^l4 So the bill was passed, and Us title declared to be "An Act to organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kaasas," and the Senate ad- journed over to the Tuesday following. j In the House, a bill to organize the Territory of Nebraskg, had been noticed on the J&rst day of the eessiop, by Mr. John G, Miller, of Mo., who introd-uced it December 22d. Jan. 24th. — Mr. Giddings gave notice of a bill to organize said Territory. Jan. 30. — Mr. Pringle, of N. T., endeavored to have the bill passed at the lust session (leav- ing the Missouri Restriction intact), reported by the Committee on Territories ; but debate aro^e, and his resolution lay over. " ■ Jan. Sl.-pMr. Richar4Ro°» of III., chiairnian of the Committee on Territories, reported a bill " To organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas," which was read, twice and com- mitted. Mr. Richardson^s bill was substantially Mr. Douglases last bill, and was accompanied by lio report. Mr. English, of Ind., submitted the TfflB i KAHSASi-MlBBASEA' STRCGGSLB. 86 views of a minorjty 6f said Comraittee on Ter^ ritories, progosingj ■9ithQ\it ' argument, the two following amendments : ■ 1. Amend ' tfie section defining the boundary of Kansaiit so asto Iaake^ " the summit of the ^ocky. Mountains" the western boundary, of said Territory. 2. Strike out of the 14th and 34th seotioijs of said bill all after the words " tjnited States," and insert in each instance (the one relating to Kansas, and the other to Ne^Draska) as fol- lows : Provided, That nbtMn^ in this act shall be so con- strued as to pr?T?nt the people of said T^n-itory, through the properly constituted le^Slilive authoril(y, (I'oin 'pass- ing such l^aws, ifi relation to .the institution 'of Slavery, as they may deem best adapted to their locality, and most conduclre to their happiness and welfare ; and so much of any existSdg act of Congress as may conflict with'tlie above right of the people to regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, be, and the same is here- by, repealed. ,, -..'7,-^^ This appears to have been an attempt fo give practical effect to the doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty; but it was not successful. "MoffSth. — On motion of Mr. Richardson, the Ho^use— Yeas, 109; Nays, 88— resolved Itself into a Committee of the Whole, and took up the bill (House No. 236) to organize the Terri- tories of Nebraska and Kansas, and discussed it — Mr. Olds, of Ohio, in the chair. On coming out Of Committee, Mr. G4o*g^ W. Jones, of Tenn., moved that the riiles be sus- pended so as to enabte him to move the print- ing of Senate bill (No. 22,'passed the Senate as aforesaid) and the amendment now pending to the House bill. No quorum voted — adjourned. May 9th. — This motion prevailed." After de- bate in Committee on the Kansas-Nebjaska hill, the Committee found itself without a quorum, and thereupon rose and reported the fact to the House — only 106 Members were found to be present. After several fruitless attempts to' ad- jblirh, a call was ordered and a quorum ob- tained, at 9 P.M. At lOj^an adjournment pre- vailed. ' Mcfy loth. — Debate ip Committee continued. ^ May Wth. — Mr. Eichardsdn moved that alj debate in Committee close to'* ■ ■ '-■•"• ■ ■ ' ' I Debi^te having been clos^pl, fhe opponents pf the measure expected to defeat or cripple it .by moving and taking a vote in Committee on V;ari(JUs' propositions of amendment, kindred td those moved and rejected' ^n the Senate ; some of which it was beliered a majority of the House would not choose (or dare) to voite down; and, though the'names of those yotiiig on one side or th^ other in Committee of the Whole are JtiOi recorded, yet any proposition moved aha rejected there, may be renewed in. thejHoUse after taking the bill out of commit- tee, and is no longer cut off by the Previous Question, as it formerly was. But, when the hour tot closing debate in Committee had arrived', Mr. Alexj'H. Stephens moved that the enacting clause qfthe bill be stricken ovit i which was eapried by a rally of the- friends of the bill, and of course cut off all amendments. The bill was thus reported td 'the House, with its head off; when, .after a- .long struggle, the House refitted to agree to their^port of the-Gom- mitte^ of thg. Whole — Yeas, ^or agreeing) 97 ; i^ays, l"l7-^bringlpg the House itp a dir^et yof^ on the engrossment of the bill. . •Mr. Richar^sbn no*(7 moved an amerfdipelit, which was a: sij.|istitu^ei for the jyhole SiB,„bAing substantially the. Senate's bill, with the clause admitting aliens, who have declared their in- tention to become citizens, to the right of suf- fragau He thereupon called the Previous Ques- tion, which the House sustained — Yeas, 116; Nays,' '90 — when the House adopted his amfiiqd- menfc^^Yeas, liB ; Nays, 95 — and proceeded rto engross the bijl — Yeas, 112 ; N?,ys, 99 — when he pnt on tf(e Previous ^^lestiou a'ga^' and passed the bill finally— .Yeas, llS ; Nays, 100 — as follows : A POLITICAIi TBXTtBQOK TOE 18B0. Teas— 118. fbou ibb free states. MiiJiB. — Moses McDonald— 1. Nbtt-Hampshibk— Harry Hibbard— 1. OoSHEOtnCDT. — OoUn MilngersoU— 1. ViRUONT.— Jfone. Massaobusetis,— JToni. Ehodb IswHD.— JTome. , . .• w. ^ NtT-tOBi£.-^ThioInia W, Otnnmhig, Tranols B. aoQ W. Harris, George S. Houston, Philip ^MWpB,' WUIiam K. Smith— T. ' Miaaissirci.- William S, iBarry, WiUiaqt Batkadale, Otho R., Singletoq, Danie; B. Wr%ht— 1. ' LotiiBtANA.— William Dunbar, Rolana Jonea, John Per- king, jr.— 8 • KBirapOKi;. — John O.41 Breckinridge, Jua^ £. Chris- man, ZeanderjyC. CirMB T. flaffmr, George HgisUngs, tSolomon, G.' Bmen, Charles Hughes,Daniel T. Jones, Oraammt S. Matttson, Sd^oin S. Morgan, WllliBm Murray, Andrew Olivejj, JOiTW f. Peck, Eufiis W. Pcckham, Bishop Perkins, BenjamHn PrvUgle, J8tt»««W Sage, George A. ;Sft»»»on«j Gbbrii Smith, John Wheeler — 22. :&pii~is^Sfs.x^^Alm. <3. M. Pmmingtan, Challes Skol- Iton, Nathan T. Strattcm— li. I PEN8SYLVANiA.-^o»BpA B. ChoilfKer, Carlton B. Cur- tis, Jotm Sifoh, lAugiutae Srutn, WilHmn Mcirhart, James Gamble, Galusha A. Grow, leuoie X. IJUtter, Thomae M. B^wtfJblm ltla(hi.HoeiiJSFer JSfiddleswart/i, Bamd BittMi, muMlel L. MueeeU, Michiel C. Trout— 14. .'-,.. OBKi-r-XividirclSail, Lame D. Campbell, Alfred P. Edgei-ton, Andrew Ellisoq, JpseuA R. GiDpiKGS, Aar^ Ba¥lam,,Js1vn, Sdott Halmedii, H. H. Johhson, WiiUam |D. Lindsey, M. H. Nichols, Thomas Rlchey, Wllliain S. 5iz^, Andrew Stuart, /oA^lXw Waiyior, ISdwabd W^pb iNDifsi Andrew J. Harjan, Daniel Mace, SamoA W. Parher—i. iLUNoiB.— Barnes Knox, Jeese 0- NorUM, SlUm JB. Was!i3>ifrne, John Wentworth, Sicluird Yatee—b. Michigan. — David A. Noble, Hestor L. Stevens— 2, Wi^coiis»i.r^enjami(LC. Haatmao, Daniel Wells, Jr.— 2. .. . . loyrL-Sbne. CALifOBHiA.— Jin>n«. Total— 91. ' BOUTHBBN STATBS. ViBOiNil.— John S. MillsoB— 1. NoKTH Cabolina.— .^(Stord G. PmTf*a,r, Bion B. Rogere—% TbhnesSkb.- ^oSer* M. £iigg,WiUittm, OuVamEmtr- eon Ethtridge, Hafhanixl &. Tai/ior—i. LonisiASA.— JTAowiareG. Hwni-rl. MiSBooEi.— Thomas H. Beqton — 1. Dtheb SonrfaSBN'SiATES.— .JToas. Total— 9. JCot^, free aai Slave States— 100. .A-bsent, or not voli)i^ — 21. N. Enoland S!SATBA,-^Williaai Applelon, of Mass.— ^ Nbw-Yobk.— n4. Mississippi. — Wiley P. Harris — 1. Eentdoey.— Llnp Boyd, (Speaker,) Pretley Huaing^rX Missouri — Samuel OSUTrffter*— 1. AreanbaI.— JToiM. Florida. — Sone, IsSis.—Ilbne. Tbhhesseb — None. Lo^faiuii..—2rqne. total Scorn Skye States — 12. .: Whigs In Saliee. Abolitionists In bmau, OAPrrALB. Democrats in Roman. , i Ma^ 23(f^-Tbe bill being thus sent to the Senate (not as a Seiiate but as a House bill), was sent at once to. tlie Committee of the Whole, ' and there briefly considered. " Maj/ 24iA.— ^Mr., Pearo!e,.«f Maryland, moved to strike dut the clause in section &, which ex< i tends the right of suffrage to those who shall have! declared on bith their Inten. tlori to beoome such, {cltiaoos] and shall have taken an oath to support thf Coi^titi^tion of the t;nll)ed.States, and the provisions of this act. ' Negatived— Yeas; Bayard, Bell, Brodljead, Brown, Clayton, Pearce, and Thompson of Kentucky. Nays, 41. The bill was then ordered to |?e engrossed TBE KAi«SAS-3!fEBBA§£;A STRUGGLE, 8T for a third reading — ^Yeaa, 36; Nays, 13, as follows: ,., Yeas — For Engrossing : ►•^ssra. Atchisoii, Mo.. Mason, Va,, Mattger, N. C, Xortoiu, Fl»., S<>njami^, lie,,, Nori;is,lI.'Q Bifldhead, Pa., I'earee, Md., Brown, SJis3., Pwtit.rlnci., Butler, S. O., iVoW.Ma., Oass, Mioh., ■ Hu'sk.TeXas, ' Oray, ila., ;, Sebastian, Ark,, I>a&mn,vttu, Shields, III, Douglas, 111., BUdelli La., Fitspatriok, Ala;, BMlart, Mich., Gwin, Oal., THomOmn, Ky., Huiiter, Va.. Thptosdn, H. J., JohnaoD, Ait, Toonibs, €fa., Jones, lovra, Toucey, Ct., JOTteSf Tenn., "Welter, Cal., Mallory, Fla.. , Wllli*ma, 8, H., WiVt, ST. J.,-85. iVayg — Against Engrossing : Messrs. Allen/R. T., GilI/Ette, Ct., £eU,^eQn.n Hamlin, Me., CuASE^ Otiip, James, B. 1., Cla^toti, Del., S&Uiard, N. Y., .f^tA^, N. .7., SuMNBfi, Mass., Jbot, Vt., Wolie, Ohio. Walker, Wis.— IS. Democrats In Roman ; Whigs iu Ii(iUc»; Free Demo- crats, la Suall Gaps. The bill was then passed without farther division, Sind, being approved by the President, became a lav. The clause in the l^th section, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, with the Badger proviso^ is as follows : X That the ConstHu'tioQ' and all the laivis of the United / States wihieh are not krabJly inapplicable, shall have the > / same force and effect within the said territory of .Ne- I braska, as elsewhere within the United-States, except the' I eighth section of the act preparatory to the admission of \ Missouri into the Union, approved March sixth, eighteen I hundred and twenty, which being inconsistent wLdi the I principles of non-intervention by Congress with Slavery / In the States awl 3;ercitaiiea, as recogaiied by the legi^- I tion of eighteen hundred and fifty, compjbuly Called the I Compromise Measures, is "hereby declaimed 'ihoperativc \ and void; it'-beln? thci^uewintentand. lueaniQ^ofthis act not to legislate .Slavery into any Ter«itory-or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people' there- of perfectly free to form and regulate 'their domestic in- stitutions in their own way. subject only to the Constitu- tion of the United States; Provided^ 3^at nothipg here- in contained shall be construed to revive pr pat in force any law or regulation which nJay have Existed prior to' the act o-f sixth of March, eighteen hundred and twenty, either protecting, estabUshlng, prohibiting or abolishing aiavery. Xtec. 3, ISSS.'— The XXXlVth Congress con- vened at the Capitol, in Washington.— Jesse D. Bright, of Ind-, holding over as Preadent pro tempore of the, Senate, in placp of IfiqefPresi- dent William K. King, of Alabania, defseased.. A quorum of either House was found to he present. ^ But the House found itself unable to organize by the ehoioe of a Speaker, ulitil after an un- precedented struggle of nine weeks' duration. Finally, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 1S56, the plu- rality-rule was adopted — Yeas, 113; Nays, lOl and the House proceeded uuder it to its one hundred and thirty-third ballot for speaker, when Nathaniel P. Banks, jr. (anti-Nebraska) of Massachusetts, was chosen, having 103 votes to IGO, forWillian) Ailsen, of South Caro- lina; Eleven votes scattered on other persons did not count agalinst a choice. It was there- fore resolved— Yea's, 156 ; .Nays, 40— that J![,r. Banks was duly elected Speaker. But, during t!ie pendency of thiselection, the Presidenlhad t.-ansmitted to bot^ Housesij first (JJ^R. 31st) hisAnnijal JIessfige,,aBd.iierxt (Jan. 24th) a ^eq^al.message with regai^d to the oon- ditioaof K^nsfis, in which he thus aUmlfis to those who think-Sfavery not the best institution to ma^^ a prosperous and happy State, and to those who opposed the repesil of the j^issQurJ restriction : This Interference, in so far as concerns its primary causes and Us immediate coitTmenceliie6t,'was one- of the Incidents of that 'pernicibus agitation on the subject of the condition of the cDlaredii>krsane:faeld to service la fame of the States, w^tichhas so, long disturbed tlie fn- pose of our country, and excited individuals, otherwise patriotic and law-abiding, to toil with -misdirected zeal in the attempitto propagate theU'- social liheorieB by tlie perversion and abuse of tlie powers of Congress. $Ke persons'and parties whom the tenor of the act to or^nlve the Territories of Nebra^a and Kansas ihWarbe^d-ili the endeavor to inipose, through tJle agency bf Congress, their particular views of social organiza- ti'on en the people of tlie future new States, now per- celving'thart thepolicy of leaving the inhabitants of each State to jud^ for Vheinseivea in this ivi^pectwaslneradi- cably Tooted ib the convictions of the people of the IXnion, then liad -recourse, In the |)UV6uit of their general otgeofc,' to' the-extraordsnary measure of propag'andist oolo&ixqtion of the Tei?ritory of Kansas, -to-preVem the ft^ee and natural action of Sfcs inhabitants in its internal or.ganization and thus to anticipate or to force the deter- mination of that questinin in this inchoate -State. , -The President makes the following refer- ence to the action of the people of Kansas, who, HflaiMing the right " peaceably- to aSseia- He and petition for a redress of grievances, did so assemble, and sent & petition to Cou- 'gress, to permit tlicm to form a State Govern- ment, wltlii the Coxistitution submitted : ' ' Following . 'ijybn this ^ movement was another and mofe imporfea^lit one of the 'same general character. Persons conitess.edly not constituting the body politic, or all the inhatnMtltS,^bilt merely a'plvi'ty of the inhabitants, and without law, have undertaken t6 Suuimo'n a conven- tion ifor-.th«gt^posevf ticansforjaifT^ t^e Territory iqtQ a State, and nave'fram'ed a constitution, adopted it, and oitidei' it elected a governor abd other oSders, anft a a-epnesentative -to Congress. March 12, — In Senate, Mr. Douglas, of Illi- nois, from the Committee on Territories, made a report on Wi*tteTB relating to Kansas affairs, in which he says : The act of Congi-esa' fbr the organization the Terr i-^tories of Kansas -and Mebraslca, was designed to -con- farm to the spirit. and lett^r~pf -the federal Constitution, -by preserving ^Ad maintaining the fundamental principle of equality among all the 'States' of the 1!riJidn,1iotw1th- standiUg tfti'e VestrictioA CODtained- in the 8th section of the act theiSlwve-power, and prohi-< biting Slavery in Kansas, with the view of making it», Free^tait'e. Exaggerated account ' of the lArge number of -emigrants on their way under the -auspices of the emi^ grant aicLcompiUiies, with the vi&wot .controlUng the elec- tion fpi^ piembers of the Tenutoria^ Le^ature, which was to tak^lacp-on the SOth of March, 1850, were published and ci^ciiTa^d. These accounts, being republished and be- JlBVed lii-^lfissouti, where the excitement had already beeh inflamed to a fearful intensity, induced a corresponding effort to send at teast an equal numb^; td iohnteract th« apprehended result of the new importation. The report then giv^s a history §f the Legisla- ture elected March ,30th, 1855, j^ removal froi|i , Pawnee City to the iShawnee .Mission, its subse- quent quarrel with Gov. Eeeder,. and continues : A few day^after, Governor Reeder dissolved his official relations withHhe legblature, on &c6oxaxt oi the removal of the seat of gqverivn,eiit, and while' that body yas still 1 La session, a meeting was called by " many voters," to as- semble at tawrence, on the 14th or 15ti?Df August, 1856, " to take into 6opslderatlon the propKety of calung a Ter- ritorial GonvenUon, prs^minary to the formation of a State Governments anii pther ^^ubjects'of public jnter&it." At that meeting, the fdllowiqg preamble add resolutions were adopted with but one dissenting voice :, " WJiereaa, the people of Kansas Territory h^-ve b^n since the settlement, and now are, without any law-m^kiag.power ; " Be it riiolveS, That we, tl^e people of KS-nsas Teirltory, la mass meeting assembled, Irrespectfre of parly distinctfons, In- fiuenced by a common necessity, and gjreaUy de^ous of pro- moting the common good, do hereby call upOn and request all 60710 fide clU^as of Kansas Territory, of^whatever pollUcaX. views and predilections, to consult together in ^eir respective election district^, and In mass conventim or olherwjise, elect three delegates for each representative In the Jtegislative as- sembly, by proclamation of Governor Reeder of date lOlh March, 1865; said delegates to assembly In -convention at the town of Topeka, on the 19lh day of September, 1855, then and there to consider and determine upon alLsubjects of public in* terest, and particularly upon that having reference to the speed^^Tormatioo of a State Constitution, with an intention Of an Immediate application to be admitted as a State into the ' Union of the United States of Aiperica." This meeting, so far ^s your Cbmnilttee have been able to ascertain, was the first step ^ that series Of proceedhiga - which resulted in the adoption of a Constitution and State' Government^ to be put in operatloaon the 4th of the pre- bent month, m siib.ver?ion of the Territorial Government established under tfie authority of Gongress. The rightlio' set up the State Government In defiance of the constitu- ted authorities of the Territory, isbaeed on the assumptiffli^, " that the people of Kansas Territory have been since its settlement, and now are, without any law-making power ;"> in the face of the well-known fact, that the Territorial Ler. ^lature was then in session, in pursuance of titie proK clamatilon of Governor Reeder, and the organic law of Uie - Territory. The report then proceeds to narrate the cir cumstanccs attending the formation of a State ; Government in Michigan, Arkansas, Florida and California, and states *hat *Mn every instance the proceeding has drigiiiated with, and been' conducted in subordination to, the authority of the local governments established or recognized by the Government of the United States." It then refers to the case of the effort to change the organic law, made in IJhode Island some years ago, from which it says the *' insurgents" (as the Free-State party in Kansas is called) ** can derive no aid or comfort." The following' tjonfcludes the Report ; the words in Italics btelow/ perhaps explain in what sense the people of a Territory are ''perfectly free to form theijr own institutions, in their own way :" Without deemtnjT it necessary to express any oplhlon'^n this occasion,' fa refei^nbe ib the merits of that contro- versy, [referxing to .Bhqde Jslan4)],it is evident thfht, the principles uppn which it was condvtcted- ^re not involve^ in the revolutionary strii^^le now going on hi lEansas ; for the ifeason, that M-e sovei^eiffnt!/ dfa Territory remmm iKh abeyance, ^tf^fer^ed in the W^i^wl' States^ 4n ^n)^| 'fo1\th6^peo^0J unpU theyHh^lJ, 'b6.qi(f.i(n,iUe(i into tM UtUoa as a state. In 'ih^ meoTrnme^iKey are entitle^ to enjoy and ^oertiee ttU the priAMegen €MUi riphts '^p ae^-gaoerrmbent^ in.auborditiMion to the Gonatii^ion of t^e UTkited iStat€S^ amd in ohediez^e to their organio liiio p(£6sed by Congress in pu^aii^ce of thai iiiMr^ mhia. These riots' and privileges are all' derived fifoni the Oonstitution, through the actof Gongress, andmiiatbe exercised and eb^yediQ 'Subjection to aU the. .limlja^id and, restrictions which tha^ Constitution imposes. Hen'c& it is clear that' thepfei^ o^'^e Tferrltbiy have no Idh^iM sovereign right, under tne'Cloii^tutionof the United StatoL to apnul' the l^ws and resisit the authority o^ the Territorial govei^ment which Congress has established in obedienu to the Constltutibd, . i . i . , THE ' KANSAS^NEBRASKA STRtTGGLE,- 89 In tracings (Ltep by stop, the origin and hiattiry of these Kansas difficu|Ues", your Cbmipciittee.ljave beeh profoundly impressed with the .significant f$ct, that each ofie has re-' Bujted from an attemjiit to vIol8(te pr ci);cuinvent the prin- ciples and provisions of the a^cl of CanffresS for the oi^an- izati,on of Kansas and Nebraska* Tjje Reading Idea and fundamental principle, of ,the Kansas-Nebraska act, as ex- pressed in the la;ff iterff, vaa to leave the 'actual nir tlera, tmd bana-j^ae. if^habiiaaiia of each TerriiQry '; perfectly freeia fo^rrn, ap-d, regulate their domesUa vnftUutiom tn. their oi^nwm/, subject only to iheVon- siiiutionof tJie United ,Sme9f" WhUeth& is declared to be the "trije ,int^t ;and pijeaning of the act," those who were opposed to (illowing the'people of the Territory, preparatory to their admission into the Union as a State, to decide the SlaYery question for themselVes, failing' to aceompliflb theii; purpose in the Jbaijaof Congress, and un- der the authority of the Oona^tution, fanmediately resorted, in then- respective S1,ates, to unusual and extraordinary mea^ to control tl^e ppUticaldeslMesandg^iape the do- mestic instituUons of Kansas, in defiance, oi the wishes, aj^d regardless ,o£ the rights, of the people of that Terri- tory, as guarantee^ by their organic law. Combinations, m one section oi;,theU^oti,^o ^tunulate an apnaturaland false syateii^ pf emjigration, with the view of controlling th^ electlqflS|;and forcing liie domesfic ,instiiutions of.ifie IJerrMory tq assumlate to those of tlie non-slaveholdiog States; were fpllowed, as might have been foreseen, by the useofamilar means in the slaveholding States, ito pro- duce directly the opposite result. To these causes,' and to wese alone, ^,iI^, the opinion of yoiu*, Committee, may be traced the origin and progi-ess of all the controversies and (^ the Legiislalture; that the Terrifiory contains nipety-Qiree' thohsand, foiar hundred and twenty inhabi- tants— that beln^ the number rfequired by* the present ratio of, rep'res^erSatiOn'for amemberof Cotogrefls. ■ In (lompUaxice with the other rebomm^datibti, your Committee ^rObos'e 'to. offer to the appropriation bill an amendment aj^fisbbtiating such' sum as fehalllje found ne- cessary, by lh'e;estifealte's to be (ibtahied^ fbr the piilWose ihdicateti in ttio reiiommendatiop of the Pk-^sident; ^ '' ■ AU of which is respectfully submitted to the Senate by your Comniittee. / '^ Mr. Collamer, of "Vermont, the Republican ipemher, pf same , Copaiflittee,- ^ sub^mitted a mi- n-ority. report, in which, he aays ; . . Thirteen of tb^preseui prosperous States of this Union passed . througli the perioo of apprenticeship or' pupilage of territorial training, under the guardianship of Congress, preparatory to assuming their prou^ r^hk of manhood as sovei'dgn and independent -Stat^S' Sp^ p^iod of theit' pupilage was, iu every case, a perio^^of the good offi- ces of parent and child, in the kmd relatiou'ship siistamed between. Jihe' Natioual and -the TjeiTitorial Government, and may beremeiz^hered'With/fejBlings of gratitude and pride. We have fallen on different times. A territory of our government is now convulsed with violence and dia- cord,jand the whole family of our nation is in a state of excitement and anxiety. The National Executive power i^put in motion, the army in requisition, and Congress is invoked for interference. ■ ,- ■ In.this case, as in ail others oX difficulty, it becomes ne- oessary to inquire what is the t);ue ca/me of e^^fsting trou- ble^ in ovder to^pply effectual cure. It is but a temporary palliati«e.to deal wjt^the external and more obvious mani- festations and development, while the real, procuring cause Ilea -uDfittended. -tb^ rand uncoi'recte^ and ume- moved. , > . , ; • -a, It is said that organized opposition tp law ex^ts in Kan- sas. That, if existing, may probably be suppressed! by the •President, by the use of the ai'my ■,', aiid so, too, may inva- sione b3« armed bodies from Missouri, jf the Exeputive be sincere in its efforts ; but.when thisia don^, while the cause of trouble remains, theresults will continue with reneweJ and increased developments of. danger.. Let us, then, look fairly and wwUsguisedly at this sub- ject, in its true character and histaKy< "Wher^ does this Kansas Territory differ from all our o^er Territories which have been sopeacefully. and succe^ully carried through, and been developed into tthe manhood of independent States? Can^that difference account foj existing trou- bles ? Can that diffe£encef,as.a' cause of trouble^ be re- moved? . . . , 1 The first and'great point of difference between the Ter- ritorial government of Kansas and that of the thirteen Territorial governments before mentioned, ctmsists in the ^ubjgct' of' Slavery— =^he undoubted, cause of present trouble. , , The aiftion-of Congress in relataqn to all these thirteen Terriieriea wagi condmctedi07ba%mifarfna^ndprudm't ^^rificipleiio^Bii': ■ Ta Betti&, >bya c&ar pr&viHowt^tha ' laiB •i/nrelaiionito-lhe svAJect of jSlaiiery iobe opera* tive in the Territory^ while' it- remained ■ stteh,' not leaving it in any one bf those cases to be a subject q£ con- 'troversy within theaame, while in the plastic gristle of its youth. This was done by Congress in the exerc^e of the same power which moMed the form lof theii' organic laws, aod appointed th^' esieoutive- and judiciary^ and some- times their legislative offibers 7 it was the power provided in the Constitution, in these words : " Congress ahall have pow^r to dispose of and make all needful rules and regu- lations respecting the territory or other property belong- hig to the United States." Settling the subjectof Sl»very •while thecOurrtry'Jemained a Territory, was no higher ex- ercise, of power in Congress, than the regulation of ^e inunc- tions of the territotnal' government, amd -actually appointing its pridbipsU fUnetionnries. This praeties-commenced with this National GoVemmeht, and was continued, with unin- terrupted 'uniformity, -for more than ^lo;^ years. Tiiis practical contemporaneous construction of the eonstitu- tional power of' this government is too clear to leave room for doubt, or opportunity forskepticisni. The peace, prosperity, and success which -attended this 0001*86, a/nd the results which have ensued, in the formation and ad- mission of the thirteen States therefrom, are nlost (Conclu- sive and satisfactory evidence, also, of the wisdom and prudfetice;with which this power was exercised. Deluded must be that people Who, ha the pursuit of plausible theb- 1..3, become deaf to' the lessons, and blind to the resulta^ €£ 'iieii own experience. 99 A FOLITIOAI* TE;s:T-B(>OK for 1860. Let ns nex^ inquire hy whatTule of tmlformlty Congress \ras governed, in the exercise of thispower of determining the conditiaQ &t each T^i;ri,tpiy as to Slavery, while remain- ing a Territoiiy, as manifestea in those Uiii-teen instances, revire or put in Jorce any law or regulaflpn which maf have existed prior to the act of 6 March, 1820, either pro- tectiog, establishing, prohibiting, or abolishing Slavery .« ThiiS it was promuIgAted to the, people of this wliole An examination of ovx liistory win show that this was not country that here was a clear fieH fo^ competition — an don.^ from time to time by agitation and local or party triumphs in Gsngress. ^ Xhe rule pu;^e4 was uniform and olear; and, whoever mfjl^^v'^ipst by 1^ peace and pros- f erUy hare been gained, ^at rule waia this : Where Slavery vtis ac||uaUy existing in a country to any confiderable or general cxteijit. It was (though spmewbat modlfiefl as to fu^thra importation in some instances, as in MisftiBsippi and, Or^eana Territories) suifered, to remain. JiFhe fact that it liad 'been taken and existed there^was taken as an indication of its adaptation and local utility. Whei4ef^av6fy did not in, fact exist to any ^ppreqiablc^-ex- tent,.the same was, by Congress, expressly prohibited ; so tHa*t ih either case the country was settled np without diffi- culty or doubt as tIe who had and who might efettleln the Territory, to be ther^ a^ everlasting bon,^bf contonUon, bo long as the Terrltoi-ltil government should continue; It was ever re- garded, too, as a subject in whl(^ the whole country had an hiterebt, aild, therefore, improper for local le^laUon. And though, wiienever tne people of a Territory come to form their own organic law, as an independent Stato, they "Would, either before ol> after Iheir adnussioa as a Stato, form and mold their lustltiitionB, as '& 'Sovereign Stato, in their own way, yet it must be eXpeeteA^ and has always proved true, that the State has ta'ken the character her pupHage has prepared her fot, ae well in respect to Slavery as in other respects. Hence, six of the thirteen States are free States, because Slavery was iTroldfoitod la them by Congress, while Territoiies, to wit; Ohio, In^ana, Illinois, Al^dhlgan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. @even of tihe thirteen are slaveholdlqg States, because Slavery was allowed in them by Congress while they were T^ritories, to wit : Ten- , nessee, Alabama, HissiSS^i^, Florida;, Xjouisiana, Arkansas and MissourL On the 6th of Mart;h^ Aa>.1820TWaS passed by C(m-, gress the act preparatory to the admisaion of the Slate of ; Missouri into the Union. Much controversy and discus-' sian arose on the question whether a ptighibition of . Sla-very within said State should be Inserted^and it re-^ suited in this : that said Stato should be admitted without such prohibition, but that Slavery should htfor&oer pro- hibited in the rest of that country ceded to us by France lying north of 86" SO' nort^ latitude, and it was so done. I Tttis contract is known as the J£»8ouir^ €km^r&mi86.\ Under this arrangement, Missouri was adoiicted as a. tlaVeholding State, t-he same having been a slaVehoIdiag^ Territory. Arkansas, south of the line, was formed into a Territory, and Slavovy allowed therein, and afterward ad^mitted as a slte'VchoMIng State. Iowa was made a Territory north of •^e>ltnet> and, under the operation pf the law, was settled up without slaves, and admitted as a free State. The cotinU'y nowmakiiUg the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, in 1^0, was almost or entirdy unii>habited, and lay north of said line, and whatever seGtlei's entered the same before 3S54, djldso under that law, forever forbidding Slavery therein. In 1854, Congress passed all «.ct eatabUshiug two pew Terrltorles-^Nebraaka and Eaaea»<-rin this regipn of oouQtry, where Slavery had been prohibited for more than thirty years ; and, instead of leaving said law against Stavery in operation, or prohibiting or expressly allowing orestafblishing Slavery, Congress left the subject incaid. Tei'ritories, to be discussed, agitated, and legislated on, from time bo time, And the elections in said Territoi-ies to be conducted witii reference to thatsui^^) from year to year, so long as they should i:em4b1n Terrltoiies; for, whatever laws might be passed by- the len-ltprial legisla- tures on this subject, must b&fiul]ject to change or repeal' by tluise of tlie isuooeeding yeans. In most former Terri- torial governments, it was, provided, by law that their laws were suliyect to the revision of Congress, so Uiat, they would be made with caution. In these Territories, thax WIS omitted. The provision, in relation to Slavery in Nebr^iska and Kansas is as follows : " Ttie eighth section of the act pre- paratory to the;adm)ssion of Missouri into the Union (wdltjh being inconsistent wit]^ tb© prmctois of non-lnter- Bentiou by Congress with Slavery in theStates and Ter- ritoa-ies, as required by the . legislation of 1850, commonly called the Compvomise Measures) is hei-eby declared iawpwdiMte and void; it bei'n^, the true intent and meaning of this act Qof, to legislate Slavei-y into said Ter- ritocy or State, nor to exdude lb therefrom, but to leave tiie people thereof per/ecU^ J^m to form and regulate their domestic institutions in theJr-o\va tvay, subject only to the Constitution of the United St^ties : Provided, That nothing herein contaiuud sliail b^' construed lo open course fpr the race of rtvalsbip; the ^al of which ' was, the ultimate establishment, of a soverei^ Stat^^ and ,tbeprlBe,'tiiB reVfard of evertasthig liberty and its institu- tions on the one hand, or the perpetuity of Slavery and its concomitants on the other. It is the, oto'Mous duty of this government, while ftiiS law continues, to see th^ manifesto faithfully, and honorably, and honestly per- formed, even though Its particular 8npi)orters may see cause of a result unfavorable to their hop'es. It fs further to be observed-that, in the performance of ttds novel experimient, it was provided that all white then who'became inhabitants in Kansas Trere entitled to vole without regard to their Ume o/ -reeideTtce, usun^y provided in other Territories. Nor was this right of voting confined to American citizens, but included all such aliens as had declared, or would declare, on oath, their intention to become citisens. Thus was the procla- mation to the world to become inhabftajnts of Kansas, and enlist in this great enterprise, by the forte of numbers, by vote, to decide for it the great question^. Was It to be expected that this gr^at proctamutlon for the political tournament vrould be listened to' with Ipdiffereiice and apathy? Was it prepared and presented in that spirit? Did It relate to a subject on which the people f^ere cool or indiJSerent ? A large part of the people of this country Ibok on domestic Slavery as " only evil, and that con- tinually,'* alike to master and to slave, and to the com-^ munlly^ to be left alone to the management or enjoy- ment of the people of the States where it exists, but. not to be extended, more especially as it gives, dr may give, political supremacy to a minority of the people of this country in the United States government. On the other band, many of the people of another part of tlie United States regard Slavery, if not in the abstract a bles8iflg,-iit least as now existing, a condition of society best for both white and black, while they exist together; while others r^ard it as no evil, but as the highest state of social condition. These consider that they cannot, with safety to their Interests, permit political ascendency te be largely in the bands of those unfriendly to this pecv- liOif Uistihition. From these oonfliotiog views, lonc^ atud violent has been the controversy, and experience seems to show it interminable A succinct statement of the exercise and progress of the material events in Kansas is this : After the passage of this law, establishing the Territory of Kansas, a large body of settlers rapidly entered into said Terrftory with a view to permanent inhabitancy thereis. Most of these were A-om the Pree Stat'cs of the West and North, who probably intended by their votes and influence to estab- lish there a Free Stato, ^reeably to the law which invited them. Some part of those from the Northern St-ates had been encouraged and aided in this enterprise by I'M Emigrant Aid Society formed in Massachusetts, wiliich put foi'th some exertions In this laudable object, by opeo -andpniblic mesBures, in providing facilities for transpor- tation to ail peaceable CitiEens who desired to become per- manent settlers in said Territory, and providing tiiere- in hotols, mills, etc., for the public accommodation of -that new eount37. The Gofvemor of Kansas, bavlng, in pursuance of law, divided the territory into districts, and procured a census thereof, issued his pTOClamation for the elecUon cf a Legislative Assembly therein, to take place on the Sttth day of March,' 1S55, and directed how the same should be conducted, and the returns made to htm agreeable to the l«w establisiiing said Territory. On the day of eleiAion, large bodies of' armed men from the State of Missouri, appeared at the- polls in most of the districts, and, by most violent and tumultuous carriage and demeanor, overawed the defenseless inhabitants, and by their own votes elected a large mfljorityof the members of both Housesof said Assembly. I ^ the retairns of said elec- tion being made to the Goii^^rnor, protests and objections were made to him in relatio^ tb a part of ^13 districts ; and as to them,, he set aside such, and such only, as by the returns appealed to be bad. In relation to others, covering, in alt, a majority of the two Houses, equally vicious in, fact, Imt apparemly good by formal returns^ the inhaibltants thereof, borne down by said violence »nd iptlDiidation, scattered and discouraged, apd laboring under apprehensionb ofpersonal violence, refrained and delisted from presenting any protest to the Q-overnor la relation thereto ; and he, then aninformed in relation thereto, issued certificates to -the members wlio -Aupcarud by said formal returns to have been elected. In relation to those districts which the Governor so set aside, ordei^s vare by him iaauiid for new eleclious. X9 tHE EANSAS-NEBRASKA STRTJWLfi. n «ne of these district's, the sai ne praceedings were repeated ^ by men from MissQuii, and in otherft oot, and certificates vere issped to t^^ persona elected^ This legislutive assembly, so elected, assembled atFa,w- nee, on the second day of July, 1856, that being flhe Wme and place forholdiag said meeting, as fix^ by the Gov- ernor, by auttjiorUy ^f ,\^y, Qa aase{nbUng, . the said houses proceeded to set aside and reject, ttibse members So elected on's^d second-electioii, except in the district wUerv the men teoa^ Missouri had, atisaidd^tlon, cbosen the same persons they had elected at the said first election^ and they admitted all of the sdid first-elected meinbers. A legislabive assembly, 4o created by roiUlfavy^ijrcej by a forelKQ invasion, tavioJatioa, of theorganicAftw, was but a usurpation. Il^iO ao.t o{ its own, no fMitor neglect of :he Governor, could legaliKe or saQotify It. XU owi^ , decisions' as to its own ieg9lity ftre lil^e, its laws, but thQ fruUs.of its own usurpaiiion, which no Q^overnor could . iegiUxoate. . ... , , The people of Kansas, thus inyadedr^td)dued, oppressed and inauUed^ seeinK tfaeic T^-ritoriai Government (such only in form) perverted , into an ; en^ne to crush them in the dust, ^d^t^ defeat and destroy the professed ol^ect <^f their organio law,. by depriving them of the ^^per/ect frMdom^' therein provided ;. and finding no ground to hop.^ for rights .i» that organisation, they procei^ded, under the. g^avanty of the IJ.nited States Constitution, ^'peaceftbly to a^senible to petition the G-OTernment for tiift redreesof (ttietr) grievances," They saw no earthly source of peliefbujiin theforma^on of a State Govern- iment by the, peoi^e, and the acceptance and catification thereof by Congress. It is true tliftt^ in-sever.^ instances in. our political his- tory, the people of a li'erritary have been authorized by , an act of Congress to form a State Coiistitution, and, after so doing, w^e adcnitted' by Congress. It is qj^ife v obvious that no such' avythotdty could be given by the act of the Terfiitoriftl Government. . That clearlyhas no power to ctreate axio:tber Goveenmeot, paramount to it- ~ self, ' It is equajly tru.« thajfc,. in. numeivous instaneesJn our history, the.peoiplQ of a. Tei'ritory have, without &Qy ^ .pii&vieus act «£.OongKsa, proceeded to call a Convention of Ute people by theixi delegates ; have formed a State Con- sstitution, wliiuh. has been adopted by the people, and a State Legislatdire assembled under it, and chosen Senators - to Congress, and then bnys presented said Constitution to Congress, which has approved the same, and received . the S»aaCor» ftod-mesabers of Oongriess. who were cbogen onderlt before Cpngvess b^d approved the same, Such ..was. the case of Tennessee; auQb was the case or Michi- . gan, where the people not only formed a State Constitu- tion without an act of Goug-ress, but; they actually put their State Government into full .^operation and passed V .Jaws, and it was approved by Congress by receiving it as B Slate. The people of Florida formed their Constitution without any act of Coagress therefor^ sis yeara liefure ( Ihey were admitted into the Union. When the people of Arkansas were about forming a State Constitution with- out a previous act of Congress, in 1S85, the Teiritorial Governor applied to tiie Fresident on the subjept, who . jrefbrred ttm matter to the Attorney-General, and his , opinion, as then expressed %nd published, containi^d the following: *' It is not la the power of the general assembly of Ai^ansaB to pass any law for the purpose of electing members to aGou- venUoa to form a Gonstitudon and State ,goeeded withoSt Sn sQt of -Con- gress, and were rdceivedinto the Union aceordingly. If any riglits were derived to the people of Arkansas from the terms of the French treaty of cession, they equally extended to the people of Kansas, It being a part of the , same cession. i ■ ^ . . ■. _; J In this "view of the snlgecti Ifl tne first part of Angust^ 1855 a call was piiblished in the public papers, for a ' meetingof the citttens of Kansas, drrespectlve of party, tp ni'eet at Lawrence, in said Territory, bn the 15th of baid Auguat, to talre ii^to consideration the piropriety of call? Ing a Convention of the people of the *hole Territory, to ' consider that subject. That meeting was held on the 15th ' Say orAuffust last,'ubd K proceeded to call suCh Conven- tlbn of delegates to be elected, and to assemble at Tnpeka Jn'Said Territory, on the ISth day of Septetabei , 1855, not 'to form a Constitution, but to consldur the propriety of Calling, formally, a Convention for that purpuse. ' "Delegates were elected agi-tisably- ta the proclamation Sb iBsnM', and they met at Topeka.on the fourth Tues- day til Ootbber, 1855, and fbrmed a eon&titution, which W^ subtnitted' to th« people, and wftSiTatified by them *by vete in the distrlcte. An election of: Slate officers and metnbers of the State legislature has-been had, ^^^ a representative to Congress elected, and it is intended to proceed to the electitnt of sesiators, with tbe-view to present the sai^A, with tha constitution, to Congress for admi^ion into the Union. Whatever views' individuals may dt times, or in meet- ings, have expr^sed,- and whatever sdtimate determina- tlQn mE(,y'have be^n enteJ^iQod ip the result of, being spumed, by Cbngr^.,.fmdj refused redress, is now eri- t^'ely immaterial. ' xnat t^iiot condemti or give char- .acter tO'th6^ priocSedldgS'tUus far pursued. . Many h^vb honat)y'b«iUfiV^d usurpation could maJce na la^, and that If Congress jpiade ^9 ftirther provisions they were well justified in fbrnUng a law for themselves ; but It ia not now nete^tny to consider t^at matter, as it Is to be hoped that Oongi'ess will not leave them to .^uph a necessity. Thus far, thfls effbrt of tne people for redress is peiace- fui,'constitutiodal, andvtlFg'ht. 'Wbel^r it will succeed, r^sts with tofigtessVo SMetniiiie^V 1^ cleat* it is that it should^ not be inet and denounced as reycflu^nary, rebellious, insLurrectionai'y, or iinlalrfdlj nor'dtf^it eaU for or justlty the Exercise 6f' any fbrce by aiiiy d^arU ment of this government to tjht'clc or control it. It now beCo4nes*pi^6]per "to inejuire wha*. should be done by Congress 1 for Ve ate informed by the Prepl- dent, in substance, 'that' he ?ias no power te -coiTect a usurpation, and that the laws, even though made by usurped authority, must fee by him enforced and ex- ecuted, ev'dh -tritb mlBtary force. The measures ot redress shotfta be applied ?q the true «adbe bf th« diffi- culty. This dbVaously.lies in tlhe Repeal nf ttie clause for l^eedom in the act of ISSJft, and therefore, the true remedy Kes in the entii'e rejfeil df the act of 1854, which effected it. Let this be done with frankness and mag- nanimity, and Ean^S be organized anew as a Free Ter- ritory, and- all willbe'pluf ri^t. But, if Congress ^slst on proceeding witti the experi- ment, then declare all the action by this spurious, foreign legislative assembly utterly indpferative and void, and directa reorganization', providing proper safeguards for ^eg^l voting and against foreign force. Thel-e is, howeVfer, artother way to put an end to aU this trouble there, and in thetiatinn,' without retracing steps or continuing violence, or by force compelling obedience to tyrannical laws made by foreign force ; and that is, by admitting tbat Territory as a State, With her free ^onstitntidn. Ti-ue, indeed, her numbers are not such as jgive' her a rigbt to demand admSi^n, be- ing, as ttie Pi-esideit' infoj-itis us, probably bnly abftut twenty-five thousand. The Constitution flx^ no num- ber as necessary, and the iiAportance of 7i>ow settling this q^estipn may well justify Congress in admitting Ker as a State, at ifih tlirie. esieclitlly as we have good rea- son tp believe tiiat, if ailbitted as a State, and contro- versy endecl^ ii will ImAiediat^ fill~ tip with a numer- ous and successful population. At any rate, it seems impossible' to believe that Con- gress, is to leave that people without redi'ess, to have enforced upon them by the army of the nation these measures and laws of violence and oppression. Are they to be dragooned into submission ; Is tbat an bx- pei^ment pleasant to execute on our own free pedple ? The true character of this transacQbn is matter pf ex tensive notoviety^ Its essential features are to6 obvlbug to allow of flbysuccessfur disguise or palliation, however complicated or ingeid«ua; inay.- tairaed'Only by fmnkness and integrity. JuatiGe maybe ienied. where it ought to be granted; powei* may.perpe- tuate that vassalage which violence and usurpation hfive produced; the subjugation of white freemen may.be necessary, that African Slavery may succeed ; but such a coursie must not be expected to produce peace and satisfacbioxi in aur country^ so Iong,£^ the people retain Any prober sentiment of justice,, Uberty, and law. , . !>' J. COLLA^ER. The inajority and minority Reports ; beings re- ceived, various matters relatifl* to KansalS' were deb9,t34. uatil f^^, 1%%. of ' ]Sftr0li,,'tli'e,'^]9i§tej- to them an oath, or affirmation, faithfully to perforin, the dutjeg assigned to them, respectively, and .to .kepp secret, atl matters which may come to thaic knowledge touching such in^ vestigation, as salfl "Conimittee may, dirept, until the Repprt of the same shall be submitted to this House ; and said Coiiitnittee may discharge any giich clerk or assistant ;9erge^nt^j^t-arm? for neglect of duty or disre- gard of Instructions in the premises, ai^d employ btheiu under like ^egUilatipo^. . . , . - . The vote of the Slave States was unanimous agiinst 'the investigation, 17 frOra the Free States voting with them. Yeas I'Ot; NayS-93. The following are the negatives from the ^Vee Stat'qs : ' -..,', ^a^s — Against the Iuv0stigatio;Vj«/> MAms-^Tfiemiaa J. D. J'uiler^i. NEW-YOft»>^(R((fti- Kelly, William W. Valk^ John Wheeler, Thomas B. Whiinep—i, New-Jersey — GeorgeVail-^1. . PbnnsylvaJjia — John Gadwalader,, Thomas B. Flo- rence, J. Glancy Jones— 8, iNDiASfA-^ William H. iJngUsh, Smith Miller— 2. . MiCHiQAN— George W. Peck — 1. - .:, Illinois — James -CAlleft, Thomas L. Hurris, Sattfuel fl. Marshall, William A.Klcbardson— 4. ' ' ■ California— Philemon-T. Herbert— 1. So tfhe resolution prey4j'6'l^», ^^^ Messrs. ■Wil- liam A. Howard, af Miphigap, John Sherman, of Ohio, and Mordecai Oliver, of Missouri, were appointed the Coi|i,m?lii:efe. of Investigation thefe- by reciuired. : , [ These gei^tlemen proceeded to Kansas, an.d spent several weeks there in taking testimoxty, as to the elections, etc., whiph had tak'en place -fti that Territory. The testimony thus ta]?jeii fprnja a volume of nearly twelve hundred large and closely -printed pages, -the substance of which was summed up on their, return byjhe fnajority (Messrs^ Howard and Sherman), in the foUpwing .. REPORT OK THE OUTRAGES IN KANSAS, ','[ A journal of pt'oceedings,'-^i^Mng sundry communica* tionsmadti'tband'hy the Gemn^ttee was kept, a copyiof which is herewith submitted. The testimony also is herie- with submitted • a ccpy of it has been made and 'arranged not according to the order in which it was taken, but so as to present, as clearly as pos^ble,'a consecutive history of events in the Territory, from its osgainiaation'to the 19th day of March, a. Di^"1856. - "■ ■■" ?* ' ' '■ Your Committee deem it thelf duty to. stat4, as bi^efly aa possible, the principal facts pfov^en -before' them. When the act to organize the Territory of Kansas: was passed on the 24th day of May, 1854, the greater portion of its eastera border was In^laded in Indian reservations not <^en fpt settlement ;. and there were but few whiteaettleraiajany^ portidn of the Territory. Its Indian population W£^ i%.- pidly decrea5irig,7hile many emigiianfts from d^rent pai'te of our country were anxiously waiting the rartdiiction 6f the Indian title, and the establishmi^t of a TerriliMte^l GovemiflSnt, to seek new homes on •itj^ifei'tile prairies^- 'It cannot be doubted that, if its condition'^aa a fi'ee Territi^y had' been left undisturbed by Congress^ its settlement would have been rapid, peaceful,^ and prosperous. Ita climate, soil, and its easy access tb the older settHementg, wtoUld have made it the favored course for the tide 6f emigration eoTnstantly flowing to the West, and by thta tinie it'would' hkve ^een admitted into the Union as S Free Staled without the least sectional excitement. If so ergom- ized, none but theMndwt. feeling coidd have existed be- tween it and the adjdiliing State. Theii mutual interests and intercourse, insteatd of, as now, encbtogermg the har- mony of the Uriibh^ would have^ str«n^hened the ties of national brCthetliOod. The testimony (Nearly shows, that before the prop^tlon to repeal the Missouri CompromiEe was introduced ±^0 Gongcess, th& people of we^ern Mis- souri appeared indifferent to the prohibition of' Slavety 'in the Territoiy, and neither asked nordesked its repeai. When, however, the prohibition was* removed by the action Of Congress, the aspect of affaire entirely changed. The whole country was agitated by the reopening o£ a controversy which conservative men in different seotitms hoped had been settled, in every State and Territory, by some law beyond the danger of -repeaL The excitement which has always accompanied the discussion of the Slavery question was greatly increased, by the hope «n the one hand of extending Slavery mto A region from which It had been excluded by law, and on the other by a sense of wrong done by what wa* regarded as a dishonor of a national compact. This excitement was txaltaraily trajis- ferred into the border counties of MfesNniPi and the Tewi- tory^'ias settlei-s favorihg free or slave i^nsUtutlons moved Into it. A new dificulty soon occurred. Different con- BtruCtH>&s were put' upon the organic, iaw. It wa^ con- tended by the one party that the right to hold, slav;^ da the Territory existed, and tiiat neither the people nor tflie Territorial Legislature pould prohibit Blavery— that tfeat power _wae alone ppssessed,by the people yihen they were authorised to form .&< State governmeiat. It was con- tended that the removal of the restriction virtually esj^b- -liahed Slavery in tiie. territory. Ttue, claim was iirgedby many prominent, men in western Missouri, whp actiTely engaged in the affeirsiof.the Territory. Eyer^ movement, of whatever character, which tended to establish free insti- tutions, waa regarded- as an in;terference witih, their rig^jts. AVithin a few days after the prganic law .passed, and as soon as Itfr passage could be known on the border. leading oltizens of Missouri prosaed iijto the Territory,, heijt| squat- ter izneetingB, and-ithen returned to their homes. Among th^ resolutions are the following: '^ ! " That we will afibrd ppotecUon'to no Abolitionist as a setUer ofthis Territory." . ■' That we reposnize-the InsUtutfon of Slavery as already tex- Istlng in tbia Territory, ^ advise slaveholders to lutrbduca xsung m tma TerrUory, ^Ji^ advise thefa-'propfenyias eafly as' possible.* Sin^ilar reapjutions were passed in v^otfs parts of 'the Territory, and by meeting's in ^everalcoiinties of Missouri. Thu^ the first effect of the^ejjeiii of'ille restBictiofi agatoat Slavery wi^t9 sujjstitute the I'e'solyes'Jf Squatter meetings, composed almost, exclusively of ftfti^^otiiians.for the delibe- rate action pf Congress, acqulesceiij'.Ja fo^ S5 yeats."' Jpis unlawful interference lias been bontiiiued in every important event in the history of the Territpiry : everi THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRUaOJii;* 93 tffac^rMhas been c,oiit?;olled,not by, tiiQ actual settlers^ butvby citizens of Missouri;, and, aa a consequence, every ot&cer in the Xepritoi-y, from constables to legislators, ex- cept those appointed, by the President, owe-thelr ppsitions to non-resident voters. Npne have been elected, by the settlers; and your Qomniittee have been unable to find ttiat any political pQwer whatever,, hQwever unimportant, has been. exercised by the^people of the Territory. In October^ a. s. 1854. G-overnor A. H. Reeder and the other officers appointed by the President arrived in the Territory. Settlers from all parts of the country were moving in in great numbers^ maUng their claims and building then* cabins/-. About the same time, and before any election was or, could be held in the Territory, a secret political so(aety was formed in the State of MissourL It was Imawn by different names, such as " Social Band," "Friends' Society," "Blue Lodge," "The Sons of the South."; Its members were bound together by secret oaths, and they had passwords, sigqs, and grips, by which ttiey were known to; each other. Penalties were imposed fpr violating the rules and secrets of the Order. Written minutes were kept of the proceeding^ of the Lodges, and the {lifferent Lodges were connected together by an effecn tive organisation. It embraced greali numbexs of the citi- zens of Missouri, and was extended into other Slave States and into the Territory. Its avowed purpose was not only to extend Slavery into Kansas, but also into other terri- tory of the United States ; and to form a union of all tha friends of that' institution. Its p^n of operating was to orgataize and send men to vote at the elections in the Ter- ritory, to collect money ta pay their expenses, jand, If necessary, to protect them in voting. It ako proposed to induce Pro-Slavery men to emigrate into the Territory, to aid and sustain them while there, and to elect none to office but those friendly to their vi&ws.. Tlda dangerous sbciety was controlled by men who, avowed their purpose to extend' SlaVery into the Territory! at all. hazards, and was altogether the most effective instrument in organizing the subsequent arinied invaBions and forays. In its Lodges in Missouri, the affairs of Kansas were discussed, the fdrce necessary to control the election was divided into bands, and leaders selected ; means were collected, and ^gns and badges were a^eed upon. While the gi'eat body of the actual settlers of the Territory were, relying 'upon the lights secured to them by the organic law, and had formed no organization or combination whatever^ this oonspiiracy against their rights was gathering strength in Missouri, and Would have been sufficient at their first election to have* OTelrp0wered them, if they had been united to a man. Tour Committee had great difficulty inielicitingthe proof of the details in regard to this secret >soeiety. . ' One witness, member of the legi^lativ« council', refused to answer questions in reference to it. Another declined to answer folly, because to do so would result to his injury. Others tould or would only answer as to the general pur- poses of the Society, but sufficient is disclosed in the t^timony to show the influence it had in controlling the elections in the Territory. The first election was for a Delegate to Congress. It was appointed for the 29th? of Noyfembec, 1&54 ^The i3-ovemor divided the Territory into seventeen Election-Districts ; appoiated 3^gffi~and prescribed proper rules- for the election. In the 1st, Hid, Vllltfa, IXth, Xth, Xllth, XHItfi, aijd XVIIth Districts there appears tq have been but little if any fraudulent voting.' Thelelectlon in the lid ■District Was held at the village of Douglas, nearly fifty miles from'the Missouri line. On the' day before the election, -large companies of men came into the district.in wagons and on BiOrsehack, and declared that they were from t^e State of Missouri, and were going to Douglas to vote. On the morning of the election, they gathered aroun^.the bQuae*where the elec- tion was to be held. Two of the judges appointed by the Governor did not appear, and other judges were elected by th? crowd, All t)ien voted. In order to make a pretense of right to vote, some persons of the company kept. a preteaded register of squatter clainis, on which, any one could enter bis name and then assert he had a claim in the iJerxitory. A citizeh of the district who was himself a candidate for Delegate to Congress, was told by one of the strangers, tha,t he would be abused pind prqbably killed if he challenged a vote. :He was seized by the colIa,r, called ad— -d Abolitiphist, and was compelled to seek protection in the roptd with the judged. About the tiine the, polls wee'e cloSed, thtse strangers mounted their horses and got into their wagons ° ' AU aboard for Westport and Kansas Oity," A.num- ber were recognized as Teis»derjta of Missouri, and amonfc them was Samuel H. Woodson, a Jeading lawyer of Independence. Of those whose names are on the poU- tooks* S&were resident settlers-Juid 226 were not. The election in the IVth District was held at Dr. Chapm^n^B, over 40 milej^ fr9m tfh?; .Missouri Sta^te llije. Xt was a thinly-settled regiop, containing but 47 vbteri in £'ebruary, 1855, when the> cejjsus .was, taken. ,0n thg day before the election, from ,100 W J50 cHizehs of Cass and Jackson Counties, Mol, came ipto tli)^ di^tji'iqt, declaring , their pu);pose to vote, and that they wer? bound to make Kansas b^ Slave. State, if^they did it at the point of the sword. Persons of the party on the way drove each a stake in the ground and called it a clajm-r- andin one case several names were put on one, siuke* The party of stj:angers pajcnped all night near where th« election was to be held, ai^d in,the m,orning w^re at the election-polls and voted. One oftheir party go^ drunk, and, to get 'rid of Dr. Chapman, a judf:e of the election, they sent for him to qome and see a ^ick man, and is^ nls absence filled his plfice wi;th another judge, who was nop sworn. They did Aot deny nor conceal thp.t they w^re resident of Missoitri, and many of tl^em were recognized as such by othera. They declared t^at they were bound to. make Kansas a Slave State. The^ insisted upon their right to vote in the Territoj-y if they were in it one hour. After the election, they q.gain reti^rned to their homes in Missouri, oamping.over njghb on the way. . , Wftifind upon the poIlTi)^oks 161 name?; ,of ^ese not over-SO resided in the l|ercitory ; 181 wereinon-jfesidents., _ But few settlers attended the election in the Yth Dis' trict,^the district-being J;arge and the settlement scattered. 82 votos were cast ;. of t^ese between 20 and 30 were' set- tlers, and the residue were citizens of Missouri. They passed into the Territory by way of the Santa Fe road and by the residence of iDr. WestfaUj who theu lived on the western line of Missouri. .Some httle excitement, arose at the polls as to the^l^^ali^ of their voting, but they did vote for General Whitfield, and said they intended ■ to make Kansas a Slave State, and that th^ had dalmsi in Uie Territory. Judge Teazle, judge of the court in Tack- son Coxmty, Missouri, was present, but did not vote. He said he cUd not intend to vote, but came to see that others voted. After the eleetioB, the Missouri^ns retui-ned the way they, cave. The election in tbe YltlxDistrict was held at Fort Seott^ in the soutlufaBt part of the Territory, and near the Misr souri line. A ^arty of about one hundred men, fi'om Cai^ and the counties In -Missouri south of it, went into, the Territory, traveling, about 45 miles, most of them with their wagons and tents, and camping out. They appeared at the place of election. Some attempts were made- to swear iihem^ but two Of the judges were prevailed upon not to dc-so.iand none were sworn, and as many aa chose voted. There were but The most shameless fraud practiced upon the rights of the settlers at this election was in the Vllth District. It ia'arenaote settiement, abDut^75 miles from-.the Missouri line, and contained in February, a.d. 1855, three months afl^rward, when the census was taken, but 53 voters, and yetf^tire poll-books fehow that. 604!' 'iSbtes were cast. The election was held at the house of Frey McGee, at a place .called *''110." But few of the actuai-settle^s were^niesent at the polls. A witness who formerly resided in Ja|;kson .County, Mksouri, and was well acquainted with the citi- jzens of that county, says that he saw a great many wagons land tents at the place (^ election, and many individuals jhe knew froth 'Jackson tJouAtfy. He was in theirtentg, and fconversed with some of them, and they tola hini they had come with the intention of voting. He went to thei polls intending to vote for Flenniken, and his ticket .being of a diff'erent color from the rest, his vote was ' challenged by Frey McGee, who liad been appointed one of the jtidges, but did ntt' serve. ' Lemuel Ralstone, a ci.ti^en of Missouri, was acting in his place; ■ The witness then (challenged the vote*cf a young man bythen^i^e of Nplaii; whom he khew to reside in 'Jackson County, finally, tiie thing was hushed up, as the witness had a good^ nxany mends there fi'o'm'thafi county, audit might -leafl to s^ fight jf he 'chal- lenged' any more votes. Both voted, and he then went downto" their camp. ■ He there saw many of his old ac- quaihtancee, whom he kqew had voted at th& 'election in August previous In Missouri; and who still resided i^ that State. ByatraTeful'comparison of the poll-lis^ with the census-rolls, we find but 12 names on the poll-book who were "voters' when' the census was taken three months afterward,' and we are satisfied that not more than 20' legal votes cotlld have been: polled ' at that election. ^ The only f eaidBiftfi wh» are known- to have voted e^e named by the ^itnees^-and -are IS- in numbw— thus leaving 58.4 illegal vot^castin a remote di^trliSt; where the sgttler^ within many miles were acquainted with each other. Tiitf total number^-of white ■ inhabitants in the^XIth " District, in the month of February, A.s. 1855, including M A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOE 1860. tnen, vomen and childlren, waft 86, of whom 34 -were Toteray— yet the potl-lisis iti thla District show that 215 Toiea were cast fit this electjdn, For reasons stated hereafter in fegai'd to the election on the 80th of March^ your OonnhiUee were unable to prociire the attendance 6f witnesses fVom this District. Bf om the records, it clearly appears that the votes cast could not have been by lawful resident voters. The best teat, in the absence of direct proofi by which to ascertain the number of legal votes cas^, fa by a cofttparlson of the census-roll with the p6ll-boolj:— by which it appeal's that but T resident Settlers voted, and ^89- votes w^rft illegally aiid fraudulently- cast. The election in the XlVth District was held at the house of Benjamin Harding, a ffew miles from the town of St, Joseph', Missouri. Before bhepoUa were opened, a large number' of citlaeha of Buchanan Cotinty, Missouri, and among them many of the leadibg citiiens of St. Joseph, were at- the place of voting, and mode a majority of the company present. At the time appointed by the Gov- ernor for opening the polls, two of the Judges were not there, dhd it became the duty of the legal voters ^-esent to seleqt other judged.; The j4idge who was' present* suggested the-name of Blr. 'Vfftterson as oneof theJwjges — rbtat the crowd voted down the proposition. Some dls- cussion'then irose as to the rightof non-rdsidents toVAte *br judges, during which Mr. Bryant was nominated antf ejected by the crowd. Some one nominated Col. John Sootit as the other judge, who was then and is now a resident of St. Joseph. At that time, he was the€ity At- toVney at that place, and so cohtiuued' until this spring, but he claimed thfit the night before he had come to the house of Mr. Bryant, and had engaged boarding; fbr a month, and considiered himself a resident of Kansas on tHart ground. The judges appointed by the Governor re- fused to put the nomination of Col. Scott to vote, because h& was not a resident. After some discussion. Judge Leonard, a citiEen of Missouri, stepped foiiward and put the vote himself f and Mi*. Scott was declared by hito as elected by the crowd, and served as a judg^ of elebtion that day. After the election was over, he retnrvied td St. Joseph, and nfevev since has restdc<£in the Territory. It Is manireHt that this election of a non-residetit lawyer as a jurlge was Iraposed upon the settlers by the citizens of the Stat-e. When the board of judges was thus completed, thevotingpro{;eed«d;but the effect of the rule adoipted by the judges allowed many, If not a majority ot the nuo- residem«, to vote* They claimed that theip presence on the grouDd, eBpecially when they had a claim im the Ve^itory, gave them a right to vote — under that con-:' Btruction of the law, they readily, when required, swore they were '* residents," and then vdt,ed. By thia evasion, as nearly as your Committee can ascertain from the testi- mony, as many as 50 illegalTotes werecast in this Dis- triot Outiof 158, the whole number polled. < ■ The election in the XVch District was held at Penae- tiftan'a, on Stranger Greek, a tew miles from Weston, Missouri. On the day of the election, a larf^e cumber ot citieens of Platte County, but chiefly from Weston and PlaUe City, came in small pavtieer, in wagons and on horseback, to the poll&. Among them were several lead- ing citizens of that town, and the names of many of'them are given by the witnessesi. They ^neraily insisted upon their right to vdte, on ^e grotintt^that every man having Sl claim in tlie Territory could vote, no matter w4!ibre'he lived. All voted who chose. No man was challenged or sworn. Some of the residents did not rote. The purpose of the strangers in voting was declared to be to make Kansas i. Sla.ve ^ate. We find by the polt-boolca that 808 votes ^ere cast — ^itff these wdflnd but 07 are on the census-rolls as legal voters tn February following. Your Committee fs satisfied from the testimony that not over 100 of those who voted had any right so to do, leav- ing at least 2<)6 ille'gal votes cast. The election in the XVIth District was held at Leaven- worth. It was then «a small village of three or four houseia^ located on the Deleiware J^Bervatidn. Ther«. Wuro but comparatively few settlers then in Hie. district,. bu6 the number rapidly increased afterward. On the day before and on the day of the election, a great many citiaens of Platte, Clay and Ray counties crossed the river — most Of them damping i;n tents and wagons ariiout the town, "like a camp-meeilng.** They were In. compsr nies or messes of ten to fifteen in' each., and nUukbered in all sevei^l hundred. The ybrought their own provision and cooked it themad'vea, and were g^^atly armed. Many of them were known by t^e witnesses,- and their names given, aod' their names kre found upon the polL- books. Aniong them- were severaA persons of iofloenoe , where Hiey^ resided in Missouri^ who held, or had held,j high official positiane in that State. They claimed to be residents of the Territory, from the fact that they were then present, and insisted upon the riglit to vote^ and did vote. Their avowed- purpose inr doing so was to make Kansas a Slave State. These strange^) crowded around the. poUs^ and it was with- great diffiuulity that the settleri could g^t to the polls. One resident atlsmptied: to get to the polls in the afternoon, but was crowded and pulled back. He then went outside of the crowd and hurrahed for Gen, Whitfield-, and some of those who did uot^now htm said, *'l,hat*3 a good Pro-Slavery man," and lifted. him over their beadd ao that he orawiedf on: their headt- and put In^Ma vote.- A person who saw from the oolor o^ his ticket laiat It was not for G-en. Wbiifield, cried out, " He is a danuled Abolitionist^let him down ;'* and they dropped him; Others were passed to the polls in tba satoeway, and others crowded up in the best way thjay couM. Aftev this mockery of as election was over, the non-residents returned tothelv homesin Missouri. Of the 812 votes cast, not over 150 were by legal voters. The following abstract exbibUs the whole number of votes at this election^ £or each candidate ; the number of legal aod illegal votes ca^tin each district ; and the num- ber of legal vote& in each district Ja February foUowin^fr ABSTRACT OF CENSUS AND ELECTION NOV. 29, 18M. 1 PtAOs'or Vointa, i 01 'S 1 bo _a S & Is 1 J o >■ ■. A a 1 1 >4 1 1 226 Ml 52 80 584 238 60 m 162 I II III IV \ VI TII Vllt IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII ZVUI 46 235 ,40 140 63 106 B9T 16 9 2 2.3T 81 69 130 B6t 232 49 188 2i) 21 4 6 9 1 81 6 7 Vs T 81 29 8 1 28 89 80 800 ■If; 161 , 82 108 604 16 40 81 245 41 71 1S8 806 312 62 28- 869 199 101 47 442 258 58 89 86 63 24 7S' 96 884 808 885 50 800 85 47 SO SO 25 20 16 40 87 7 41 71 100 100 150 62 Dr. Chapman's . . . Fort Scott. "116" '. OouncU Grove Be^Dold's .. Bi? Blue Grosa.* Waa'to(i*s Store Harding's Penseno Shawnee Agency Total 2268 249 805 21 2871 — 1114 1729 • fieqjaiMn HKrding. THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRUGGLE. 05 Thus your Oommittee find that in this, the first election m the Territory, a rery Targe majority of the votes were cast by ciUaens of the State of Missouri, in violation of the orgauiQ law of the Territory. Of the legal votes cast, Gen. Wliltfieia received a plurality. The settlers took Dut little interest in the election, not one-half of them vot- ing. This may be accounted for, from the fact that the Bettlements were scattered over a great extent— that the term of the Delegate to be elected was short— and that the question of Free and Slave institutions was not gene- rally regarded by them as distinctly at issue. Under these circumstances, a systematic invasion from an adjoining State, by which large numbers of illegal votes were cast in remote and sparse settlements for the avowed purpose of extending Slavery into the Territory, even though it did not change the result of the election, was a crime of great magnitude. Its immediate effect was to further excite the people of the Northern States- induce acts of retaliation, and exasperate the actual set- tlers Against their neighbors in Missouri la January and February, a.d. 1865, the GoTemor caused an enumeration to be taken of the inhabitants and qualifled voters in the Territory, an abstract of which is here given : Total population 8501 Total voters 2905 Natives of the Uiuted States 7161 Of foreign birth . . ., 409 Slaves 242 Free negroes ." " " ! 151 On the same day the census was completed, the Governor Issued his proclamation for an election to be held on the 30th of March, a.d. 1855, for meiubers of the Legislative Assem- bly of the Territory. It prescribed the boundaries of dis- tricts, the places for polls, the names of judges, the appoint- ment of membei's, and recited the qualification of voters. If it had been observed, a just and fair election would have re- flected the will of the people of the Territory. Before the election, false and inflammatory rumors werebusUy circula- ted among the people of Western Missouri. The number and character of the emigration then passing into the Territory were grossly exaggerated and misrepresented Through the active exertions of many of its leading citizens, aided by the secret societies before referred to, the passions and prejudices of the people of that State were greatly excited. Several residents there have testified to .the character of the reports circulated among and credited by the people. These efforts were successful. By an organized move- ment, which extended from Andrew County in the north to Jasper County in the soutli, and as far eastward as Boone and Cole counties, companies of men were arranged in regular parties and sent into e/oery c&unciL district in the '£6rriU>ry^ and into mery representative district but one. The numbers were so distributed as to control the election in each district. They went to vote, and with the avowed design, to make Kansas a Slave State. They were generally armed and eqtiipped, CAniei with them their own provisions and tents, and so marched into the Territory. The details of this mvasion from the ma^s of the testimony taken by your committee are so voluminous that we can here state but the leading facta elicited. 1st District — ^Makgh 80, 1S55.— Lawrence. The company qf persons who marched into this district collected in Ray, Howard, OaiToll, Boone, La Fayette, Randolph, Saline, and Cass counties, in the State of Mis- souri. Their expenses were paid — ^those who could not come contributing provisions, wagons, etc. Frovisiona were deposited for those who were expected to come to Lawrence, in the house of William Lykins, and were distributed among the Missourians after they arrived there. The evening before and the morning of tlie day of election, about 1000 men from the above counties arrived at Lawrence, and encamped in a ravine a short distance from town, near the place of voting. They came in wagons — of which there were over one hundred — and on horseback, under the command of Colonel Samuel Young, of Boone County, Mis- souri, and Claiborne F. Jackson, of Missouri. They were armed with guns, rifles, pistols, and bowie-knives, and had tents, music, and flags with them. They brought with them two pieces of artillery, loaded witib musket-balls. On their way to Lawrence, some of them met Mr. N. B. Blanton, who had been appointed one of the judges of election by Governor Reeder ; and, after learning from him that he considered it his duty to demand an oath from them as to their place of residence, first attempted to bribe, and then threatened him with hanging, in order to induce him to dispense with .that oath. In consequence of these threats, he did not appear at the polls the next ■ morning to act as judge. The evening before the election, while in camp, the Missourians were called together at the tent of Capt^n Claiborne t. Jackson, and speeches were made to them by Colonel Young and others, calling for volunteers to go to other districts where there were iiOt Missouriabs enough to control the election, as there were more at Lawrence than were needed th^e. Many volunteered to go, and the morning of the election several compai^es, ft'om 150 to 200 men each, went off to Tecunlseh, Hickory Point, Bloomington, and other places. On the morning of the election, the Missourians came over to the place of voting from their camp, in bodies of one hundred at a time. Mr. Blanton not appearing, another judge was appointed In his place— Colonel Young claiming that, as the people of the Territory had two judges, it was nothing more than right that the Missourians should have the other one, to look after theli'' Interests ; aiid Robert £. Cummins was , elected in Blanton's stead, because he considered that every man had a right to vote If he had been in the Terri- to^ but an hour. The Missourians brought then: tickets with them; but, not having enough, they had three hun- dred more printed in Xawrence on the evening before and the day of election. They had white ribbons in their but- ton-holes to distinguish themselves from the settlers. Wl^ien the voting commenced, the question Of the legality of the vote of a Mr. Page was raised. Before it was de- cided, Colonel Samuel Young stepped up to the window where the votes were received, and said he would settle the matter. The vote of Mr. Page was withdrawn, and Colonel Young offered to vote. He refused to take the oath prescribed by the Governor, but swore he was a resi- dent of the Territory, upon which his vote was received. He told Mr. Abbott, one of the judges, when asked if he intended to make Kansas his Aiture home, that it was none of his business ; that if he were a resident then he should ask no more. After his vote was received^ Colonel Young got up In the window-sUl and announced to the crowd that he had been permitted to vote, and they could all come up and vote. He told the judges that there was. no use iA swearing the others, as they would all swear osk he had done. Alter the other judges concluded to receive : Colonel Young's vote, Mr. Abbott rpsigned as judge oL' election, and Mr. Bei^amin was elected in his place. The polls were so much crowded until late in the evening,, that, for a time, when the men had voted, they were obliged!* to get out by being hoisted up on the roof of the buil(urig> where the election was being held, and pass out over Re- house, Afterward, a passage-way through the crowd waa^ made, by two lines of men being formed, through which , the voters could get up to the pol^. Colonel Young ^skcd^ that the old men be allowed to go up first and vote^ as<- tbey were tired with the traveling, ^nd wanted to get back^. to camp. The Missourians sometimes came up to the polls iii pro- cession, two by two, and voted. During the day, the Missourians drove off the- ground! some of the citizens, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Bond, and MV; Wllfis. . They threatened to shoot Mr. Bond, and a crowd rushed , after him, threatening him ; and, as he ran ftom thep, . some shots were fired at him as he jumped off ttie bank of the river and made his escape. The citizens of the town . went over in a body, late in the afternoon, when the polls* had become comparatively clear, and voted. . . . The whole number of names appearing npon the poll- lists is 1,034. After full examination, we are satisfied > that not over 282 of these were legal voters, and 803; were non-resident and illegal voters. This District' ia strongly in favor of making Kansas a Free State, and ! there is no doubt that the Free-State candidates for the legislature would have been elected by large majorities, if none but the actual settlers had voted. At the preced-t ing election in November, 1854, where none but legale voters were polled, General Whitfield, who received ths- full stiength of the Pro-Slavery party., gob but 46 votes. IId Distsigt— BloomihgtoN. On the morning of election, the j.udges appointed by the Governor appeared and ojpened the polls. Thteir> names were Harrison Burson, Nathaniel ' Ramsay, and.) Mr. Ellison. The Missciurlans began to come in early in. the morniil^j some 600 or 600 of them, in wagons and car- riages, and on horseback, under the lead of Samuel J. Jones, then Postmaster of Westport, .Missouri, Claiborne^ F. Jackson, and Mr. Steely, of Independence, Missouri.. They were armed with double-barreled guns, rifles, bowie-knives, and pistols, and bad flags hooted. They held a sort of uaformal election, off at one side., at htat: for Governor of Kansas, and shortly afterward announcedJ Thomas Johnson, of Shawnee Mission, elected Governor.. The polls had been opened but a short time, when Mr. Jones marched with the crowd up to the window, anttl demanded that they should be- allowed to vote without swearing as to their residepce. After some noisy andi threatening talk, Claiborne F. Jackson addressed the» - crowd, saying they had come there to vote, that they hadio a right to vote if they had been there but fla^e mu^ules^ M 4. POIiITIOAL TEXT-BOOK FOR ISep. and be was not willing to go hom^ wi|hoat votine ; thja naa received with cheei:s. tTacksoQ 'then called, upon them to: form into little bands of fifbee^ or twenty^, which they did, and went to an ox-wagon filled with guns,, which were distributed' among ihein, and proceeded to' load flome of them on thp ground. In pursuance of Jackson's request, they tied white tape or ribbons !n Lheir buttonholes, so as to distinguish them from the " Abolitionists." They again demapded that the Judges should resign, and upon their refusing to do so, smashed in the window, sash and all, ahd presented their pistols and guns to them, thfeatening to shoot them. Some one on the outside cried out to them not to shoot, as there were Pro-Slavery men in the roqm with the judges. They then put a pry under the corner of the house, which was a log -house, and lifted it up a feW inches and let it fall again, but desisted upon being ,told there wei^e Pi >- Slavery men in the house. During this time, th@ crowd repeatedly demanded to be allowed to vote withbut being Bworn, and Mr. Ellison, one of the judges, es^re^sed him- self willing, but the other two Judges refused ; thereupon a body of men, headed l?y " Sheriff Jonra,'* rushed into the judges' room with cocked pistols and drawn bowie- knives in theiL' hands, and approached Bhrson and Ram- say. Jones pulled oat his Watch, and said he would give them five minutes to resign in, or die. When the five minutes had expured and the judgci did not resign, Jones said he would ^ve them another minute, and no more, SUisoQ told his associates that if they did not resign, there • would be one hundred shots fired in the room in less than . fifteen minutes ; and then, snatchiag up the ballot-box, ran out' into the crowd, holding up the ballot-box and hurrahing for Missouri. About that time Burson, and Ramsay were called out by their friends, and not suffered to return. As Mr. Burson went out, he put the ballot poll-books in his pocket, and took them with him ; and as he was going out, Jones snatched some papers away from him, and shortly afterward cam« oiit himself holding them up, crying *' Hurrah lor niipowuri I" - Aftei^ he discov- ered they were not the poU-bobks, he took a party of men with him and started off to ta'ke the poll-books A:om Bur- son. Mr. Burson saw them coming, and he/feave the books to Mr. Umberger, and told him to gtart off in another direction, so as t6 mislead Jones and his pai'ty. Jones and his party taught Mr.' TTmberger, took the poll: books away from him, and Jones took him ui} behind him on a horse, and carried him back a prisoner. After Jones and his party had taken Umberger back, they went to the house of Mr. Ramsay and took Judge John A. Wakefield prisoner, and carried him to the place of election, and made him get up on a wagon and make them a speech ; after which they put a white ribbon in his button-hole and let him go. They then chose two new judges, and proceeded with the election. They also threatened to kill the judges if they did not receive their votes without swearing th^m, or else resign. They said no man should vote who would submit to be sworn — that they would kill any one that would offer to do BO— ^' shoot him," '* cut his guts out," etc. They said no man should vote this day unless he voted an open ticket, and was " all light on the ^ose,^* and that if thejr could not vote by fair means, they would by foul means. They said they had as much right to vote, if they had been in the Territory two minutes, as If they had been there for two years, and they would vote. Some of the citizens who were about the window, but had not voted when the crowd of Missourians marched up there, upon attempting to vote, were driven back by the mob, or driven off. One of them, Mr. J. M. Macey, was asked if he would take the oath, and up6n his replying that he would if the judges requited ib, he was dragged through Ibe crowd awa^ from the polls, amid cries of " Kill' the d— d nigger-ttolfit," " Out his throat," '* Tear his heart out," etc. After they had got him to the outside of the crowd,' they stood around him with cocked revolvers and drawn bowie-knives, one man putting a knife to hla heart so that it touched him, another holding a cooked pistol to his ear, while another^truck at him with a club. The Missourians said they had a right to vote if they had b»en in the Territory but five minutes. Some said they had been hired to come there and v'ote, arid get a doUar a day, and, by Q — d, they would vote or die there. They said the 80th day of March was an important day^, as Kansas would be made a Slave State on that'day. They began to leave id the direction of Missouri in the afternoon, after they had voted, leaving some thirty or forty around the house where the election was held, t0 guard the polls until after the election was over. The dtilens of the Territory were not around, except those who took part in the mob, and a large portion of them dtd not vote: 841 votes were polled there that day, of which but some thirty were citizens. A protest Against the election was made to the Gorevnor. The returns of, the election made to the Governor werelfiei bjr the Committee of Elections of the Legislature at Paw- nee. The dupjicate returns left in the ballot-box wqre taken b,y F. E. paA^, bjie of the judges elected by th« MisBoui-ians, and were either Ipst or destroyed, in h|j house, BO that your Coinmittee Ijave been unable to institute a comparison between, the poll-lists and: census returns of this district. The testimony^ however, is uni- form, that not even thirty of those who voted there that day were entitled to vote, leaving 311 illegal votes. We are satisfied from the tesUmppy that, had the actual set- tlers alone voted, the Fjcee^tate candidates would Jhave been elected tiy a handsome mfgqri^. IIID District— TBCtTMSRH. For some days prior to the election, companies of ^en were organized in Jackson, Cass, and Qay counties Mo., for the purpose ^f coming to the Territory and voting in this Vth difitiilct. The day previous to the election, some 400 or 500 Missourians, armed with guns, pistols,, and knives, came i^to thei, Tei*JitQry and camped, pome at Bull Creek, and others at Fotawatamie Creek. Their camps were about ^teen miles apart. On the evening before the election, judge Hamilton of the Cass County Court,, Mo., came from the Potawatamie- Greek camp to Ball Qreek for sixty more Missourians, as they had not epp\i$h there to render the election certain^ and about that number went down therewith him. Qa the evening before the election. Dr. B. 6. Westfall was fleet- ed to act as one of the Judges of Election in the^ Bull Creejc precinct^in place of bneof the judges appqinted by the Governor, who, it was said, would not be there the next day. Dr. W^tfall was at that time a ci^zen of Jackson Coimty, Mo. On the morniug of the election, the polls for BuU.<3reek precinct were opened, and, ^tth- out swearing the judges, they proceeded to receive the votes of all who offered to vote. , Fur the sake of appear- ance, they would get some one to come to the window and offer to vote, and when asked to be sworn he would pretend to grow angry at the judges and would go away, and his name would be put down as having o£fered.to vote, but "rejected, refusing to be sworn.'* .Tim arrangement was made previously. and perfectly under- stood by the judges. But few of the residents of thft 'district were present at the electdo^,.and only thirteen voted. The number of. votes cast in the precinct, was.$93> One Missourian voted for himself and then voted ior his little spn, but IQ or 11 years old. Col. Coffer^' Henry Younger and Mr. Lykins, who were voted for ai^d elept- ed to the Legislature, were residents of' Missouri at the time. Col. Goffer subsequently married in the Territoij. After the. polls were closed, thp returns were made, and a man, claiming to be a magistrate, certified on them that he had sworn the judges of election before open^^ the polls. In the Potawatamie precinct, the Missourian attended the election, and after threatening Mr. , Ches- nut, the only judge present appointed by the Governor, to induce him to resign', they proceeded to elect, tiyio other jodges^oae a Missourian and the other a resident of anotjher precinct of that, district. The polls were then openedi, and .all the ; Missourians were allowed tp vote without being sworn. After the P^Us were. closed, and the returns made out for the signature of the judges, Mr. Chesnut refused to , sign them, as h^ did not consider them correct returns of legal voters.' '' ' Col. Coffer, a resident of Missouri, but elected to the Kansas Legislature from that district at that election, en- deavoted with others to induce IMtr.'Chesnut by threats to sign the returns, which he refused to^do, and left the house. On his way home, he was fired at by some Mis- sourians, though not Itfjured. There were three illegal to one legal vote given there that day. At the Big Layer precinct, the judges appointed by the Governor' met at the time apt>ointed, and proceeded to open the polls, after being duly sworn." After a few votes had be*jn re- ceived, a party of Msssourians came into the yard of the house where the election was held, and, unloading a wagon filled with arms, stacked their guns in the yard, and came up to the window and demanded to be admit- ted to vote. Two of the judges decided to receive their votes, whereupon the third judge, Mr. J, M. Arthur, re- signed, and another was chosen in his place. Col.- Young, a citizen of Missouri, but a candidate for, and elected to, the Territorial Legislative Council, was pre- sent and voted in the precinct. He claimed'thal all Missourians who were present on the day of election were entitled to vote.' But thirty or forty of the citizens of the preclnfit were present,^ and many of thetn did not vote. '^At the Little Sugar precinct, the election seemed to )have been conducted fairly, and there a Free-StatA majority was polled. Froni tne testimony, the whole district appears tb hare been largely Pree-StatcKi ^^d, KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRUGGLE. iiad none but actual settlers voted, the Free-State cancU- datcd would, "have been elected^ fa^ a large majorUy. rFrom a careful examination of the testimony and the records, we And that from 200 to ^25 le^l votes were polled out of 885, the total number ^ven in the precincts of the Vth District. Of the legal votes cast, the Free- State candidates received 152. VIth DiSTnicT — Fort Soott, A company of citizens from Missouri, mostly ftoni Bates County, came into this District the day before th6 election, some camping and others putting up at the public-house. They numbered ft om 100 to 200, and came in wagons and 6a horsebacTc, carrying their provlgions and tents with them, and were generally armed with pis- tols. Xhey declared' their purpose to vote, and claimed the right to do bo. They went to the polls generally in small bodies, with tickets in their hand^; and many, if not all, voted. In some cases, they declared that they had voted, and gave their reasons for so doing. Mr. Anderson, a Pro-Slavery candidate for the Legislature, eadeavored to dissuade the non-residents from voBiug, because he did not wish the election contested. This person, however, insisted upon voting, and upon his right to vote, and did so. No one was' challenged or sworn, and all voted who desired to. Out of 850 votes cast, not over 100 were .legal, -and but 64 of these named in the , census taken one juonth before by Mr. 34rber, the candidate for Council, voted. Many ojf the Free-State men (fid not vote, but your Committee is sat- isfied that, of the legal votes cast, the Pro-Slavery candi- dates received a majority. Mr. Anderson, one of these candidates, was an unmarried man, who came 'into the District from Missouri a fewdSys before the election, and boarded at the public-hoUsfe until the day after the Section. He then took with him the poll-lists, and did not return to Fort Scott untilthe occasion of a bavbactie the week before the election of October 1, 185!5. He Voted at that dection, and after it left, and has not since been in the District. " S. A; Williams, the other Pl-o- Slavery candidate, at the time of the election had a claim in the Territoi-y,but his legal residence was not , tbCre tintil after the election, TIlTH District, From two to three hundred men, from the State of Missouri, came in wagons or on horseback, to the el^c- tion ground at Switsier's Creek, in the Vllth District, and encamped near ,the polls, on the day prece'ding; the election. They were armed with pistols and othe* wea- pons, and declared their purpose to vote, la order to se- cure the election of Pro-Slavery members. They said they were disappointed in not finding more Yankees there, and that they had brought more men than were necessary to counterbalance their yote. A number of them wore badges of blue ribbon, with a motto, and the company were'u&der thb direction of leaders. . They de- clared their intention to conduct themselres peacefully, unless the residents of the Territory attempted to stop , them from voting. Two of the judges bf election ap- , pointed by Governor Reeder refused tp -serve, where- ' upon two others were appointed in their' stead by the (Croird of Missourians who Surrounded the polls. The newly-appointed judges refused to take the oath pre-' scribed by Governor Reeder, but made ope to suit them- selves. Andrew Johnson requested each voter to swear if he had a claim in the Territory, and if he had voted in another district. The judges did not take the oath pre- scribed, but were stvorn to reci^ve all legal votes. The Missourians voted \7ithoilt being sworn. They sup- ported. H. J. Stickler for Council, and M. ^. McGee for Representative. They left the evening of the election. Some of them started on horseback for Lawrence, as they said they could be there before night, and all went the way they came. The census-h'st shows 53 legal voters In the District. 263 votes were cast; of these 25 were residcntsj 17 of whom were in the District when the cen- sus was taken. Some of the residents present at the polls did not vote, declaring it useless. Candidates de- clined to run on the. Free-State ticket because they were unwilling to run the i-isk of so unequal a contest — it be- ing known that & great many were coming up from Mis- souri to vote. Nearly all .the settlers were Free-State men, and 28 of the 25 legal votes given were cast for the only Free-State candidate running. Mobiller McGee, who was declared elected Representative, had a claim — a saw-mill and a house in the Territory — and he was there part of the time. But his legal residence is now, and was then, near Westport, in, Missouri, where Ke oWns and conducts a valuable ifarm, and where his family resides. VIIIth District. nils was attached to the Tilth District for member of 7 ffl the Council and a Representative, and Its vote was con« trpUed by the illegal vote cast there. i'!]^e-census showi 39 votes in it— 37 votes were cast, of whom a majority voted the Free-State ticket. IXth District. Fort Riley and Pawnee are In this District. The laV ter place was selected by the Governor as the tempo- rary capital, and hfe designed there to e*pend the soma appropriated by Congress in the cbnstruotjon of suitable houses for the Legislature. A good deal bf building was then being doneat'fhe fort near by. For these reasons, a number of mechanics, mostly from Pennsylvania, came into this district In March, 1855, to' seek employment. Some of these voted at the 'election. The construction of the capital was first postponed, then abandoned, arid fiu^lly-the site of the toVii'Was declared by the Secre- tai|y cf War to be within the military reservation of Fort Riley. Some of the inhabitants returnfed to the States' and some went to other parts of the Territory. Your Committee find that. they catae Els settlers, intend- ing to remain as such, and were entitled to vote. ' Xth District. In this district, ten persons 'belonpng to the Wyandot tribe of Indians voted. 'They were of that class who under the law were entitled to vote ; but their residenco was in Wyandot Village, at the mouth of Kansas Rivei; and they had no right to vote in this district. They voted the Pro-Slavery ticket. Eleven men recently from Pennsylvania voted the Free-State Ticket. From the testimony^ they had not, at the time of tiie election, so established their residence as to have entitled them to vote. In both these classes of cases, the judges exam< ined the votera under oath and allowed them to voie. and in all respects the election se6ms to have been con- ducted fairly. The rejection of both would not have changed the result., Thisrand the VIIIth Election District formed one representative district, and "was the oiily one to which the invasion frpm Missouri did not extend. XlTH District?. The IXth, Zth, Xlth and Xlllh Election Districts, being all sparsely settled; were attached together as a Councit District, add the XTth and Xllth '^ a Repre- sentative ])istrict. This Election District is 60 miles novbh fi'om'Patvnee, and 150 miles f^'om Kansas City. It is the northwest settlement in the Territor-y^ and contained, when the census was taked, but 36 inhabitants, of whom 24 were voters. There was on the day of election no white settlement about ^Mki^s^ilTe, the place of voting, for 40 miles', except th'at' M&fShall knd Bishop kept a store and fprry at the crossing of the Big Blue and the California read. 'Sbilr Committed wefC unable to pro- cure witnesses from this district. Persons who were pre- sent at the election were duly summoned by an officer, and among them was F, J, Marshall, the member of the House ft*om that district. On hia retm^, the officer was arrested and detained, and persons hearing the names bf some o^'the witnesses summoh'ed were stopped near Lecompton, and did not appear before the Committee. The returns show that, ia defi^nbe of the Governor's proclamation, the voting was '&i^'a voce, instead of by ballot. 328 names appear upon the poll-books as voting, and by comparing these names with those on the census rolls, we find that but seven of the latter voted. ,The person voted for as Representative, F. J. Marshall,' was chief owner of the store at Marysvllle, and was there sometimes,. but his family lived in Weston. John I))on- aldson, the candidate voted for the Council, then lived in Jackson County, Missouri. On the day after the election, Mr. Marshall, with 25 or SO m»n from Weston, Mo., was on the way from Mafys- ville to the State. Some of the party told a witness who had formerly resided at Weston, that they were up at Marysyille and carried the day for Missouri, and that they had v6ted about 150 votes. Mr. Marshall paid.'^the bill at that point for the party. ' There do« not appear to have been any emigration into that district in. March, 1356,' after the census V as taken, and, judging from the, best test in thjs power of your Committee, there were but seven legal votes cast in the district, and S21 illegaL XIIth Distbict. The election in this, district was conducted fairly. 8 No complaint was made that illegal votes were cost. > XUIth District. Previous to the day of election; several hundreds of SCss6liT^ris from Platte, Clay; Boone, Clinton, and How* ard counties, came intd the' dtetrict in wagons and on horseback, and camped there. They were armed with guiis, revolvers, and bowie^kplves and had. badgetf of 98 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. hemp ta their button-holes and elsewhere about their persons. They claimed to have a right to vote, from the fact that they were there on the ground, and had, or butended to make, claims in the Territory, although their fomilies were in Missouri. The judges appointed by the Governor opened the polls, and some persons offered to vote, and when their rotes were rejected on the ground that they were not residents of the district, the crowd threatened to tear the bouse down if the judges did not leave. The judges then withdrew, taking the poll-books with them. The crowd (hen proceeded to select other persoi^s to act as judges, and the election went on. Those persons voting who were sworn were asked if they considered themselves residents of the district| and if they said they did, they were allowed to vote. Sut few of the residents were present and voted, and the Free-State men, as a general thing, did not vote. After the Missonrians got through Totipg, they returned home. A formal return was made by the judges of election setting out the facts, but it was not verified. The number of legal voters in this district was 96, of whom a majority were Free-State men. Of these — voted. The total number of votes cast was 296. XIVth District. It was generally rumored in this district, for some days before the election, that the Missonrians were coming oicer to vote. Previous to the election, men from Mis- souri came into the district, and electioneered for the Pro-Slavery candidates. Gen. David R, Atchison and a party controlled the nominations in one of the primary elections. Burs Oak Prbcinct. Several hundred Missourians fi-om Buchanan, Platte, and Andrew counties, Mo., including a great many of the prominent citleens of St. Joseph, came into this precinct the day before, and on the day of election, in wagons and on horses, and encamped there. Arrangements were made for them to cross the ferry at St. Joseph free of expense to themselves. They were armed with bowie- knives and pistols, guns and rifles. On the moi'uing of the election, the Free-State candidates resigned in a body, on account of the presence of the large number of armed Missourians, at which the crowd cheered and huirahed. Gen. B. F. Stringfellow was present, ^nd was prominent in promoting the election of the Pro-Slavery ticket, as was also the Hon. Willard P. Hall, and others of the most prominent citizens of St. Joseph, Mo. But one of the judges of election, appointed by the Governor, served on that day, and the crowd chose two others to supply the vacancies. The Missourians said they came there to vote for, and secure the election of, Major Wm. P. Richardson. Mi^or Richardson, elected to the Council, had a farm in Missouri, where his wife and daughter lived with his son- in-law, WlUardP. Hall, he himseu generally going home to Missouri every Saturday night. The farm was gene- rally known as the Richardson ifarm. He had a claim in the Territory, upon which was a saw-mill, and where he generally remained during the week. Some of the Missourians gave as their reason for voting that they had heard that eastern emigrants were to be at that election, though no eastern emigrants were there. Others said they were going to rote for the purpose of making Kansas a Slave State, Some claimed that they had a right to vote, under the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, from the fact that they were present on the ground on the day of election. The Free-State men generf^ly did not vote, and those who did vote, voted geneifally for John H. White- head, Pro-Slavery, for Council, against Major Wm. P. Richardson, and' did not vote at all for members of the Lower House. The parties were pretty nearly equally divided in the district, some being of opinion that the Free-State party had a small majority, and others that the Pro- Slavery party had a small majority. After the election was over and the polls were closed, the Missourians re- turned home. During the day, they had provisions and liquor served out, free of expense, to all. Doniphan Frkcinct. The evenhig before the el6(ition, some 200 or more Missourians from Platte, Buchanan, Saline, and Clay counties, Missouri, came into this precinct, with tents, music, wagons, and provisions, and armed with guns, rifles, pistols, and bowie-knives, and encamped about two miles from the place of voting. They said they came to vote, to make Kansas a Slave State, and intended to return to Missouri after they had voted. On the morning of the election, the Judges appointed by the Governor would not serve, and others were appointed by the crowd. The Missourians were allowed to vote without being sworn — some of them voting ai many as eight or nine times ; changing their hats and coats, and giving in different names each time. After they had voted, they returned to Missouri. The Fre?- State men generally did hot vote, though constituting a majority in the precinct. Upon counting the ballots. m the box and the names on the poll-lists, it was found that there were too many ballots, and one of the judges of election took out ballots enough to make the two num- bers correspond. "Wolf River Pebcisot. The number of Voters in the district b;^ the census \rsa B34— of these 124 voted. The testimony shows that quite a number of persons whose legal residence was in the populous county of Buchanan, Mo., on the opposite side of the river, had claims in the Teiritory. Some^ ranged cattle, and others marked out their claim and built a cabin, and sold tills incipient title where they could. They were not residents of the Territory in any just or legal sense. A number of settlers moved into the district in the month of March. Your Committee are satisfied, after a careful analysis of the records and testimony, that the number of legal votes cast did not exceed 200— out of 737. XVth District. The election in this district was held In the house of a Mr. Hayes. On the day of election, a crowd of from 400 to 500 men collected around the polls, of which the great body were citizens of Missouri. One of the judges of election, in his testlp3,0Dy, states that the strangers com- menced crowding arotind the polls, and that then Uie residents left. Threats were made before and during the election day that there should be no Free-State c^- didates, although there were nearly or quite as many Free-State as Pro-Slavery men resident in the district. Most of the crowd were drinking and carousing, cursing the Abolitionists and threatealng the only Free-Statt judge of election. A majority of those who voted wors hemp in their . button-holes, and their password was, '* all right on the hemp." Many of the Missourians weri known and are named by the witnesses. Several speeches were made by them at the polls, and amonf those who spoke were Major Oliver, one of your Com- mittee, Col. Burns, and Lalan WlUiams, of Platte County Major Oliver urged upon all present to use no harsh words, and expr^sed the hope that nothing would b« said or done to harm the feelings of the most sensitive on the other side. He gave some grounds, based on the Missouri Compromise, in regard to the right of voting, and was understood to excuse the Missourians for voting. Your Committee are satisfied that he did not vote. Col Burns recommended all to vote, and he hoped none would go home without voting. Some of the Pro- Slavery residents were much dissatisfied at the inter- ference with their rights by the Missourians, and for that reason-r-because reflection convinced them that it ^ould be better to have Kansas a Free-State — they " fell over the fence." The judges requested the voters to take an oath that they were actual residents. They objected at first, some saying they had a claim, or " I am here." But the Free-State judge insisted upon the oath, and his associates, who at first were disposed to waive it, coin- cided with him, and the votera all took it after some grumbling. One said he cut him somepoles and laid thera in the shape of a square, and that made him a claim ; and another said that he had cut him a few sticks of wood, and that made him a claim. The Free-State men did not vote, although they believed their numbers to be equal to the Pro-Slavery settlers, and some claimed that ttiey had the majority. They were deterred by threats throughout by the Missourians, before and on the day of election, from putting up candidates, and no candidates were run, for this reason— that there was a credited rumor previously that the Missourians would control the election. The Free-State judge was threatened with ex- pulsion from the polls, and a young man thrust a pistol into the window through which thb votes were received. The whole number of votes cast was 41T ; of tShe names on the poll-book, but 62 are in the censuS-rolla, and the testimony shows that a small portion, estimate(f by one witness at one-quarter of the legal voters, voted. Youi* Committee estimate the number of legal voters at 80. One of the judges referred to, certified to the Governor that the election was fairly conducted. It was not con- tested, because no one would take the responsibility of doing it, as it was not considered safe, and that if another election was held, the residents would fare no better. XVIth District. For some time previous to the election, meetings were held and arrangements made ia Missouri to get up coi* THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRTTGOLK 99 nnloB ta come orer to the Territory and Toto, and the ft'ayt before, and on the daypf leleoUon, large bodies of HtasourianB from Platte, . Glayy Ray^ Gha^ton, Oftvrel, Clinton, and Saline oauQtie^t Missoui'd, came into this district and caniped there. They were armed with pistols l.iiLd bowle-lcniTea, and some with guns and rifieSf and sad badges of hemp in their button-holes and elsewhere Rbout their persons. On the morning of the eleotionf i there were from 1,000 to lf400 persona present on the ground. Previous to the election, the Missourians endeavored to persuade the two Free-Statejiidges to resign, by making threats of personal violence to them, one of whom resigned on the morning of election, and the crowd, chose another to fill his place. But one of the judges, the Free-State judge, would take the oath prescribed by the G-oyernor, the other two deciding that they had no right to swear any one who offered to vote, but that all on the ground were entitled tp vote. The only votes refused were some Delaware Indians, some 8U Wyandot Indians being allowed to vote. .... The Free-State men generally did not vote at that elec- Uon; and no newly-arrived Eastern emigrants were there. The Free-State judge of election refused to sign, the re- turns until ttie words " by lawful resident voters" were stricken out, which was done, and the returns made in that way. TJhe election was contested, and a new e}ec- tion.ordered by Qov. Reeder, for the 22d of May. The testimony is divided as to the relative strength of Diarties in this district. The whole number of voters in ihe district, according to the census returns, was 3S5 ; and', according to a very carefully preparedjist of voters, prepared for the Pro-Slavery candidates and other Pro- liavery men, a few days previous to the election,' th^re jrere S05 voters in the district, including those who had GUaims but did not live on them. The whole number of .^otes cast was 964.' Of those named in the census 106 roted. Your Committee, upon careful examination, are latisfled that there were not over 150 legal votes cast, ■aving S14 illegal votes.' XVIIth District. Tlie election la this district seems to have been fairly conducted, and not contested at all. In this district, thfl Pro-Sl^iVeiry party had the majority. XVIUth Distbict, , i ' Pi-evlo«8 to the election. Gen. David R. Atchison of Platte City, Missouri, got up a company of Missourians, and parsing tfii'ou'gh Weston, MissoUrP, went over into the Terfitbry. He remained all night H Ihfefhouseof — ^ atid, then exhibited his arms, of which' be bad an abund- ance: He pvoceeded ' to the Nemaha (XVMXth) district. Onhis wily, he and his party attended a NomintftingOon- ventioa in the XlVth District, and proposed and caused to be i^ominated a set of candidates in opposition to the wishes- of the Pro-Slavery residents of the district. At that Convention, he said l^at there were 1,100 men coming over fi'om Platte County, and If that wasn't enough, they could send 5,000 more— that they came to. vote, and would vote or kill every Gt — d d—d Abolitionist in the Territory. On the day of election, the Mtssourians, under Atchi» son, who w'ere encamped there, came up to the polls in the XVillth District, taking the oath that they were residents of the district. The Missourians were all armed with pistols or boVie-kniVes, and said there were 60 in their company. But 17 votee giVen "on that day were given by-residents of the district. The whole nuinber of votes was 62. R. L. Eirk, one of the candidates, came into the dit»< trict from Missouri about a week before the election, and boarded there. He left after the election, and was not at the time a legal resident of the district in which he was elected. No protest was sent to the Governor on account of threats made against any who should dare to contest the election. The following tables embody the result of the examina- tion- of your Committee in regard to this election. la some of the districts, it was impossible to ascertain the precise number of the legal votes cast, and. especially io, the XlVth, XVih, and XVIth Districts. In suCh cases, the number of legal and illegal votes cast is stated, after a careful refixaminatlon of all the testimony and records conceriAng the election : ABSTRACT OF GENSTJSj AND RETURNS OF ELECTION OF MARCH 30, 1855, BT ELECTION DISTRICTS. 1 o 1 FI.ACEB or TOTINO, J 1 > ,i 1 ■i i I o •i I . 1 1 a ■s & CeDBUs. Council. House. ! p. i I o 1 o d i o i 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 13 ■5 2 5 o d 2 8 4 1 6 5 5 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 i o i 8 2 1 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 "i 2 2 3 26 1 2 3 4 6 e T 8 9 10 11 12 13 U 15 16 IT 18 Lawrence Bloomingtoa ^ gtinsoD's, or Tecumseh T81 SIS 866 T8 STT 199 74 84 815 211 IT 23 2T 2 828 4 12 283 813 6T 256 412 899 43 48 258 12 4 2 » 65 IT TO 85 23 IT 52 42 21 T 19 6 80 15 2 60 16 14 11 2 T 8 '2 3 6 48 5 . 6 1084 841 8T2 80 386 264 98 104 850 234 8T T5 69 23 828 11 88 239 846 78 806 4IT 964 69 62 282 30 32 16 13 75 82 104 100 25 8T T6 48 23 T 11 88 12 200 80 150 69 IT 802 316 83B 65 3S0 191 69 250 209 21 321 230 680 887 814 962 619 252 17T 140T 810 118 88 86 151 36 144 284 116T 878 llES 160 99 869 199 101 47 442 258 68 89 86 63 24 ii 96 884 208 885 6Q 28 1 2 3 1 4 5 3 3 6 10 8 9 10 1 10 7 7 8 9 10 1 7 TBuU Creek Bie Suear Greek. Fort Scott«...... Isaac B. Titus ( Biff Blue «.. Uarvsville (St. Mary's Hickory Point. ^ Wolf Creek ^.i (Rarr-Oak, Hodge's........ Total. .1 642T T91 92 6320 1810 4968 8501 2892 By the election, as conducted, the Pro^lavery candi- 1 them, in both the Council and the Rouse, did not " reside dates in every district but the Vlllth repi;Cse;itative dia- in " and were not "inhabitants of" the district for ^ct, received a' majorityof the votes j&nd' several of I which they were elected, as required by the organic law. loo A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. By that act !t waa declared to be the true Inteht and meaning of this act to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their ' do&eatio institutions in their own way, subject to the Opostitutloa of the United States. So careful was Congress of the right of popular Borereignty, that to secure It to the pi^ople, without a Biugle petitioQ from any portion of th« country, they remoTed the restriction against Slavery i^l.po3ed by the Missouri Compromise, And yet this right, sb c^efuUy secured, was thus by force and, fraud pTerthi'Own by a portion of the people of an adjoining State. '.The sti-ikiag difference between thisRepubUc and other Republics on this Continent,, is not in the provisions of constitutions and laws, but. that her« changes jn the ad- ministration: of those laws bave been made peacefully and quietly through the ballot-box. This invasionis the first and only one in the history of our Government, by which an organiie^focce fr,om one State hp,9 elected a Legislature for another State or Territory, and as such it should have been resisted by the whole executive power af the iNatlonal Government. Tour Ooramittee are of the, opinion that the Constitu- tion and laws of the United States, have invested the President and Governor of Ihe Territory with njaple power for this purpose. They could only act after re- ceiving authentic information of the facts; but when re- ceived, whether before or after the certificates of election were granted, this power should have been exercised to Its fullest extent. It is not to be tolerated that a legisla- tive body thus selected should assume or exercise any legislative functions; and their enactments should be regarded as null and void ; nor should the question of. its legal existence as a legislative body be determined by itself, as that would be allowing the criminal to judgQ of bis own crime. ' In section twenty-two of the oi;ganic act It is provided, that " the persons having the highest num- ber of legal votes in each of said Council-districts for members of the Council, shall be declared by the Governor to. be duly ele,cted to the Council, and the persons haying ttie highest number of legal votes for the Bouse of ^epre-. sentatives, shall be declared by the Governor duly elfipibd members of said House." The proclamation of the Governor required a verified notice of a contest when one was made, to be filed with him within four days after the election. Within that time, he did not obtain lafqrmation as- to force or fraud in any except, the fol- lowiDg districts, and in these |;ht:re were material defects In the returns of election. Without decidiif g upon his power to set aside elections for force and fraud, they wene set aside for the following reasons : in the I^t District, because the words " by lawful resi- dent voters," were stricken from the return. In the lid District, because the .oath was admlni^ered by G. W. Taylor, who was not authorized to administer an Dath. . In the Illd District, because mat-evial erasures from the printed form of the oath were purposely made. In the IVth District, for the same reaaon. In the Vllth District, because the Judges were not sworn at all. In the Xlth District, because the returns show the election to hav6 been held vi^a i>0C6 instead of by ballot. In the XVIth District, .because .the words "by lawful residence" were stricken from the returns. ABSTRACT OF THE RETURNS OF ELECTION OP MAY 22, 1855. 1 p o PLAOSa 0» VOTIHB. i o > S P 9 ■s > s m & a OQ i 1 560 2S? 127 148 66 S.S 140 18 1 18 16 306 S 127 S Stinson's 149 T "110" 79 8 83 16 Leavenworth Total 715 K60 1409 Although the fraud and force: in other districts were equally great as in, these, yet, as the Governor had no iiWormation in regard to them, be issued certificates ac- cording to the returns. four Committee here felt it to be their dn^ not only te inquire Into and collect etidence in regard to force aii4 fraud attempted t and practiced at the elections in th^ Territory, but also into the facts and pretexts by which this force and fraud has been excused and justified ; and for this purpose your Committee haVe allowed the deMa- rations of non-resident voters to be given as evidence in their own behalf, also the declarations of all who came up the Missouri River as emigrants Jn March, 1355, whether they voted or not, and whether they came into the Territory at all or not; .and also the rumors which were circulated among the peopld of Missouri previous to the election. The great body of the testimony' taken at the instance of the sitting Belegate'is of this character. When the declarations of parties passing up the rivor were offered in evidence, your Committee received them upon the distinct statement that they would be excluded unless the persons making the declarations were by other proof shown to have been connected with the elections. This proof was not made, and therefore much of this class of testimony id incompetent by the rules of law, but is allowed to remain as tending' to show the cause of the action of the citizens of Missouri. The'aTleged causes of the invasion of March, 1855, are included In the following charges : I. That the New-England Aid Society of Boston was then importing into^ the Territory large numbers of men, merely forthe purpose of controlling the elections. Tnat they came without women, ehildreu, or baggage, went into the Territory, voted, and returned again. II. That men were hired in the Eastern or Northern States, or induced to go into the Territory, solely to vote, and not to settle, and by so doing to make it a Free State. III. That the Governor of the Territory purposely post- poned the day bf election to allow .this emigration to arrive, and notified the Emigrant Aid Society, and per- sons in the Eastern States, of the day of election, before he gave notice to the people of Missouri and the Territory. Ttiat these charges were industriously okculated ; that grossly exaggerated, statements were made in regard to them; that the newspaper press and. leading, in^a- in public meetings in Western Missouri, aided in one case' by a Chaplain of the United itates Army, gave currency and credit to them, and thus excited ^q peopleg and induced many weli-meanmg citizens of Missouri to marca into the Territory to meet and repel the alleged' Eastern paupers and Abolitionists, is fully proven by many wit* But these charges are not sustained.by the proof. In April, 1854, the General Assembly of MassacbTi^ettfl passed an act .entitled " An act to incorporate theUassa- chusetta Emigrant Aid Society." The olgectuf theStciety, as declared in the first section of this act, was " fir the purpose of assisting emigrants to settle in the West." The moneyed- capital of the corporation was >iot to exceed five millioiis of dollars ; but no more than fiur per cent, could be assessed during the year 1S54, fjid no more than. ten. per cent, in any one year thereaftiV. No organization was perfected, or proceedings had^^uDder this law. - . , On the 24th day of July, 1§54, certain persons 'n Bos- ton, Massachusettej concluded articles of agreemt nt and associatioa for an ^migranVAid Society. The purpose of this association was declared to be " assisting eniigrants to settle in the West.**.. "Rnder^these articles of associa- tion, e^vchstockholqer was. individually 'liable. Tp avoid this difficulty, &i\ ^ppiipp-Vion" was made to the General Asseml^y of Jdassachusetts for an act of incorporation, which was granteji, . On tjie. 2.1?t..4ay of JFeljruary, 1855. an act_was passed, to. incorporate the Nsew England Emigrant Aid Company. .The. purposes of this act were declared to be " di.re.cling. .e9Ugra.tion westwAr,d, and aiding and prpvic^ng accommpdaitjoii for emigrants after arriving at. their plape of destination." Tho capital stock of the corporation, was not to excsed one ^nilHon of dollars. Undertlii^ charter, a.Qompany was. organized. Your Comnjittee.have.esaiWiedaomeof its officers, and a portion of its circi^l^rs.and.records^ to ascertain what has been done by it. Jhe pubUp atteation at Ibat time was durected to the Territory of Kansas, and emlgraticin natu- rally tended in that, direction. Oto ascertain its charactei and resources, this.Company sent , Us Agent into It, and the information thus obtained waa .published. The Company made arrangements with yacious fines of transportHitiOn to reduce the e3j;pense of emigration ' into the Xfcrritofy, and procured tickets at the reduced rates. Applications >vere made to the Company by persons desiring to emigrate; and when they were numerous enough to form a party of convenient size, tickets were sold to them at the reducetf rates. An agent acqua^ited with the route waa selected to accompany th^., Thieir baggage -was checked, and ali troublje and danger of loss to the emigrant la this way avoided. REPORT.' OF KAJTSliS IFVrESriGATIKG COMMITTEE. 101 tUidej' tbeae arrangements, companiee went into the romtory in the Fall of 18S4, under the articles of assods/' uob referred to. The companydld not pay ajiy portion of the-fere, nor furnish any personal or real property to the emigrant. The company)>dnring 1855, sent into the Terri- tory from eight to tfen saw-mills, purchased one hotel in Kansas City, which they subsequently sold, built one hotel at Lawrence, and owned one other building in that place. In some cases^ to induce them - to make ImproremeDts towTi lots were given to them by town associaaons in this Territory. They held no property of any other kind or description. They Imposed no condition upon their emi- grants, and did not inquire into their political, religious, or social opinions. The total amount expended by them, in- cluding the salaiies of then- agents' and officers, and the «^«^«3 JooWent to aU ■ organizations, was less than Their purposes, so far as your Comnattee can Ascertain, w«re lawftil, and conti'lbuted to supply those wants most experienced in the settlement of a new country^ The only persons or company who emigfatfid Into the Tertttory under the auspices of the Emigrant Aid Society Ifl 1855i i)rii(>r to the election in March, wasfa party of 169 pfei-aonsjiwho came under the charge of Charles Robin- sdn. In this party, there were 67 women and children. O^ey citne as actual settlers, intending to make their homes in thfe_ Territory, and for no other purpose. Tiiey had about thfeir persons but little baggage ; usually sufficient cloth- ing m a carpet'sack for a short time. Their personal ef- fects, such as clothing, fumitUte, etc., were put into trunks arid boxes ; and for conreziience in selecting, and cheap- ness in transporting, was- marked ""Eaiisaa party bag- gage, care B. Slater, St, Louis." Generally, this was con- signed as freight, in the usual way to the care of a com- nilssioTi merchant. This party had ■ in addition to'th&Usual allowance of one hundred pounds to- each passenger, a large quantity of baggage on which the respective owners paid the usual extra fteight. Each passenger or party paid his or theft- own expenses-; and the only benefit they derived fi-om the Society, not shared by all the people of the Territory, was the reduction of about |T in the price of the fare,. the convenienc? of traveling in a com- pany instead of alone, andflhe cheapness and feoility of ti'fansporting'their freight tl^rough regul$,r ageilte. Stibse- quently, many emigrants, being either disappointed with the country or its poUtic'al' condition, or' deceived by the statements made by the newspapers and by the agents of the Sqciety, became dissatisfied, and returned, both before and after the election, to their old homes. Most o^ them are now settlers in the Territory. Some few voted at the election in Lawrence, but the number was small. The names of these emigrants have been ascertained, and ■ ■" of them were found' upon the poll-books. ' This company of peacefureifiigrania, moving -mth their house- hold goods; was distorted into-an invading horde of pauper Abolitionists, who were, with othera of a similar character, to control the domestic institutions of the Temtory, and then overturn those of a neighboruig powerful State. In regard to the second' charge : There is no proof that any man was either hired or indUced to come into the Territory from any Freid State, merely to vote. The en- tire emigration in March, 1865, is estimated at 500 persons, SdclUding men, women, and children. They came on steamboats up the Missouri River, in the ordinary course of emigration, l^any returned for causes similar to those before stated; but t£e body tit them are mow residents. The only persons of those Who were connected by proof with the election, were some who voted at the Big Blue Pirfecinct In the Xth District, and at Pawnee, in the IXtb District. Their purpose and character are stated in a former part of this report. The third charge is entirely groundlesg.' The^ organic law requires the Governor to cause an. ehumeratlbn of the inhabitants and legal voters to be made ; and that he ap- portion the members of the Council and Ifouse, according to this enumeration. For reasons stated by persons en- gaged in taking the census, it was not completed until l^e early part of March, 1?55. At that time, tJ^e day of hold- ing the el'ectton had not been, and could npt have been, named by the Governor. So soon as practicable after the returns wer& brought in, lie issued his proclamation for an electS^on, and named the earliest day, consistent with due notice, as the day of election. The day on which the dection was to be held was a matter of conjecti^re all over the country ; but it was generally fcnpwn that it would be. in the latter part of March. The precise day was not kr^own by any One until ttie proclamation issued. It was not known to th6 agents of the Emigrant Aid Society in Boston on the 13th of March, 1855, when the party of emi- grants before referred to, left. Your Committee are satisfied that these charges were made the mere pretext to induce an armed Invasion into the lemtoryjiasi a jneans to control the eleoUon bOd es- tablish Slavery there.. The teal purpose is avowed and illustrated by the testi- mony and conduct of Colonel John Scott, of St. Joseph's, MisbdurL wh&riact^ as the attorney for the sittiug dele- gate before your Committed. The following are extracts ^om hla deposition : "Prior to the election In Burr-Oak pTechict In the XlVfh Dis- trict, on the 29th of November, 1854, 1 had been a resident ol' Missouri, and I then determined, if I found it necessary, lo be- come a resident of Kansas Territory. On the day previous to that elecUoD, J settled up my board at my troaF^iug-house, la St. Joseph's, MIsso>irl, and went over to the Territory, and took hoarding, with Mr. Bryant, near whose house the. polls were held the next day, f6r one month, so that I might bave it in my pbwer,' by merely determining to do so, to become a resi- dent of the Territory on the day of election. " When my name was proposed as a Judge of Election, ob jectinns were made by two persons nnly. ., . . . I (hen publiiQly ii^forpaetlnthose present, that I had a clalmJn the Ter- ritory ; that I had taken board In the Territory for a month : and thai. X could, at any moment] become an aptual resident and legal voter In the Territoi;y, and that I would do so, If I conelilded'at any time during the day that my vole would be necessary to carry that' precinct in favor of the Pm-SIavery ;caaullda)te for^dolegate to Congress , I did not , dur- ing the day consider it necessary to become aircsideut of the iTerritory for the purpose mfiatianed, and dJ^d. hot vote nor off^r to vbte at thftt election., "I'held the office orCtty-Attorneylbr St. Joseph^s at that time, and had held it for tWb or three years previously, and continued to hold, it until this spring. .... I voted at an election hi St. Joseph'Stln the sjwlng of 1S55, and was re- appointed City-Attorney. The question of Slavery was put hi Issue at the election of November, 1851, to the same extent as ■In every Election In this Territory. Gen. Whitfield was r.e- igarded as the Pro-Slavery candidate for the Pro-Slavery party. I regarded the question of Slavery as the primarily prominent issue at that- election, and, so far as J know, all parUes agreed in making that question the issue of that election. "ii! is my intention, and Oie intenMon of a great many other J/issourians now resident iA Jlfissoiii-i, rcheneoer the Slavery issue is to he determined xaptm by the petite of iTiis Tei-rii.my i)i the adoption of tJie State Cbnstittition, to remove to this Terriio>-y in time to acquire the i-iffTa io become Ugml voters upon thai gve^ion. The]^dinff purpose of our intend/ed removal to the Teirxtoryis to determine the dmnesiic institutaons of this Terriiom, when it comes to hs-.tt State, and we tcould not come only for that puipose, and tcould never tJiinA of coming here but for tliat purpose. I betieas there are agieat many in Missouri who are so situated.''* The invasion of March 30th left both pariies in a state of excitement, tendiugi directly to produce viplence. The successful party was lawless and reckless while assuming the name of the "Law and Order" party. The other party, at first surprised and confounded, was greaUy irri- tated, and some resolved to prevent the success of Uie in- vasion. In Bome-distalctB, afi before stated, protests were sent to the Governor; in otheiB, this was prevented by threats ; in others^ by the want of time, only four days 'being allowed by the proclamation for this purpose ; and in others, by tihebelief that a new election would bring a new Invasion. About the same time, all classes of men .commenced bearing deadly weapons about^the person, a practice whicb has continued to this time. Under these circumstances j a slight or accidentail quarr«l produced :unusual violence,, and lawless acta became frequent This evil condition of the public mind was further increaBed by acts of violence in Western MissourL where, in April, a newspaper press, called. The ParkmuU Luminary ^ was destroyed by a mob. About the same time, Malcolm Clark assaulted Oole McCrea at a squatter meeting in Leavenworth, and was shot; hy McCrea hi alleged self-defense. On the Itth day of May, William iPhillips, a lawyer of Leavenworth, was first notified to leave ; and' upon hia re- fusal, was forcibly seized, taken across the river, and car- ried- several miles' into Missouri^ and t^en tarred apd feathered, and one mde of his head shaved, and other gross indignitieB' put upon- his- person. Previous tb tfadBOutrage, a public meeting was held) at whieh resolutlioira Were unanimously passed, looli^g to unldwfU \doI6nae, and grossly intolerant in their ^latnc- ter. The right of frfee speech upoB the subject of Slavery was characterized as a disturbance of the peace and quiet of the community, and 'as "circulating ihcendiary senti- ments." They say "to the peculiar friends of Qorthern faniaticB^" " Go hoane and do your treason where you may find sympathy." Among other resolves ^ the following : "Jfe«rfB«d,. Thattheinstltutionof Slavery is known and re- cognized in this Territory ; and we repel the doctrine ihai It t^ a moral and'poUtibal evil, and we hurl back with scorn upon its slanderous authors the charge of inhumanity ; and we w.-irn all persons not to come to our peaceful firesides to slander us, and BOW the seeds of discord between the master and the ser- vant ; for, as much as we deprecate the necessity to which w« may be driven, we cannot be responsible for the conse- queneea." A Committee of Tl^Iance of 80 men was appointed " to ob8<)r72 &r.d v'eport all such persons as shall . . . by l02 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. the expression of abolition flentimente, produce disturb- a.noe to the quiet of the citizens, or danger to their domes- Uo relations ; and all such persona so offending BhalL be Qoti&ed, and made to leave the S^erritory," The meeting was "ably aod eloquently addressed by Judge Lecumpte, Oolonel \ . gaxsff nf Western H&souri, and others." Thus the hea.> the juoiclary in the Terri- tory not only assisted a^ a public and bitterly partisan meeting, whose direct tendency "was to produce violence and disorder, but, before any law is passed In the Territory, he prejudges the character of the domestic Institution! which tlie people of the Territory were, by their organic law, " left perfectly free to form and regulate in their own way." On tUs committee were several of those who held certi- ficates of election as members of the legislature ; some of the others were then and atill are residents of Missouri ; and many of the committee have since been appointed to the leading offices in the Tenltory, one of wlUoh is the sheriffalty df the county. Their first act was that of mob- bing Phillips. Subsequently, on the 25th of May, A.D. 1855, a public meeting was held^ at which R. R. Rees, a member elect of the council, presided. The following resolutionB, offered by Judge Payne, a member elect of the house, were unanl* mously adopted : " Bssolvsdf That we heartily Indorse tbe action of the commit- tee of citizens that shaved, tarred and feathered, rode aa a rallt and Ixad sold by a negro, William FhlUips, the moral perjurer. " Rewloed^ That we return our thanks to the committee for faithfully performing the trust enjoined upon them by the Pro- EUvery party. '* Resolved, That the committee be now discharged. " Resolved, That we severely condemn those Pro-Slavery men who, ft'om mercenary mouveH, are calling upon the Pro- Blavery party to submit without further action, ^'Resolved, That la order to secure peace and harmony to the community, we now solemnly declare that the Pro- Slavery party will stand firmly by and carry out the resolu- tions reported by the committee appohited for that purpose on Lie memorable "dOih." The act of moral perjury here referred to is the swear- ing by Phillips to a truthful protest in regard to the elec- tion of March SO, in the XVIth District. The members receiving their certificates of the Governor as members of the General Assembly of the Territory, met at Pawnee, the place appointed by the Governor, on the 2d of July, A.i). 1855. Their proceedings are stated in three printed books, herewith submitted, entitled respec- tively, "The Statutes of the Territory o 6 SS 1 1 o 1 Atchison T 181 242 i 29 8 42 81 «6 69 68 86 42 101 108 15 42 190 . 49 389 ISO 212 246 220 6T ITl 6 23 28 52 14 4 4 8 1 5 219 242 4 29 12 2S1 832 15 45 190 895 220 6T in 6 ' 23 75 14 50 4 29 12 41 81 62 59 S3 28 42 si 15 90 TO 24 6 28 28 62 14 192 1 4 68 50 100 50 100 150 14T Bourbon Shannon Bi-Qwn Calhoun....; Dafis... Doniphan BuiT Oak Wayne Wolf River Franklin Lawrence ,". ■Lecompton WiUow Springs.-.: — Johnson Lykins Leavenworth Wyandott, (See Wise Co.) Marshall ^\ Riley Shawnee '. ■.. One Hundred and Ten Wise „ Council Grove. While these enactments of the alleged legislative as- lerably were being made, a movement was instituted to form a State government, and apply for admission into the Union as a State. The first step taken by the people of the Territory, in consequence of the invasion of March 80, 1856, was the" circulation for signature of a graphic anil truthful memorial' to Congress. Your Committee fipU that every allegation in this memorial has been sus- tamed by the testimony. No further step was taken, as it was hoped that some action l^y the General Government would protect them in their rights. When the alleged legislative assembly proceeded to construct the serieff of enactments referred to, the settlers were of opinion that submission to them would result in depriving them of the rights secured to them by the organic law. Their politi- ck condition was freely discussed in the Territory during the summer of 1855. Several meetings were held in reference to holding a convention to form a State gov- ernment, and to apply for admission into the Union as a State. Public opinion gradually settled in favor of such an application to the Congress to meet in December, 1856. The first general meeting was held in Lawrence on the 15th of August, 1S55. The following preamble, and resolutions were then passed ; "Whereas, The people of Kansas have been, since Its settlement, and now are, without any law-haakiog power, therefore be it "Sesolved, That we, the people of Kansas Territory, in mass meeting assembled, Irrespective of party distinctions, influ- enced by common necessity, and greatly desirous of promoting the common good, do hereby, call upon and request all lonafiae citizens of Kansas Territory, of whatever political views or pre- dilections, to consult togethei; iii their respective Election Dis- tricts and in mass convention Or otherwise, elect three delegates for each representative to which said Election District is en- titled In die House of Representatives of the Legislative Assem- bly, by proclamation of Governor , Eeeder, of date 19lh of March 1^ ; said delegates to assemble In convention, at the town of Topeka, on the l9Lh day of September, 1855, thett and there to consider and determine upon all subjects Of public In- terest, and parUcularly upon that having reference to the Bpeedy fbrmation of a State Constitution, with an intentinu of an immediate application to be admitted eis a State into the Union of the United States of America." Other meetings were held In various parts of the Terri- toryj which indorsed the action of the Lawrence meeting, and delegates were selected in compliance with its recom- mendations. I They met- at Xopeka, on the 19th day of September, 1JB55. By their Fesolutions^ they provided for the appoint- ment of an fixeoutJve Committe^i to consist of seven per- sons, who were required -to. \^ keep a recoi'd of their pro- ceedings, and shall have a general superintendence of the affairs of the Territory so far as regards the organiia- tion of the State Government." They were required to take steps for an election to be held on the second Tues- day of the October, following, under regulations imposed by that Committee, ** for members of a Convention to form a Constitution, adopt a Bill of Rights for the people of Kansas, and take all needful measures for organiBing a State Government, preparatory to the admission of Kansas into the Union as a State." The rules prescribed were suph as usually govern elections in most of the States of the Union, apd in most respects were similar to those contained in the proclamation of Gov. Aeeder for the election of March 80, 1855. The Executive Committee appointed by that Conven- tion accepted their appointment, and entered upon the discharge of their duties by issuing a proclamation ad- dressed to the legal voters of Kansas, requesting them to meet at their several precincts, at the time and places named in the proclamation, then and there to cast their ballots for members of a Constitutional Convention, to meet at Topeka on the 4th Tuesday of October then next. ' The proclamation designated the places of elections, appointed judges, recited the qualifications of voters and the apportionment of members of the Convention. After this proclamation was issued, public- meetings were lield in every district in the Territory, and in nearly every precinct. The State movement was a general topic of discussion throughout the Territory, and.there was hut little opposition exhibited to it. Elections were held at the time and places designated, and the retuina were sent to the Executive Committee. The result of the election was proclaimed by the Execu- tive Committee, and the members elect were required to meet on the 2Sd day of October, 1855, at Topeka. In pursuance of this proclamation and direction, the Con- stitutional Convention met at the time and place ap* pointed^ and formed a State Constitution. A memorial 1(4 A POIilTIOAlt ifiXT-BWOS: I^OS'lSfeO to CoQgress waa also prepared, ^raylng-for thi? admiesfon ef Kansaa into the Union under that Constitution. The^ Goarentioii also provided tliat the question of the ado^f-' tion of the Ooi^stitution md oth^r questions "be submitted to the people, and reijuiMd the; ExecutivlB Committee to take the necessary st^s JTor'that purpose. : Atecordiiigljl, an felefctldnwis held for that purpo.e on the asth day of December, 1855, in conphance with the pTOBlamation issued -bythe BxecntiTe Oe.mmitl«e. The returns of this oleclSon were made by the Executive Com- mittee, and an abstract of them is contained in the fol- lowing table : ABSTE14.CT OP THfi ELECTION ON THE ADOPTION. OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION, DEC. 15, 1885. 1 PaKeisMS. Constitution. General Bank- ing, Law. Exclusion of Negroes -asd . Uulattoes. ■ d Yes. No. Tea. Nb. ; Tea.- Nb.' 1 2 8 4 S T 8 9 10 u 18 14 15 16 17 84S TZ 11 isr 13 135 42 24 85 72 21 18 12 89 ■ 42 82 56 89 80 21 20 14 19 46 64 22 28 12 28 20 47 19 T 24 15 82 71 7 1 2 1 4 1 . 2 "g 18 1 5 2 225 69 9 81 122 iS 126 41 22 23 89 16 6 6 21 • S3 4 88 32 23 16 17 15 19 6 7 1 8 7 87 "s 11 4 82 63 8 8S 14 8 15 11 4 9 1 2 11 S3 12 16 6 19 IS 83 20 7 6 2§ 14 2^9 34 14 16 11 20 18 6 18 4 12 9 1 19 188 48- 12 48 118 14 69 42 ■ 22 85 69 23 2ff 12 25 42 88 83 28 10- 20 20 14 7 40 60 21 22 12 28 16 45 19 6 18 14 80 71 1 223 20- 2 15 4 64 "i "s 7 18 2 S 17 15 19 1 11 5 3 4 1 6 1 2 "i 12 53 187 li 42 24 85 72 SI 21 12 48 60 87 5» 44 81 21 20 14 19 45 64 22 28 12 28 20 47 19 T 24 16 83 73 7 Blanton.... Prairie City Neosho ...... k Titus .J Ohio Oltiftii Mill Creek... Burr Oak Wolf Eiver < Mt Pleaisant Mission.. Total. 1781 46 1130 664 1287 453 1778 N. Bt — PoU-Book at Leavenworth waa destroyed. tTbe Executive Committee thea Issued a pvoclamation reciting the results of the election of the 15th of Decem- ber^ianji at the same time provided tox hti, eliectlon to be held on the 15th day of JanuaiT', 1S56, for State offi- cers and members of the Greneral Assembly of the State of Sausas. An election was accordingly held in the seve- ral lilecti on -precincts, the returns oif which were sent to the Executive Ooramittee. . The result of this election was announced by a procla- mation by the Executive Committee. In accordance with, the Constitution thus adopted, the members of the State Legislature and most of the State offi.cers met on the day and at the place designated by the State Constitution, and took the oath Uieron prescribed. After electing United States Senatojcs, passing, sqme preliminary laws, and appointing a Codifying Committee aad preparing a >femorial to Congress, the General Assembly adjourned to meet on the 4th day of July, 1856. The laws passed were all conditional upon the admiB- sioD of ICansas as a, State into the Union. These pro- ceedings were regular^, and, in the opinion qf your Committee, the Constitution thus adopted fairly ax- presses the will of the majority of the settlers^ Th^, now await the action of Congress upon tbi^r m^mpriaL , These elections, whether they were, conducted in pur- suance of law or not, were not iUegaL Whether the result of them is aanctinned by the actio :3 of Congress, or they are regarded as the mere expression of popular will, and Congress should' refuse to ^ant the prayer of the memorial, that canhot affect their legality. The right of the people to assemble and express their political opinion in any form, whether by means of an election or a convention, la secured to them by the Con- stitution of the United' States. Even if the elections are to be regarded as^ji^e a.ct of a party, whether political or otherwise, they were pfoper; in accordance with exa'm- ples, both in States and Territories. The elections, HjWevetiW^re' preceded and followed by acts of vlblence on the palt of those who opposed them, amd those persons who approved and sustained the invt^ion from Missouri were peculiarly hostile to these peaceful movements preliminary to the organiza- tion of a State goVernflnent. Instances of t^iis violence wUl be referred to hereafter. i^o provide fbr the election of delegates to Congress, and at the same time .do it in suidi a manner as to obtain, the judgment of the-House of Representatives upon the' validity of tlie alleged legislative assembly sitting at Shawnee Mission, a oonvention was held at Big Springs on the 5th and 6th days of September, 1E^5. This was a party convention, and a patty calling itself the Free- State party was then organized. It was in no way con- nected with the State movement, except that the election of a delegate to Cougresvwas fixed by it on the same day as the election of members of a, constitutional ci^n- ve\ition, instead of the day prescribed by the alleged REPORT' d3p' KiiliSAS' irv*ESTIGltli*Gf'b6k»iTTEE. l&f' legif^i^tlYe assembly. Andrew H. Uee'der was put In nQmmiii4oii as Ten-itor^al ..delegat^'^to Corigreps, ^nd an election, waa provS^ea for junder the reguiations pte- Bqribed for th,e elefc'tion otMar?^" 80, 1855, exceptiiig 'as to the appointment of officers, Jand theperabns to wTipm the ^returns of the elections sjiould be m^de. the elec- tion was held in, accorclahc'e with these reflations, and a; H. Reeder recelviga 2337 votes. The resolujyjona passed by this convention indicate the Btftte of feeliqg which existed in the Tierritoxy in conse- quec£e of the invasion trom Missouri, and the enact- ments of the alleged legislative assembly. The language of sonje of, the resolutions is violent, and can only be iustified either In consequence of the attempt to eriforce the grossest acts of tyranny, or for the purpose of guard- ing ^gainst a' similar invasion in fliture. In the f^U of 1855, there sprang oiit pf the existing discords. an4 exqitement. in the Territory, two secret IVe^-State societies. They were ^defensive in their ,chai- racter, and were designed to fbrin a protection to their members against unlawful acts of violence and assault. One of the so9ieties was purely of a local character, and was confined to the town of Lawrence. Very shortJy after Its organization, itprogluqed its desired effect, and tlien went out of use and ceased to exist. Both societies were cumbersome, and of no utility e^pept to give con- fidence to the Free-State men, and enable them to know and aid each other in contemplated danger. So far as the evidence shows, they' led to no act of violence in resistance to either real or alleged laws. On the 2l8t day of November, 1855, F. M. Coleman, a P):o-Sla,very man, and Charles W. Dow, a Free-State man, had a dispute about tljie division line between their respective claims. Several hours afterward, as Dow was passing frOm a blacksmith shop toward his cliiim, and by the cabin of Coleman, the latter shot Dow )vith a dpnhle-barreied gun loaded with slugs. Dow, was ud- arihed. He fell across , the road , and died immedjatfeiy^ This was about 1 o'clock, p.«L" His dead bddy was al- lowed to lie where it fell until after sundown, when it was conveyed by Jacob Branson to his house, at whtch Dow bparded. The testimony in regard' to thi^ hb'mj^id^ is voluminous, and shows clearly that it was a:^d^lberate m,urder by. Qolen^^n, and that Harrison [^lilkrey aiid ^ Mr. Hargous'^w'ere accessories to it. T,^b excitement caused* by it was very great amorig' ill cldS'Sfes of the s^t'tlers. On the 26th,,a large meeting of citi^en^ was held at the place where the murder was committed, and resolutions passed, that Coleman shpt^d be brought to justice. In the mgahttme, Coleman had gone to Missouri, and then ' to' Gov.' Shannon, at ShaWn^e Mission, in Johnson County. He wa.s there taken ^nto custody by S. J. Jon^', then' acting a^ Sheriff. No warrant was issued or examination had. Oh the day of the meeting at IJ^ckory Point, Harrison Bradley procured a peace warrant against Jacob Briinson, which was placed in the hands pf Jones. That, same evening^ after Branson had gone to bed, Jones came to his c^bih with a party of about 25 persons, among whom were.Hai^gous and Buckley — burst open the door, and saw Branson in bed. He then drew his pistol, cocked it, and presented it to Branson's breast, and said, "Yon are my prisoner, and if you move I will blow you through." The others cocked their guns and gathered round h^ih, and' took him prisoner. They all mounted and went to Buckley's house. After a time, they went on a circuitous' roilt'e toward Blantons_ Bridge, stopping to " drink " on the way. As they a^-' preached the bridge, there were thirteen in the iJSity, several having stopped. Jones rode up to the prisoner and, among other things, told him that he had "heard there were one hundred men at your house to-day," and " th^t he regretted they were not there, and tl^t they were cheated out of tbdi* sport." In the meantime, the alarm had been given in the neighborhood of Branson*s, arrest, and several of the settlers, among lyhom were some who had attended the meeting at Hickory Point that day, gathered' together. They w^ei-e ^r^atiy feitcited ; the alleged injustice of such an airest of- a quiet settlier, under a peace wjj-rrant ^y "Sheriff Jones," ^ided by,tiv,(^ men believed to be accessory to a murder, and who were allowed" to be at large, exas^fer^ted'them, and they jiro- c^eded as rapidly as possibre by, a, nearer, route than that taken ,by Jones,, andptopped near the house ol ^^ S, AVoottV ope of them. They were on fqot as Jones's party approached on a canter. The rescuers suddenly^ formed across the road in front of Jones and hia party. Jones halted, and ,asked, " What's up ?" The .reply was, ** That's what we want to know. What's up ?" Branson Bi\d, " They have '^ot me a prisoner." Some one in the rescuing party told him to cOmc over to their side. He did so, and dipmounted, and the mule he ro^e was driv.en over to Jones's party; Jones then le/t. pf^he persons engaged In this resdue, three were from Ii^'v^rehoe, and had a.tfehded the mooting! Tftur Oocqinlttee have d6.'eme4 it proper to, detail the'piirticnliVs pf tliis rescue, as it was niacte tl^e groundWork of What is khbwn as the "WiJ^ei-usa-War. On the same'night of the rfeBdu^e, the cabins ^^of C61em?ip and Ituckley w'si-e ijurned, but by whom, 18 left in'd^i^bt'by the testiinohy. . On the morning of the rescue of Branson, Jones w^ at.the village, pfYv^^?\n,' near Lawren'pe. The rcsche was spoken of in.tR6 preseince of Jones' and more con- versation pfass'ed between^two' others in his presence, aa to.wheth^'it was pipst proper to senQ fox assistance to Co], Boone, in Missouri, or to' Gov., Shannon. Jonea wrote' a'dispatch and handed it to a'messenger. As sPoh as, he smarted, Jones' said: "That man is taking my dispatch to Missouri, and by G^d 1*11 have revenge* .before I see Mis^ouTij." A 'person' present, who' was examined aS' a witness,, cqifipjsti^ed piiblicly th'at the dispatch was not sent to Ihe'.GPyernpi'; and within half an hour one was.^ent to tRe GoVernoi: by Jon^, through .Hargous. 'Within a' fpiv ctays, Jarge nutqbers of rifeii from the State of Missouri ga^thered And encamped *oh the Wakerusi. They brought with them all the equip- ment^ of' war. To obtain thetQ^ a party of- men under the direction' of Judge X. V. Thbtiipson broke into the United, States arsenal and artoory sit Llh6rty,,,Missaui1, and after a forcible detention of Captain Le'phard (then in charge), they tpokthe c£ihhoh',muak:fets,rifleS,. powder, harness, and indeed' all the , materials and munitions of wq,r they desired, some of' which have never bfeen returned or accounted for. The chief hostility of this milife'ar^fortiySvas againsV the town of .Lawrence, and this was especially the case with the officers pf the law. Your Committee can see in the testimony no reason, excuse, or palliation for this feeling. Vp io this t^e, tio warrant or procl0i7iaUon of a/tiykina had be^iin^e hands of any officer again^ anj/. Citizen of Latoren^e. No arrest had been attempted, and no writ resisted in that town^ The rescue of Branson sprang out of a murder cbmmHt.e'd. thirteen miles frorti Lawi-ence; iha detached' settlehierit, arid neither the town nor its citizens extended any protection to Branson's rescuers. On the contrary, two Pr three days after the rescue, S. N. Wood, who clairbed publicly to be one of the rescuing .party, wished to be arl-estedforihe purpbse of tfestlng thfe Territorial laws, and walked' up to Shenff Jbnfes and shook hands with him, and exchanged other courtesies. He iibuld have' been arrested, without diMcuUy, alid it was his design, wheii he went to Mr. Jones, (to be ar- . .rested ; but no attempt was made tPdo so, IVis obvious that the'oniy catise of this hostility is the known ^esire qf the citizeus of Lawi'ence to make Kansas a Free State, arid'th^ii' repugnanbe to laws imposed upon' them by UPn-resid^tsl Yoiir Committee do not propose to detail the incidents qbhnected with this foray. Fortunately for the peace of the' country, a direct conflict between the opposing force's' was. avoided bj^-an amicaljle arrangement. The losses sustained by the settlers in -prbpbrty taken and time and inbney expended in their own defense, added much to the trials incident tq, a new settlement. Many persons were unlawfully taken and detained— in some cases, under ditcumstantics of gross cruelty. This was especiillly so in the arrest and ti'eatment' of Wv. G. A. Cutter and G.F.Warren, They w'ere taken, without cause or warrant, sixty miles ftpm Lawrence, and when Dr. Cutter was quite^sick. They were compelled to go to the carhp at Lawr'ence, were put into the custody of " Sheriff Jonea," who hid no process to arrest' them — they were taken into a ^mall roouLkept as a liquor shop, lyhich was open and T^ry cold. That night, Jones came in with others, and went to " fHkyin^g poker at twenty- five cents ante." The prisoners were obliged to sit up all night, aS thei'e was hb iWm to lie down, when the men were playing. Jones insulted them frequently, and told one.of them he must either " tell xir swing." The guard then objected to this treatment of prisoners, and Johes desisted. . . . While we remalhed in the Tfimtoiy, repeated acta of outrage were cominitted upon the quiet, unoflendmg citi- zens, of which we received authentic intelligence. Men were' a;ttacked on the highway, robbed, and subsiequently imprisoned. Men "wcri; sebsed and searched, and then- weapons of defense taken ftom them without compensa- tion. Horses were frequently talcen and appropriated. Oxen were ta'ken from the yoke while plowing, and butch- ered in the presence of their owti6rs.. One young man was seized in the sbeets of thetoWii of Atchison, and, un- der circxunstances of gross b.arbsirfty, was tarred and cot- toned, and in'that condition was sent to his family. All the pi'ovisions of the Constitution of the United States, se- curing persons and property, are Utterly disregarded. The officers of the law, mstesd of protecting the people^' were 1Q6 X 20^TWAL TEXT-JBOOK TOR 18S0. In gome Instances engaged In Uiese outrages, and In no In- stance did we learn that any man was arrested, Itidicted, or punished for any ot these crimes. While such offenses vere committed with impunity, the laws were used as a meai^s of iadlcting men for ilolmng elections, plrellminary to framing a Constitution and app^lng for admiBsion into the Union as the State of KansiUi. Charges of high trear son were made -against prominent citizens upon grounds which seem to your Committee absurd and rimculous, and under these charges they are now held In custody and are refused the privilege of balL In several cases, men were arrested in the State of Missouri, while passing on their lawful business ^rou^ that State, and detained until in- ftictments could be found In the Territory, These proceeding. were followed by an offense of still greater magnitude. Under color of legal process, a com- pany of about 700 armed men, the great body of whom, your Committee are satisfied, were not citizens of the Ter- ritory, marched fiito the town of Lawrence, under Mar- shal Donaldson and S. J. Jones, officers claiming to act under the law, and bombarded and -then burned to the gi'ound a valuable hotel and one private house ; destroyed two printing presses and material ; and then, being re- leased by the officers, whose posse they claimed to be, pro- ceeded to sack, pillage, androb houses, stores, trunks, etc., even to the clothing of women and children. Some of the letters thus unlawfully taken were private ones, writte&by the contestmg Delegate, and they were offered in evidence. Your Committee did not deem that the persons holding them had any right thus to use them, and refused to be made the instruments to report private letters thus ob- tained. This force was not resisted, because it was coUectecl and marshaled under the forms of law. But this act of bar- barity, unexampled in the history of our Oovernment, was followed by its natural consequences. All the restraints which American citizens are accustomed to pay even to the appearance of law, were thrown off; one act of vio- lence led to another ; homicides became ftequent. A party under H. C. Pate, composed chiefly of citizens of Missouri, were taken prisoner by a party of settlers ; and while your Committee were at Westport, a company chiefly of Missourians, accompanied by the acting Delegate, went to relieve Pate and his party, and a collision 'A'as pi'evented by the United States troops. Olvll war has seemed im- pending in the Territory. Nothing cati prevent so great a calamity but the presence of a large force of tJnited States troops, under a connnander who will with prudence and (Hscretion quiet the excited passions of both parties, and expel i^th force the armed bands of lawless men coming from Missquri and elsewhere, who with criminal pertina- city infest ihat Territory. In some cases, and as to one entire election district, the condition of the country prevented the attendance of witnesses, who were either arrested or detained while obey- ing our process, or deterred from so doing. The Sergeant- at-Ai*ms, who served the process upon them,, was bunself arrested or detained for a short time by an aitned force, claiming to be a part of the posse of the Marshal, but was allowed to proceed upon an examination of his pa- pers^ and was furnished with a pass, signed by " Warren D. Wilkes, of South Carolina." John Upton, another offi- cer of the Committee, was subsequently stopped by a law- less force on the borders of the Territory, and after being detained and treated with great Indigmty, was released. He also was furnished with a pass signed by two citizens of Missouri, and addressed to "Pro-Slavery men." By reason of these disturbances, we 'were delayed in Westport,, so that while In session there, our time was but partially occupied. But the obstruction which created the most serious em- barrassment to your Committee, was the attempted arrest of G-oy. Reeder, the contesting Delegate, upon a writ of attachment issued against him by Judge Lecompte, to coin- pel his attendance as a witness before the Grand Jury of Douglas County. William E'ane, recently from the State of Georgia, andclaiming to be the Peputy Marshal, came into the room of the Committee, while Gov. Reeder was examining a witness before us, and producing the writ re- (j[uired Gov. Reeder to attend him. Subsequent events have only strengthened the conviction of your Committee, that thb was a wanton and unlawful interference by the Judge who issued the writ, tending greatly to o'bstruct a full and fair investigation. Gov. Reeder and Gen. WWtfield alone were fully possessed of that local information which would enable us to elicit tlie whole truth, and it was obvl- cus to every one that any event which would separate either of them from the Committee, would necessarily hin- der, delay, and embarrass it Gov. Reeder clai:23ed that, under tjie circumstances in wTiich he was placed, he was privileged from arrest except for treason, felohyj or Jireach of the peace. As this was a question of privilege, proper for the Courts, or. for the privileged person alone to detci> I mine on his peril, we dec^ned to ^ve him any ptoieetloa I or take any action in thd matter. ' He refused to obey the writ, believing it to be a mere pretense to get the custody inf hu person, and fearing, as be alleged, that he would bo nisasBinated by lawless bands of men then gathering in and near Lecompton. He then lefS the Territory, Subsequentiy, H. Miles Moore, an attorney in Leaven- worth City, but for several ^ears a citizen of Weston, Mo., kindly furnished the Committee information as to the resi- dence of liersons voting at the elections, and In' some cases examined witnesses before us. He was arrested on the streets bf that town by an armed tfftnd of about thirty men. headed by W. D. Wilkes, without any color of au- thority, confined,' 'with other citizens, under a military fiord for twenty-four hours, and then notified to leave the erritory. His testimony was regarded as important, and upon his sworn statement that it would endanger his per- son to ^ve it openly, the msgority of your Committee deemed it proper to examiine him ex-parte, and did so. By reason of these occurrences, the contestant and the party with and for whom he acted, were unrepresented be- fore us during a greater portion of the time, and your Committee were required to ascertain the truth in the best manner they could. Your Committee report the following facts and concla- slons as established by the testimony : jFirat. That each election in the Territory, held under the organic or alleged Territorial law, nas been carried by organized invasions from the State Of Missouri, by which the people of the Territory have been prevented from exercising the rights secured to them by the organic law. Second. That the alleged Territorial Legislature was an illegally-constUuted body, and had no power to pass vajld laws, and their enactments are, therefore, null and void. Third. That these alleged laws have not, as a genera] thing, been used to protect persons and property and to punish wrong, but for unlawful purposes. Fourth, That the election under which the sitting Dele- gate, John W. Whitfield, holds his seat, was not held in pursuance of any valid law, and that it should be regarded only as the expression of the choice of those resident citi- zens who voted for him. Fifth. That the election under which the contesting Delegate, Andrew H. Reeder, claims his seat, was not held In pursuance of law, and that It should be regarded only as the expresdon of the choice of the resident citizens who voted for him. Si^th. That Andrew H. Reeder received a greater num- ber of votes Of resident citizens than John W. Whitfield, for Delegate. S&oenth. That in the present condition of the Territory, a fair election cannot be held without a new census, a stringent and weU-guarded election law, the selection of Impartial Judges, and the presence of United States troops at every place of election. Fig?i^. That the various elections held by the people of the Territory preUminary to the formation of the State Government have been as regular as the disturbed condi- tion of the Territory would allow; and that the Constitu- tion passed by the Convention, held In pursuance of said elections, embodies the will of a majority of the people. As it Is not the province of your Committee to suggest remedies for the existing troubles in the Territory of Kan- sas, they content themselves with the foregoing statement of facts. AU of which is respectfully submitted. • Wm. a. Howard, John Sherman. The Free-State Constitution framed at To- peka for Kansas, by the Convention called by the Free-State party, (as set forth in the fore- going documents,) was in due season submitted to Congress — Messrs. Andrew H. Reeder (the Free-State Territorial delegate) and James H. Lane having been chosen by the first Fre«-State Legislature, Senators of the United States, and Mr. M. W. Delahay elected Representative in the House, by the Free-State men of Kansas, Of course, these were not entitled to their seats until the aforesaid instrument (known as the •* Tppeka Constitution ") should be accepted by Congress, and the State thereupon admitted ■ into the Union. This Constitution, being form- ally presented in either House, was received and THE TOPEKA CONSTITUTION. 107 teferred to their respect've Committeea on Ter- ritories ; but tlie accompanying Memorial from tiie Free-State Legislature, setting forth the grounds of the affplication, and praying for ad- mission as a Slate, was, after having been re- ceived by the Senate, reconsidered, rejected, and returned to Col. Lane, on the allegation that material changes had been made in it since it lift Kansas. The Senate, in like manner, re- jected repeated motions to accept the Constitu- tion, and thereupon admit Kansas as a Free State— there never being more than Messrs. Hamlin and Fessenden, of Maine, Hale and Bell, of New-Hampshire, CoUamer and Foot, of Ver- mont, Sumner and Wilson, of Mass., Foster, of Connecticut, Seward and Fish, of New-York, Wade, of Ohio, Durkee and Bodge, of Wiscon- sin, Trumbull, of Illinois, and Harlan, of Iowa, (16) Senators in favor of such admission, and these never all present at the same time. In the House — the aforesaid Constitution and Memorial- having been submitted to the Com- mittee on Territories — its Chairman, Mr. Grow, of Penna;, from a majority of said Committee, reported in favor of the admission of Kansas under such Constitution, as a Free State ; and after debate the Previous Question thereon was ordered (June 28th) by a vote of 98 Ayes to 63 Noes. Previous to this, however, Mr. Ste- phens, of Georgia, had proposed, as an amend- ment or substitute, a radically different bill, contemplating the appointment by. the Presi- dent and Senate of five Commissioners, who should repair to Kansas, lake a census of the inhabitants aild,legal vote,rs, and thereupon pro- ceed to apportion, during the month of Septem- ber, 1866, the delegates (52j to form a Consti- tutional Convention, to be elected by the legal voters aforesaid; said delegates to be chosen on the day of the' Presidential election (Tues- day, Nov. 4th, 1856), and to assemble in Con- vention on the first Monday in Decemlier, 1866, to form a State Constitution. The bill proposed, also, penalties for illegal voting at said election. To this substitute-bill, Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, proposed the following amendment, to come in at the end as an additional section : Sec. 18, — And ie U farther enaettS, That so nnch of the fourteenth aection and of the thirty-second section of the act passed at the first session of the Thirty-Third Con- gress, commonly called tlie Kansas and Nebraska act, as reads as follows : " Except the eigbtli section of the»ct preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the Union, approved March 6, 1820, which, being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by Coogress with Slavery in the States and Territories, as recognized by the legislation of 18S0, cpmmonly called the Compromise Measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the true intent and. meaning of this act not to legis- late Slavery into any State or Territory, or to e:£clude it therefrom, but to leave the pepple thereof perfectly fj-ee to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way. suhject only tp the Constitution of the United States : Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to revive or put in force any law or regula- tion which may have existed prior to the act of 6th of March, 1820, either protecting, establishing, piohibiling, or abolishing Slavery," be, and the same is hereby, re- pealed. Pov^Ud, That any person or persons lawfully held to service within either of the Territories named in said act shall be discharged from suchservice, if they shall not be removed and kept out of said Territories wUhio twelve months from the passage of this act. Mr. Dunn's amendment to the Stephens amendment or substitute, was carried : Yeas, 109 ; Nays, 102. Mr. Stephens's substitute, as thus amended by its adversaries, was abandoned by its original friends, and received but two votes — those of Messrs. George G. Dunn, of Indiana, and John Scott Harrison, of Ohio— Nays, 210. Mr. Dunn had previously moved a reference of the bill to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union. This was now defeated : Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 109. Mr. Jones, of Tennessee, now moved that the bill do lie on the table, which was defeated. Yeas, 106 ; Nays, 107 ; (Barclay of Pennsyl- vania, Dunn of Indiana, Haven and Williams, of New- York. — Yeas : Bayard Clarke, of New- York, Hickman and Millward, of Pennsylvania, Moore, of Ohio, and Scott, of Indiana. — N'ays : Scott Harrison, of Ohio, not voting. Wells of Wisconsin, absent). The House now refused to adjourn by 106 to 102; and, after a long struggle, the final question was reached, and the bill rejected : Yeas, 106 ; Nays, 107. So the bill was lost. July 1st. — Mr. Barclay, (Dem.) of Pennsyl- vania rose to a privileged motion. He moved a reconsideration of the preceding vote, by which the Free-Kansas bill had been rejected. A stormy debate ensued, in the midst of which Mr. Howard, of Michigan, rose to a question of higher privilege (as affecting the right of a member [delegate] to hig seat) *and submitted the report of the Kansas Investigating Com- mittee (already given). The Speaker sustained the motion, and the House sustained the Speaker. , The report was thereupon presented and read, consuming a full day. July Srd. — The question of reconsidering the vote defeating the Free-Kansas bill was again reached.' Mr. Houston, Of Alabama, moved that it do lie on the table; defeated: Yeas, 97; Nays, 102. The main question wasthen order- ed : Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 98 ; and the reconsidera- tion carried: Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 99. The previous question on the passage of the bill was now ordered : Yeas, 99 ; Nays, 96 ; a motion by Mr. McQueen, of South Carolina, to lay the bill on the table was defeated : Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 100 ; and then the bill was tnaXlj passed : Yeas, 99; Nays, 97. Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, moved the recon> sideration of this vote, and that the motion to reconsider do lie on the table, which was per- mitted, without further division. June SOih. — Mr. Douglas reported to the Senate ' on several bills submitted by Messrs. Clayton, Tombs, and others, for ' the pacifica- tion of the Kansas troubles, as also decidedly against Gov. Seward's proposition to admit Kansas as a Free State, under her Topeka Con- stitution. Mr. CoUamer, being the minority ol the Territorial Committee, made a brief and pungent counter-report. Mr. Douglas gave notice that he would ask for a final vote on the day after the next. July 1st. — Bill debated by Messrs. Thompson of Ky., Hale of N. H., Bigler of Pa., Adams of Miss., and Crittenden of Ky. t/uJ^ id. — Debate continued through the day and following night, the majority resisting all motions to adjourn. Messrs. Wade, Pugh, Briggs, Bigler, Toombs, Clayton, Crittenden, Bell, Seward, Hale, and nearly half the Senate 106 X POLITICAL TEST-JBOOK TOR 1860. In gome Instances engaged in these outrages, and in no in- stance did we learn that any man was arrested, indicted, or punished for any qC these crimes. While such offenses were committed with impi^lty, the laws were used as a means of indicting meh for holding elections, preliminary to framing a Constitution an() applying for admission into the Union as the State of Ednsas. Charges of high tre^* son were made -against p^ooilnenfc citizens upon grounds which seem to your ComioJLttee absurd and ridiculous, and under these charges ttiey are'no^^ held In custody and are refused the privilege of bail. In several cases, men were arrested in the S^te of Missouri, wMle passing on their lawful business ^l:oU£^ that State, and detained until iu- ^ctments could be foimd In the Territory, These proceedings. were followed by an offense of still greater magnitude. tJnder color of legal process, a com- pany of about 700 armed men, the great body of whom, your Committee are satisfied, were not citizens of the Ter- ritory, marched Into the town of Lawrence, under Mar- shal Donaldson and S. J. Jones, officers claioung to act under the law, and bombarded and -then burned to the ground a valu^tble hotel and one private house ; destroyed two' printing presses and material ; and then, being re- leased by the officers, whose posse they claimed to be, pro- ceeded to sack, pillage, and rob houses, stores, trimks, etc., evdn to the clothing of women and children. Some of the letters thus unlawfully taken were private ones, written by the contesting Delegate, and they were offered in evidence. Your Committee did not deem that the persons holding them had any right thus to use them, and refused to be made the instruments to report private letters thus ob- tained. This force was not resisted, because It was collectecl and marshaled under the forms of law. But this act of bar- barity, unexampled in the history of our Government, was followed by its natural consequences. All the restraints which American citizens are accustomed to pay even to the appearance of law, were thrown off; one act of vio- lence led to another ; homicides became frequent. A party under H. 0. Pate, composed chiefly of citizens of Missouri, were taken prisoners by a party of settlers ; and while your Committee were at Westport, a company chiefly of Missourians, accompanied by the acting Delegate, went to relieve Fate and his party, and a collision was prevented by the United States troops. Civil war has seemed im- pending in the Territory. Nothing can prevent so great a calamity but the presence of a large force of tTnlted States troops, under a commander who will with prudence and discretion quiet the excited passions of both parties, and expel with force the armed bands of lawless men coming from Missouri and elsewhere, who with criminal pertina- ci^ infest that Territory. In some cases, and as to one entire election district, the condition of the country prevented the attendance of witnesses, who were either arrested or detained while obey- ing our process, or deterred from so doing. The Sergeant- at-Arms, who served the process upon them, was himself arrested or detained for a short time by an armed force, claiming to be a part of the posse of the Marshal, but was allowed to proceed upon an examination' of his pa- pers, and was furnished with a pass, signed by " WaiTen D. Wilkes, of South Carolina." John Upton, another offi- cer of the Committee, was subsequently stopped loiy a law- less foroe on the borders of the Tenitor^ , and after 'being detained and treated w^th great ihdigmty, was released. He also was furnished with a pass signed by two citizens of Missouri, and addressed to "Pro-Slavery men." By reason of these disturbances, we were delayed In Westport, so that while in session there, our time was but par^ally occupied. But the obstruction which created the most serious em- ban-assment to your Committee, was the attempted arrest of Gov. Reeder, the contesting Delegate, upon a writ of attachment issued against him by Judge Lecompte, to com- pel his attendance as a witness before the Grand .fury of Douglas County. William Fane, recently from the State of Georgia, andxlalmhig to be the Peputy Marshal, came into the room of the Committee, while Gov. Reeder was examining a witness before usj and producing the writ re- quired Gov. Reeder to attend him. Subsequent events have only strengthened the conviction of your Committee, that this was a wanton and unlawful interference by the Judge who issued the writ, tending greatly to ©"bstruct a full and, fair investigation. Gov. Reeder and Gen. Whitfield ulone were fully possessed of that local information which would enable us to elicit the whole truth, and it was obvj- cus to every one that any event which would separate either of them from the Committee, would necessanly hin- der, delay, and embarrass it. , Gov. Reeder claiaaed that, under the olrcuuistanceB in which he was p],aced, he was privileged from arrest except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. As this was a questloa of privilege, proper for the Courts, or for the privileged person alone to deter- mine on his peril, we declined tfl give him any ptoieedon or^ake any action in the matter. He -refused to obey tha writj believing it to be a mere pretense to get the custody of his person, and fearing, as hfl alleged,' tha* he would be susassinated by lawless bands of tae'n then gathering in and hear Lecomiitbn. He then left the Territo^. Subsequently, H. Miles Moore, an attorney In Leaven- worth City, but for several years a citizen of Weston, Mo., kindly furnished the Committee information as to the resi- dence of persons voting at the elections, and in some cases examined witnesses before us. He was arrested on the streets of that town by an armed band of about thirty mem headed by W. D. Wilkes, without any color of au- thority, conflned;"with other dfizens, unde* a military guard for twenty-fbUr hours, and then notified to leave the Territory. His testimony was regarded as Important, and upon his Bwornstatement that It would endanger his per- son to give it openly, the m^ority of your Committee deemed it proper to exandne him ex-parte, and did so. By reason of these occurrences, the contestant and the party with and for whom he acted, were unrepresented be- fore us during a greater poftion of the time, and your Committee were required to ascertain the truth in the best manner they could. Your Committee report the following facts and conclu- sions as established by the testimony : M'irst, That each election in the Territory, held under the organic or alleged Territorial law, has been carried by organized invasions from the State of Missouri, by which the people of the Territory have been prevented from exercising the rights secured to thein by the organic law. Seetmd. That the alleged Territorial Legislature was an illegally-coustituted body, and had no power to pass valid laws, and their enactments are, therefore, null and void. TMrd. That these alleged laws have not, as a general thing, been used to protect persons and property and to punish wrong, but for unlawful purposes. Four^. That the election under which the sitting Dele- gate, John W. Whitfield, holds his seat, was not held in pursuance of any valid law, and that it should be regarded only as the expression of the choice of those resident citi- zens who voted for him. FifCh. That the election under which the contesting Delegate, Andrew H. Reeder, claims his seat, was not held in pursuance of law, and that It should be regarded only as the expression of the tihoice of the resident citizens who voted for him. Sisath. That Andrew H. Reeder received a greater num- ber of votes Of resident citizens than John W. Whitfield, for Delegate. Seventh. That in the present condition of the Territory, a fair election cannot be held without a new census, a stringent and well-guarded election law, the selection of Impartial Judges, and the presence of United States troops at every place of election. Eighth. That the various elections held by the people of the Territory preliminary to the formation of the State Government have been as regular as the cQsturbed condi- tiou of the Territory would allow; and that the Constitu- tion passed by the Convention, held in pursuance of said elections, embodies the will of a majority of the people. As it Is not the province of your Committee to suggest remedies for the existing troubles in the Terrltoiy of Kan- sas, they content themselves with the foregoing statement of facts. All of which is respectfully submitted. • Wm. A. Howard, John Sherman. The Free-State Constitution framed at To- peka for Kansas, by the Convention called by tlie Free-State party, (as set forth in the fore- going documents,) was in due season submitted to Congress — Messrs. Andrew H. Reeder (the Free-State Territorial delegate) and James H, Lane having been chosen by the first Fre«-State Legislature, Senators of the United States, and Mr. M. W, Delahay elected Kepresentative in the House, by the Free-State men of Kansas. Of course, these were not entitled to their seats until the aforesaid instrument (known as the ■' Topeka Constitution ") should be accepted by Congress, and the State thereupon admitted into the Union. This Constitution, being form. ally presented in either House, was received and THE TOPEKA CONSTITtrTIOS. 107 referred to their reapect've Committees on Ter- ritories ; but tlie accompanying Memorial from .tilie Free-State Legisla,ture, setting forth the grounds of the ajjplioation, and praying for ad- mission as a State, was, after having been re- ceived by the Senate; reconsidered, rejected, and returned to Col. Lane, on the allegation that material changes had been made in it since it left Kansas. T^e Senate, in like manner, re- jected repeated motions to accept the Constitu- tion, and thereupon admit Kansas aa a Free State — there never being more than Messrs. Hamlin and Fessenden, of Maine, Hale and Bell, of New-Hampshire, Collamer and Foot, of Ver- mont, Sumner and Wilson, of Mass., Foster, of Connecticut, Seward and Fish, of New-York, Wade, of Ohio, Surkee and Dodge, of Wiscon- sin, Trumbull, of Illinois, and Harlan, of Iowa, (16) Senators in favor of such admission, and these never all present at the same time. In the House — the aforesaid Constitution and Memorial- having been submitted to the Com- mittee on Territories — its Chairman, Mr. Grow, of Peuna., from a majority of said Committee, reported in favor of the admission of Kansas under such Constitution, as a Free State ; and after debate the Previous Question thereon was ordered (June 28th) by a vote of 98 Ayes to 63 Noes. Previous to this, however, Mr. Ste- phens, of Georgia, had proposed, as an amend- ment or substitute, a radically different bill, contemplating the appointment by.thg Presi- dent and Senate of five Commissioners, who should repair to Kansas, take a census of the inhabitants atid,legal voters, and thereupon pro- Cbed to apportion, during the month of Septem- ber, 1856, the delegates (62) to form a Cpnsti- tutional Convention, to be elected by the legal voters aforesaid; said delegates to, be chosen on the day of the' Presidential election (Tues- day, Nov. 4th, 1856), and to assemble in Con- vention on the first Monday in December, 1856, to form a State Constitution. The bill proposed, also, penalties for illegal voting at said election. To this substitute-bill, Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, proposed the following amendment, to come in at the end as au additional section : Sec. 18. — ATid he itft6rth»r enacted^ That 9o much of the fourteenth section and.of the thirty-second section of the act passed at the first session of the Thirty-Third Con- gress, commonly called tiie Kansas a^nd Nebraska act, as reads aa follows ; " Except the eighUi section of the .act preparatory to the admission of Missqtiri into the Union, approved Sf arch 6, 1820, which, being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by Congress with Slavery in the States and Territories, as recognized by the legislation of 1850, commonly Cjalled the Compromise Measures^ is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the' true intent and. meaning of this act not to legis- late Slavery into any State or Territory, or to ^^cludeit therefrom, but to .leave the pepple thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States : Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be consirued to revive or put in force any law or regula- tion which may have existed prior to the act of 6th of March, 1820, either protecting, establishing, prohibiting, or abolishing Slavery," be, and the same Is hereby, re- pealed^ Povided, That any person or persons lawfully beld to service within either of -the Territories named in said act shall bedischarged from such service, if they shall not be removed and kept out of said Territories within twelve months from the passage of this apt, Mr. Dunn's amendment to the Stephens amendment or substitute, was carried : Yeas, 109 ; Nays, 102. Mr. Stephens's substitute, as thus amended by its adversaries, was abandoned by its original friends, and received but two votes — those of Messrs. George G. Dunn, of Indiana, and John Scott Harrison, of Ohio— Nays, 210. Mr. Dunn had previously moved a reference of the bill to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union. This was now defeated : Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 109. Mr. Jones, of Tennessee, now movedthatthe bill do lie on the table, which was defeated. Yeas, 106 ; Nays, 107 ; (Barclay of Pennsyl- vania, Dunn of Indiana, Haven and Williams, of New- York. — Yeas : Bayard Clarke, of New- York, Hickman and Millward, of Pennsylvania, Moore, of Ohio, and Scott, of Indiana. — Nays : Scott Harrison, of Ohio, not voting. Wells of Wisconsin, absent). The House now refused to adjourn by 106 to 102; and, after a long struggle, the final question was reached, and the bill rejected : Yeas, 106 ; Nays, lOt. So the bill was lost. July 1st. — Mr. Barclay, (Dcra.) of Pennsyl- vania rose to a privileged motion. He moved a reconsideration of the preceding vote, by which the Free-Kansas bill had been rejected. A stormy debate ensued, in the midst of which Mr. Howard, of Michigan, rose to a question of higher privilege (as affecting the right of a member [delegate] to his seat) 'and submitted the report of the Kansas Investigating Com- mittee (already given). The Speaker sustained the motion, and the House sustained the Speaker. . The report was thereupon presented and read, consuming a full day. July 3rd. — The question of reconsidering the vote defeating the Free-Kansas bill was again reached-.' Mr. Hbiietonj Of Alabama, moved that it do lie oh the table; defeated: Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 102. The main question wasthen order- ed: Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 98; and the reconsidera- tion carried: Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 99. The previous question on the passage of the bill was now ordered : Yeas, 99 ; Nays, 96 ; a motion by Mr. McQueen, of South Carolina, to lay the bill on the table was defeated : Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 100 ; and then the bill yia,aS.naMy passed : Yeas, 99; Nays, j97. Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, moved the recon< sideration of this vote, and that the motion to reconsider do lie on the table, which was per- mitted, without further division. June ZOth. — Mr. Douglas reported to the Senate ' on several bills submitted \y7 Messrs. Clayton, Tombs, and others, for the pacifica- tion of the Kansas troubles, as also decidedly against Gov. Seward's proposition to admit Kansas as a Free State, under her Topeka Con- stitution. Mr. Collamer, being the minority of the Territorial Committee, made a brief and pungent counter-report. Mr. Douglas gave notice that he would ask for a final vote on the day after the next. July 1st. — Bill debated by Messrs. Thompson of Ky., Hale of N. H., Bigler of Pa., Adams of Miss., and Crittenden of Ky. July 2(2. — Debate continued through the day and following night, the majority resisting all motions to adjourn. Messrs. Wade, Pugh, Briggs, Bigler, Toombs, Clayton, Crittenden, Bell, Seward, Hale, and nearly half the Senate 110 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 186G. ultimately given up by thj House, save one appropriating $20,000 for the pay and expenses of the iwxt Territorial Legislature, whjch the Senate gave up, on finding itself in serious dis- agreement with the House, and thus secured the passage of the Civil Appropriation bill. Finally, the two Houses were at odds, on a pro- viso forbidding the employment of the Army to tnforce the acts of tl^ Shawnee Mission assem- blage, claiming to be a Territorial Legislature of Kansas, when at noon on the 18th of Au- gust the speaker's hammer fell, anouncin^ the termination of the session, leaving the Army bill unpassed.' But President Pierce imme- diately issued a proclamation convening an extra session on the iSjst (Thursday), when the two Houses reconvened according(y,and a full quo- rum of each was found to be present. The House promptly repassed the army bill, again affixing a proviso forbiding the use of the army to enforce the disputed Territorial laws, which proviso the Senate as promptly struck out, and the House as promptly reinserted. The Senate insisted on its disagreement, but asked no con- ference, and the House (Aug. 22d) by a. close vote decided to adhere to its proviso : Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 93 ; but one of the yeas (Booock of Va.) was so given in order to be able to move a re- consideration ; so that tlie true division was 96 to 94, which was the actual division on a motion by Mr. Cobb of Ga. that the House re- cede from its position. Finally, a ^notion to reconsider was made and laid on the table ; Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 96 ; and the House thereupon adjourned. Aug. 28d. — The Senate also voted to ad- here : Yeas, 35 ; Nays, 9. Mr. Clayton proposed a committee of Confer- ence, to which Mp. Seward objected. No ac- tion. In the House, Mr. Campbell, of Ohio, proposed a similiar Committee of Conference. Objected to. Mr. Cobb, of Ga., moved that the House re- cede from its Kansas proviso. Defeated : Yeas, 97 ; Nays, 100. Adjourned. The struggle for the passage of the bill with or without the proviso continued until Saturday, August 30th, when, several members, hostile to the proviso, and hitherto absent, unpaired, having returned, the House again passed the Army bill with the proviso modified as follows : JProvided, however, that no part of the military force of the United States, for the Bupport of which appvo- piiations are made by this act, shall be employed in aid of the enforcement of any enactments heretofore made by the body claiming to be the Territorial Legblatui-e of Kansas. The bill passed as reported (under the Pre- vious Question) : Yeas, 99 ; Nays, 79 ; and was sent to the Senate, where the above proviso was stricken out : Yeas, 25 ; Nays, 7 ; and the bill thus returned to the House, when the Sen- ate's ameudmeut was concurred in : Yeas, 101 ; Nays, 97. So the proviso was beaten at last, and the bill passed, with no restriction on the ?resident's discretion in the use of the Army In Kansas ; just as all attempts of the House to direct the President to have a nolle prosequi entered in the case of the Free-State prisoners in Kan- sas charged with aiding the formation and adoption of the Free-State constitution as afore- said, had been previously beaten, after prevail- ing in the House— the Senate striking them out aild the House (by union of nearly all the sup- porters of Fillmore with nearly or quite all those supporting Buchanan) Anally acquiescing. The 34th Congress reassembled on the 1st of December. ' Since the adjournment from the last session the presidential election had taken place, resulting in the election of James Buchanan as President. The popular vote gave neither of the three candidates a majority. In the Free States the election was hotly contested and a very large vote polled. In the Southern States the vote was small, as no issue was pre- sented to the people, it being claimed by their respective partisans, that both the candi- dates (Buchanan and Fillmore) voted for in that section were equally Pro-Slavery. But the pro-sdavery leaders had declared in favor of Buchanan, and he consequently received large majorities in nearly every Slave State. On the first day of the session, Kansas affairs came Up in the House on an objection to admit J. W. Whitfield to a seat as a delegate, the ob- jeo^on being that the border ruffian laws under which he had been elected were " null and void." Mr, Grow spoke against admitting Whitfield, and quoted from a speech of Mr. Clayton (a short time before his decease) in the Senate. Mr. Clayton, in speaking of these laws, said : Now, nir, let me allude to that subject which is the great cause of all this discord between the two Houses. The unjust, iniquitoue, oppressive and infamous laws enacted by the Kansas Le^slature, as It is called, ought to be repealed biifore we adjourn." What are these laws? One of them sends a man to hard labor for not less than two years for daring to discuss the question whether Slavery exists, or does not exist, in Kansas : not less than ttro years — ^It may be fifty ; and if a man could live as old as Methuselah, it might be over nine hundred years. That act prohibits all freedom of discussion in Kansas on the great subject directly re- ferred to the exclusive decision of the people in that Territoi-y ; strikes down the liberty of the press too ; and is an act egi'egiously tyrannical' as ever was attempted by any of the Stuarts, Tudors or PlantagenetA of En- gland, and this Senate persists in declaring that we are not to repeal that I Sir, let us tender to the House of Kepresentatives the repeal of that and all other objectionable and infamous laws that were passed by that Legislature. 1 include in this denunciation, without any hesitation, those acta which prescribe that a man shall not even practice law in the Territory unless he swears to support the Fugitive Slave Law ; that he shall cot vote at any election, or be a member of the Legislature, unless he swears to support the Fugitive Slave Law ; that he shall not hold any ofSce of honor or trust there, unless he swears to support the Fugitive Slave Law ; and you may as well impose just such a test oath for any other and every other law. . . 1 will not go through the whole catalogue of the oppres- sive laws of this Territory. I have done that before to- day. There are others as bad as these to which I hare now referred. , . . . .1 will not, on the other band, ever degrade myself by atauding for an instant by those abominable and i7t/dmoi*^ laws which I denounced here this morning. What 1 desire now is, that the Senate of the United States shall wa^h its bands of all participa- tion in these iniquities by repealing those laws. On Dec. 2nd, President Pierce sent his annual message to the two Houses of Congress. In re ferring to the late election, the President says: It is impossible to misapprehend the great principle! ' which, by their recent political action, the people of ttai United States have sanctioned and announced. They have asserted the Constitutional equality of eack and all of the States of the Union as States ; they havt affirmed the constitutional equality of each and all of the citizens of tlte United States as dtixens, whatevei PRESI0E2^T PIERCE Oyf KANSAS. .11 thftlr roUg^onv wherever their- Iflk-th^br their realdfence;! they have maintained the inviolability of the conatitu- 1 tlpnal rights of the dUTerent abetloDs of the tJnibn ; and Ihey have prooMmed their devoted and unalterable at- tachment to the Union and the Oonatitution, as objects of interest superior to all subjects of local or Bectional controversy, as the safeguard of the rights of all as the epiiit and true essence of the liberty, peace, and srreat- n^a of the Republic. ^ » *- . o In doing this, they have, at the same time, emp^hati- cally condemned the idea of organizing in these United States mere geographical parties ; of marthalllngin hos- tile array towards each other the diflferent parts of the country, North or South, Bast or West. Schemes of this nature, fraught with Incalculable mis- chief and which the eonstderate sense of the people has r^ected, could have had countenance in no part of the country, had they not been disguised by euggeBtions plausible in appearance, acting upon an excited stitte of the public mmd, induced by causes temporary in their chttraeteri and it is to be hoped transient in their hiilii- eoee. Perfect liberty of association for political objects and the widest scope of discussion are the receiVed and ordi- nary conditions of govertiment In our cbuntty. Our in- stitutions; fi-amed in the spirit of cotuSdence in the intel- ligence and mtegrity of the people, do not forbid citizens, elAer individually or associated together, to attack by writing, speech, or any other methods short of physical force, the Coastitutioi!t and the Very existence of the Union. Under the shelter of this great liberty, and proj tected by the laws and lisaijes of the govemmenti "^^"^^ assailr associations have been formed' in Sotne q^ Suites, of individuals who, pretending to seek onl, prevent the spread of the institi^lon of Slavery into' present or future inchoate States oif the Union, are realise inflamed with desire to chaUge the domestic institutions of existing States. To accomplish their objects, they dedicate l^hemselves to the 6dious task of depreciating Ute Government organization which atanda in their ypay, and of calumniating, with indiscrlniinating invective, not only the citizens of pavtieulaf' State^l with whose laws they find fault, but ail others of their Hellow-citiaeus ttirouE^out the country, whQ do not participate with them in their assaults upon the Constitution, fpaxaed and adopted by our fathier^ and claiming for IJlie privileges it has secured, and the hlessingsit has conferred,; the steady support and grateful reverence of their children. They seek an object which, they, well know to be aa-evo- luiionary one. They a^e perfectly aware t^atthcchange in the relative cpn4i'tiQn of the white and black races in the slaveholding Stat^, which they would promote, is bec^ond their lawful authority ; Uiat toi them it is a for- eign object; that it cannot be effected by any peaceful instrumentality of theirs.; that for ^em, and- Ute States of which they, are citizens, the only path to 'its accom- plishment is through hurniog oiUea,,a«id ravaged fields^ and slaughtered populatdons, and aJl there is most terri- ble in foreign, complicated with civil and servile war ; and that the first step in the attempt is the forcible dis- ruption of a country embracing in its abroad bosom a degree of liberty, and an amount of individual and pub- lic prosperity to which there is no paeallel-in history, an4 substituting in its pls^ce hostile (goveromenitSj driven at once and inevitably^ into mutual devastation and frittricidal carnage, transforming the now peaceful and felicitous brotherhood into a vast permaheot t&mp of armed men, 'like the rival monarchies of Europe and Asi«. Weil knowing that such, and shch' only, are the m^ansand the cons^quenoeS'Of then* plans and par^ioses, they endeavor to prepare the people of the United States for civil war by dojng everything in their power to -deprive the Constitution and the laws Cf moral authority, and to undermine the fabiic el the Union by appeals to passion and sectional pr^'udiee, by inctoctrin- ating its people with reciprocal hi^tred« and.by educ^ti- ing them to stand face to face as enemies, rather' than shouldw to shoulder as friends. ' Xt is by the agency of such unwarrantable interrerence, forelgh and domestic, that the minds of many, otherwise good citikeiis, have been so inflarhed into the passionate condemnation of the dqinestlc institutions of the Southern States, as at length to pass insejaeribly to almost) equally passionate hostility toirfira theii; fellow-cHiaens of those States, and thus, finally, to fall Into the tempor^r^ fel- lowship with the avowed and 'aetivtf enemies of the Ccfn- ■titution.' Ardently attached to liberty tn the al!>stt!act, they do not stop to consider practically, how the ohiects- they would attain can be accomplished, nor to reflect that, even if the evil were as great as they deem it, they have no remedy to apply, and that it can be only aggra- vated by their violence and unconstitutional action.- A iiuestion which is one of the most occult of all the j>i:>obIems of social institutions, political economy, and Btatesmahahip, they treat with unreasonable Intempe- rance of thought and language. Extre(nea l?eget ex- tremes. Violent attack from the North finds its inevitable constquence in the growth of a spirit of aog^deflance at tlie South. Thus, in the progress of events, we had reached the consummation which the voice df the people has now lio pointedly rebuked, of the attempt'of a portioO of the States, by a sectional organization and movement, to usurp the conJiB^&LJhe Government of the United States. I confldebtlj inconsiderate] to th6 Const! deliberation!, i _ . ,_ sciousr act of disunioB. ehtered Into a path whicl civil war and diaunipUj ai outlet. , T^jey have procej in consequence of the su< hf£Ving consisted of which p] " body of those who oerely attached would, upon ^from any con- t they • have bless it be to 'other possible , i&'&i direction their progress issues, each of oohstitutional and indirectly what few s, to act aggressively nearly one-half of tho, oDgsei^ies of acts of indirect aggression, the first was the Btl'ehuous agitatif>n, by citiaens of the Northern States, in Congress and out of it, of thequestion ^ negro einaiicipation in the Southern States. In reference to the repeal of the Missouri O'oinpromiae, and th^ legijSlative power of Con- gress over the Territories, the President saya : The enactment which established the restrictive geo- luraphical line, was acquiesced in, rather th»n approved,, by the States of the Union. Itsfbod on the statute-book,, howevpr, for a number of years ; and the people of the? reapective States acquiesced in the reenactmenl ef the,- principle as a<||^d to the State of Texas'; and it whs. proposed to acqtiiesce in its further application to ihe- territory acquired by the United States from Mexico., But this proposition was successfully resisted by the re- presfentatives from the Northern States, who, regardless-' of the statute line, insisted upon applying restriction to the: new territory generally, whether lying north or south of it, thereby repealing it as a legislative compromise, and^. on the part of the North, persistently viofating the com- pact, if compact there was. Thereupon, this enactment ceased to have binding virtue in any senBe^ whether aS respects the North or the South ;; and so in eCrect It was treated on th& occasion of the ad- mission of the State of Catifoi'nia, and the organizatiooi of the Territories of Nefr Mexico, Utah and Washington. Such was the state of this question when the time- arrived for the organization of the Territori^ of Kansas- and Nebraska. In the progress of codstitutlonal inquiryi and reflefitlon, it had now at length come to be seen clearly that Congress does not possess constitutional) powei''t6 impose restrictions of this character upon anyv present or future State of the Union. In along series of decisions, on the fullest argument, and after the most deliberate consideration, the Supreme Oourtpf the United Stktes had finally determined this point in' every form iinder which thequestion could arise, whether as affecting. public or private ^riglits — in questions of the public do- main, of religion, of navigation, and of servitude. The several States of the Union are, by force of thtt Constitution, coequal in domestic legislative power. Con- gress cannot change tt I&w of domestic relation in the State of Maine : no more can it in the State of Missouri. Any statute which proposes to do this is a mere nullity ; it takes away no rights it confers none. If it remains oni the statute-book unrepealed, it remains there only as a monument of error, and a beacon of warning to the. legislator and the statesman. To repeal it will be only 10- 'remOve- imperfection from the statutes, without affecting,. either io the sense of permission or of prohibition, the action of the States, or of their citls&ns. Stilli when- the nominal restriction of this natur6,. already a dead letter In law, was In terms reptialed by the last Congress, in a clause of the act organizing the- Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, that repeal was m'iiUe- the occasion of a wide spread and dangerous agltaiiun. , It was alleged that the original enactment beiog a. compact of perpetual moral obligation, its repeal con- stituted an odious breach of faith. On the motion to print the Message and ac- companying documents, Mr. Hale, of N. H^ said ; X look on the message of the President as a most ua. ip A POWTJGAly TBW-BOOK/FOR'IOTO. fortunate one. I have no desire to,^ Bay anything wlficti < fiftall be' construed into a want of courtesy, kindness, or r&spect for hlmJ I mean all due courtesy, kindness and respect. His situation is, certainly 'such as 'to appeal to the magnanimity rather than provoke the hostilitiy of Ms opponents If he had been content to suhnjifc to it, and go 6ut,ffit seemed to be the v^ish of his friends and foes that he|Bhould, Tithout attenniting to make such a- charge as fliis against his political Opponents, J should certainly have been content, ^^ ' ~ " ■ ■•■''■ - - is an arraign- '^Y ^n States of to t^^Honstitutional "the ITnio^^BUConsti'tution tailyi Mor^Bn that ; the !es, by Tlftue onhe privileges But, sir, this mesBage'6f ment of a, vast majority this Unioii of wanf ' " obligations^ and 0f^ of these States, President of th conferred on majority of their constli plbase, the is hisTei*y langua| the United" States.' s^and the meaning without riglit." 1 ha'^ past few months no attel Last and least in that sebti ^stitutiOn, charges upon ,the |tate9,'in the exerclsje of M voting fbr^whom they fcpring to " usurp "-^thls pol'pf the Government Of 2,aphe^ und^r- ^ force the ahgHjj^^^^^^Kttry, hichinrFl^P^^^Bglis, to seize upon power In this Governmenf ' exEipP^P the regulaf constitutidnal disch&.rge'bf 'the people's obliga- tions and diltias as citizens gbin|f to the polls in the exercise, of' their^ elective franCfiise. 'Again, sir, I have not heard from a sing'le "citizen' of those States an intlma-il ■ tion, that^if they should fail in the c^iuvass upon which they had "entered arid in whicl^ they were stri.ying to seoure a tn'ajority in' the couricilb of this Government, they were to do anything else but submit quietly "and peaceably to the constitutionally, expressed will . of a majority. Mr. Seward, of N". Y., said : The President, I think, has departed from a eustomary course which was well established by. ^uu-edecessois ; that was to confine the annual; message^^hje £^^GUtiye to le|;itimate matters of legislation .which must neces- sarily occupy the attention of .Congress, 'and Cleave partisan disputes, occurring among the people,, to the consideration ,a^d, reflection of the people themselves. This President of the United States was. the ^rst\one, X thi^k, to depart from that course in his Inaugural Ad- dress ; and. If I remember , aright, .^e eonblnued this departbi'e in his first message ait^d second iQ^ssage. 9e has been uncorrepted, or r^t^er ^prefbrined In his erro- neous course ; he goes thi:pugh to the end in the same course.' I am willing, for , my own part, that l^e, like a>ll the rest ol us, sbau have Jij^ speech— shall assl^ his reasons and his vindication for ins policy. I ,d« not question his right ; I do not. dispute It. Whatever I have thought necessary to ^ubmit tp any portion ^oif my countryfhen In regard to toe canvass ^^ch Is past, Jiaa been submitted in the righliViiiie, in,th,e right place, and I trust, in the right Spirit.' , I ao; wi^Ung fao allow the President of the United Stktea the same opportunity wt^ch you and I and all others jhaye enjoyed. Mr Masony of Ya., said : ^ • , Mr President; t^e cop£|tant and obatdnate a^taUoa of questions connected ^ith We institution of. Slavary, has brought,' J am satisfied, the pubUa mind in those States where the institution previaila, to the conviction that the preservation of that institution rests with themselves and with themselves only, Therefore, at this day, when it is the pleasure of ^enatoi-s, again, to bring that institution under reylew upon tins floor, in any connection what- ever, as one of the Repvesentativ.es ofthe Couth, I. take no further Interest in . I^e discussion, or in the opinion which is en^rtauie^ at the North in relation to it, than as' it m^y confirm the hope that there is a public senti- ment at the North yet remaining, whic^ unites with the South in the desire to perpetuate the ynlon, and that, by the aid of that public sentiment at ^he North, the Union will be preserved. B\;it further than that^ as a statesiaan, and as one represent'ing ^, Southern ^tate, where that institution prevails intire,largely,th»» in any.otheriithe public sentiment of ,|jie :)^qi'tn. la a,i]%atter indiffierent^tio me, because I sa,y again, we have attained the convic- tion that the safety of thajt institution wlU. rest, must rest, and should rest, with the people of the.States onlj^ whVls it prevaikjj , , , '. ,, ' Mr. Wilson, of Mass., Said': The party to iwhicftl referanfle* has been made iil this message— for I take it this^assaylt, of the f f*sident of the United States is Upon the Rfepublican party, and the people who supported that organization in the last election— stands before «he-.teottntry wifli tts oplnidnf ; clearly expressed and openly avdWidk H Iww a: ri^t to chAmfrom the , President of the Unitijil 0*;»te9"'-it haa'a right to, claim from honorable Senatc-rs here— 4t has a right to claim befpre-Jbhe'Countrythttfrit shall stand upon its bi'oad and open deala>Now^ sir, let me-^ay ^ere to-^ay, that I.t'OACttiknow aonania ^ the Tree ^aies who supported John C, Fremont in -tbe < last presi^entifil election, not one of the one m^lioii three hundrea'thpu^ftn^, intelligent freemen -who eup*' ported that, nbn^n*Ubp,,iiipiji evpr avowed- his intentioBr to go for .a dissolution of this Union; but at all times, on all occasions, in public and in private, they have avowed their devotiou to the UnipA, and their intention to main- tain and defend i^ _ ^ , ' ' , . Let ,me say further, tha^ithe,xQ.en in this pountrjs, who arow themselves to pe disu^pnists, , that squad., wlilc^, ' the last thirty year9,.on all fit aind unfit occasions, icnts of excitement and moments of calm, hare . tliemselves disujijijonists, Jiave, as a body^ '^^ supported tbe Bemoci'atic. party. The whoto ^g^hern heavens have '.been ^darkened during ihe last . lour months "by the hlack banners of disunion that haV» ' floatedin the breezei ',^lJ,i,,,, . . ..,..; i Mr. Pugh, of Ohio^i'd^fended the Prfesident against the cbnstrubtioh put on certain p^rtg of the fD^ssagie, by other Senators. Ej& said : Aly bolleagttf (Mri ^a4e) ds^erts ihat the Pi-esiilent has employed' libellous tierms in^ sneaking pf a large nUmber^of-ourvommon cdUstltuents, vfho voted for Col.. Fremont at the l^t electii^h. If the charges were true in any sense, I should unit^with my.'coU^^gue In the Gond^nnation Which he has pronounced • for "although I would have deidbred the' election of Col. Treittorit as the greatest calamity tbatcoUldlyefaU the AtafericSiti pebpl'^, ,1 feel' -bound to' render my irlbutl^ 6t reSpfect *ro those ! honest, -patriptle, but as ' I think, -misguided, Citizens of Ohio, who TOtedi fb^ him". ; The paragraph apon which my colleague based this accusation; is '^e one, which' I now send toi theeeoretapy's desk. (Here the gecr'etaiT read the partof»the messaged e regretted that all the qualified' electors had^not registered themselves andvotedunderits pro- Tisions. ' ' > ■ ■ ' At the'tiBie of the eiectionfov delegates, an extensive organization existed in the Territory, whose avdwed'flb- j^ct it was, if need hej to put down the lawful ^oveVn- ment by fordes, and t6 establish a government of tJieir' owniinder the sd'-called Topeka Constitution^ The per-' sons attached to this revolutionary organization ab- stained from'tlaking anjrpart in the election. ^' ■ ' ■The a«6 of the Territorial legislature had oniittedtto provtdfe fat 'Submitting to the people the constitution Whifehmightt)e framed by the Convention; and in the excited state of public feeling throughout Kansas, an Apprehension extensively prevailed that a design ex- isted to foi^e ' upon them a" constitution, in relation to Slavery, against their will. 3tn this emergency it became my duty, aa itwas my^ unquestionable right, having to view th^ union of all good citi^erm in support of >thei^9!^ ritorial laws^'totexpress an opinicm on the true coiit^i^aG- tion of thei proivtetons concerning>Sluv^ry-o6ntaJiae#*in' tlie Organic aet'ofi Congress of the-80*h'Mayi'1854'J '^i^n-. gress declared lit to be " the ti'iine-interit and meamin^of this act not to le^slate Slavery, into any Ten^eorytSw State, nor-to exclude it therefcom,' but tb leave th«^^- ple thereof . pevfeotiy free to form land regulate islifeiri domestic 'instiUutionS' in their.owu,i«TOay."''i Bnflii? it Kansas, '*when> admited as a Sl&te,?*^ was to '^^be'^e- ceived into the Union with or withuirt Slavery as fheir* constitution may prescribe at ^e 'time of their iadm^-> sion." ' ■■ ^ '■■ ■ ,.•... Did Congress mean oy this'Ianguage that the delegates lileeted to frame a constitution, sli^uld have authority finally to decide the question of Slavery^, or did ^they in- tend, byieaving.it to the people, that the peopleof Kau- E^aS' themselves should decide this questiaB! i by a direct vote? On this subjiectl'c&ifessIhadni&V'eC'entertained' ai seriouS' doubt, and, j(there£Dre, tn&iyHinStructionS to Uovernor Walker of ^the-^thi March-lasjiv ^ luerely sai that whien " a constituk^oo: shall besubmittedito-tbepeo^' pie of the Territory^ they must be protected in the exer-, cise of their right of 'Voting for or against that instru- ment, "• J •' ■ ' 'The election of delegates to a convention must-nfecffl-J sarily take p'lace in separate districts. From^thia^caiuse It may readily happen, as has often been l^e case, that a majority of the people of a State or Territory are on one side of a question, whilst a majority of fche'-represen- tatives- from the several districts into which itis divided may be upon the other side.. This arises fr^m'the fact -that in some diatrictsdelegaiteaniay be elected by small majorities, whilst in others those of differaiti sentiments may receive majorities sufficiently grjcat -not only to ■overcome the votes given' for the form'feif'j bnt 'to leave a large majority of the whole people in direct oppo- sition to. a majority Of the delegates.'' 'Besides, our his- ■ tory proves that influenoes may be brought bo bear on toe representaliive auf^eiently powerful to induce him to disregard the will of hie constituents. The- truth isi^^at no other authentic- and satisfactory mode eocists of ascertaining the will of . a majoritytof th^people of any gtate or Territoryon/ an important- aindtpKciting ques- ,tion like;that ^ Blavei-y in Kansaa,.e?ccBpfe toy leaving it ttfadirect vtSte.' How wise, theil, was it for Congress to p^s over all subordinate and itit'ertbediate agencies, artSprdde'ed dii^ctly' to the ^ourfee of all legitimate power under biir institutioDEfl ■ ■ i; ' ' ' ■ , How vain woiild any other prirtcijple proVe fn pra^ tics!' This, malyb'e illustrated^ by tfib ' iiaii'e ef Kansas. Should she be fidmitted into the Unioh With ft, constita- tibri eithet maintaining or abolishing Slavery; against tha sentiment Of thfe' i^eopI6, this coulcf hive h'o other effect than to continue, and to exasperate "the 'existing agita- tiou'duringthe^brieriieriod required to make the con- s^tuUon cprff(^ret&'the i^ai^ble'vpill 6f 'the majority. ■Thefri0ndji\dbJsup!p'ot^sg^^N^eb^^^ and Kan- sas act, ■n'hen Bra^giliife oil !inpS|^M*6pcasion to Sustain its wise'prpVifei-6,ri^ befdreth-^^^pJFbunal of the Ame-* rican peoplb', never dJfKred ia9!^|i%'%ue meaning on thi^ subject ' Everywhere "^t^J^lhiJut'Tthe Union they publicly plpdig'^d thpir faifcKani'-^eir honor that they would cheerfully submit the ^'e^tio.n of glavei-y to the jdecision rif the bona fide people of Sansas, \vft.hout any restriction or qualification whatever. All were cordially united upon th6, great doctrine of popular sovereignty, which is the rtual prinpiple of. ^ur free inst;tutions. Had it, therii been insiflustted from' any' Q^uai'tei^'th^at 'it -would be a" SU'flScient compliance with ther^aiii^itions of the or- ganic law for the members of a donvferitibh, thereafter to be Elected, to withhold the question' of'PlaTery from the people, and to substitute their own ^i41 for that of a iQgally-ascertained majority of all thelrconstituents, this would have been instantly rejected.' 'Weiy where they remained true to the resolution adopt'pd'on a celebrated occasion reco^iz^ng *' the right of thfr'people'of 'all the ^Territories — including Kansas and PTebi'a'Slc^,''* acting through the legally and l^irly expressed Vill of a ipajor- ity of actual^ residents, and whenever the nifrfiber of their inhabitant^ justified it— to form a cohsUtutJLon vf\\)i tor without Slavery, and be admitted into the Union )ipon terms of jiei^ct equality "frith the otUer fetates." ; ^fhe Convention to framS ' a ' bo'iistititition f6r Kansas toiiet on the flrfet Mond^ of Septembel* IStst. T^ey were •called togfethff'by' Tiftue of '^' ^ctof the Territorial ile'^lature, Whose lawful exidtence haid been recognized by Congress in different forinS^nd, by different' enact- ments. A large jproportion 6f the citizens of Kansas Sid 'nbt think propel- to register their ■ rfam'^^ and to vote at" the election for delegates ; but 'an' opportunity' to db this baving been fkiirly afforded, their refusal to avail them- selves of their right could in'no manner affect the legal- ' ^ty of the convention. '. ' ', TIijS Convention proceeded'tO fi;ame a constitution for ' Kansas, &.nd finally adjourifed" on th^' 7th day of No- vember. , But littje difficulty bccurred in thfe Convention, except cjn the ^iibject of Slavery. The truth is, that the general provisions of our recent State constitutions are so similar, and, I may add, sd excellertt, that the differ- ence between them is not essential. Undef the ekrlier practice pf the (xovernment, no constitution ft-amed by the ccffivention of a i'erritory preparatory to its admis- sion into the Union as a State h^d' been submitted to tha ' people. 1 trust, however, the example set by the last. Congress, req_uiring that the corfstitution of Minnesota "should be ^siibjebftb the at^prbval and ^ratification of the people! or'the prdposed State,". 'may be fdllowed on future occasions," Ptookitfor granted that the Conven-' tion bf,lSansas woifl^ act in afccordamie \rfth this exam- ple, fbunded as 'it 'is, on collect principles ; and henoa my instructions to Grovernot Walker, i^ favor of sub- mitting the constitution to the pei6ple, Wei'e' expressed in geheral'^nd,unqualified ternis. - ■ ■ " ,' Jn thd Kansas-Nebraska act,' hoM^ever, this requh-e- ihent, a^ applicable to the whble '.constitutiion, had not been inserted and the ConVdrition weve nbt bound by its'terms to submit 'any' other'poirtioii qff theinstmment to an election^ excejpt that ■fl'fiich relates to the " domes- tic institution" of Slavery. This will be rendered clear by' d simple referehce \o its language. It ^\^aS " not to legislate Slavery into any Territbr^^ or Statte, nor to excMde it therefrom, but to leave the people thei-eof per- fectly free to form and regulate their domestic institu* tidns in their own way." According to the plain con- struction of the sfenterice, the 'Words " domestic institu- tions" 'hava a direct d^ they have^n appropriate refer- ence to "Slavery. " Dofnestic'instittiltfbns '*;ar6 limited to the family. The r'elation'lje.tiwfen ifa^lter and Slave and* a few others are" "domestic' Mfetituttdns;-"- and '^I'e fen-' tirely distinct from institutions of a politicar chafactep.* Besides, there, Fas9#0;*l§e^^ns'j^,fp-be|(JreP«nt)gi-ess, nor indeed, has' there since, been any serious qpestio^ before the ^eo'ple of K^^as m? thfe C&^^f{ eisc'ept that-wJiich relates to the "domesti^4n^lft1fl04^'-',^Sla!ffery4,t , ,;,.( The Convention, ajfter^ ap..^afiry an4..e¥ciU4 ilebafe, finally determined, by ainajOrltylof only two, tb submit f he question of Slavery to Ih^ people,' though^at tAie l&sl lU A POf^'^'iCAL TEX3^-]B005 FOR .I860. forty-three of the fifty delegates present a^^d their signatures to the consututioii.. , ' A lar^e majority of the C(>aTfintip^, were in faror of esbaWiSning Slavery in Kdp^^i '^b^y .acpbrdipgly ui- Berted an article in the . cc^tuutlon'for thW purpose similar in form to those which had been adopted by other Te^Titorial conventions. Xn the schedule, how- eyer, providing for the transition from a TerTitorial to, a State government^ the question hal been fairly and ex- plicitly referred to the people, whether they will have a constitution " with or without Slavery." It declares that, before the constitution adopted hy the Convention '^shallbe sent to Congrej^fbr admission into the Union as a State," an election shall be held to decide ihjs ques- tion, at which all the White male inhabitants of i^e ter- ritory above the age of 21 are entitled to vote. Tbey are to vote by ballot ; and "the ballots cast at Bald eieciiori shaU be indorsed ' constitution with Slavery,* and 'constitution with no Slavery.'" If there be a majority in favor of the the "constitution with Sla- very," then, it is to be transmitted to Congress by the president of the Convention in its original form. If, on the contrary, there shall be a majority in favor of the ' '"constitution with no Slavery," " then the article i>ro- viding'for Slavery shall be stricken from the constitu- tion by the presldeht of this Convention ;" and it is expressly declared that " no Slavery shall exist in the State of Kansas, except that the right of property in fllaves now in the Territory shall iA no manner be inter- fered with ;" and In that event it Is made his 4uty to have the constitution thus ratified, transmitted to the Congress of the United States, for the admission of the State into the Union. At this election, every citizen will have an opportu- nity of expressing his opin^o^ by his vote " whether * Kansas shall be received into'tiie Union with or without Slavery," and thus this exciting question may be peace- fully settled In the very mode required by the organic law. The Section will be held under legitimate author^ ity, and if any portion of the inhabitants shall refuse to vote, a fair opportunity to do so having beei). presented, this will be theijp own yolunt^ry act, arid they alone win be responsible for the consequences. Whether Kansas shall'be a free or a slave State, must eventually, under, some authority, be decided by aij , election ; and the ques\tion can never be more clearly ar distinctly presented t,o the people than it is at the present momept. SbP^ld. this opportunity be rejected, she may be involved for years in domestic discord, and ppssibly In civil waiT) before -she can again make up the issue now so fortunately tendered, and again reach the point she has already attained. Kansas has for sopie year^ occupied too much of the pLublic attention. It is nigh time ibis should be directed to far more important objects. When once admitted into the Union, whether with or without Slavery, the excitement beyond her own limits will speedily pass away, and shie will then, for the first time, be le^, ^ she ought to have been Ipng since, to manage her own B^airs in herown way. If her constiiution on the sub- ject of Slavery, or on any other subject, be displeasli^g to a majority of the people, no human power can prevent them from -changing it within a brief period. Under these circumstances, it may well he q)lestloned whether the peace and quiet of the wl^ole opuntry are not of greater importance than the mere ^mporary triumph of either of the political parties in Kaqsas. , Should the con;9titution without Slavery be adopted by the votes of the majority, the rights of property In slaves now in the Territory are reserve^. The number of these ia very small", but if it were greater the provision would be equally just and reasonable. The alaves were brought intp the TeiTitory under the ConstJRition of the United States, and are no^y the property of their mas- ters. This point has at length been Anally decided by the highest judicial tribunal of the country — and, this upon the plain prmciple thtit when a confederacy of sovereign States acquire a new territory at their joint 'expense, both equality and justice demand that the citi-' eens of one and all of them thall have the right to take Into Id whatsoever is recognized as property by the c,dm- n^on Constitution. To have summarily confiscated ^he property in slaves already in the Territory woiddhave been an act of gross injustice, and contrary to the pfao- tiice of the older States of the uhiqn which hQ^ve abol- teb«d. Slavery. . Mr. Douglas on Lecompton. Mr. Douglas, who very early joined in the deT bate on the President's Message, at first said he dissented from tho views of the, Presidetiti^ vegard to Kana^s^ but afterward endeavored to show ,tJmt thp Preaidejttt did not mean to '* recommend" the Lecompton Constitution, bat that he only referred that document to the Congress of the Uni- ted Stat^ — as the Constitution of the United titatea refers it — for us to decide upon it under our own respou- sibllity. "It is proper," said Mr. D., *''■ that he should have thus referred it to us as a matter for congressional action, and not as an administrative or executive oieasuro, for the reaeon that the Constitution of the United States says, * Congress may admit new States into the Union.' Hence we find the Kansas question before u^ now, not as an Adounistrative measure, not as an l^xecuiive meu^ sure, but 9s a measure comnag before us for our free; action, without any recommendation or interference^ directly or indirectly, by the Administration now in pos- session of the Federal Governmeat." Mr. President, I am not going to stop and inquure how far the Nebraska bill, which said the people should be left perfectly free to form their constitutim i),<»iglaa Cbunty, eight in number, Mr. Calhoun, President of the ConventioB, bdng among them, werQ not only instructed thus to submit the question, but they signed and publi^ed, while candidates, a written pledge that they would submit it to the people for ratifip cation. I know that men high in authority, and in tbe confidence of the Territorial aqd National Govermnent, canvassed every part of Kansas during the election of delegates, and each one of them pledged himself to the people that no snap judgment was to be taken ; Uiat the constitution was to be submitted to the people for acceptr ance . or rej'ectiqn : iimt: it would, be void unileaa that was ,done ; that the Administration would spurn and scorn it aa a violation of the principles on which it came into power, and that a Democratic Congress would hurl ii from their presence as an insult.to the Democrats who stood pledged to see the people left free to form theu-domeatic instituf tions for themselves. Not only that, air,, but up to tbe time when the Conven- tion assembled, on the 1st of September, so far as I can leam^ it was underwood every where thattheconatitution was to be submitted for ratification or r^'ection. Th^ met, however, on the 1st of September, and ac^journed until j^er thjS October Section. I think that it was wise andprudent that tbey should thus have adjourned. They did not wish to bring any question into that election which, would divide the Democratic party, andi weaken our chances of sucoess in the el^ecCion. . I was rejoiced when I saw that they .did adjourn, sb as not to show their hand on any question that would divide and distract the party until after the election. During that reeess, while the Convention was adjourned, Governor Ransom, the Demo- cratic candidatefor Congress, running agfunst the present Delegate from that Territory, was canvassing every part of Kansas, in favor of the doctrine of submitting the consti- tution to the people, declaring that the Demoeratlc party were in favor of such submission, and that it was a slan- der of the Black Repubficans to intimate the charge that the Democratic paity did hot intend to carry out that pledge in good faithi Thus, up to the time of tbe Con- vention, in October last, the pretense was ^ kept npi, the profession waa openly made^ and believed by me, and I thought believed by them, that the Convention intfended to luhmit a constitution t9 the people, and not to attempt to put a government in opwatlon Without such submis- sion. The election being over, the Democratic party being defeated by an overwhelming vote, the Opposition having triumphed, and got possession, of both branches •f the legislature, and having ^eted their Teriitorid MR/ flotffJtAS^'bN LicbM^TdS. ' 115 Ddfegst*, We Oohvetttiyn iSsftmblsd, and thSfa prdcesdeS I iot VlQlaW t4ie Constltnflon of the tTnlted States and th^ f.«.»n™„i^..v.: ,. ftiixaajmStal_pi1lit!it>lei( of liberty, upon Which our instltu- ■n<)nS,re6t.' ' lam liot Bolni to argue the nuestlon whether thb ba'sxiDE by^tem established In that cpqbtltution Is wise or ufiwise; lit'saya thei-e ahailbe no moriopoUes, but there ihall be 0J& bank of ijisue in the State, vith two branches. XU I naVe ip say on that point Is, if tney want a banking system, let liieto hJave it;- if they do ndt want it, let thorn p'rbhibHlt. H they want a bank with two branches, be it so ; l^thfe'y want iiwenty, It Is done of mf busbess j and it miatters not to nb Whether one of them sball' be on tlie north side and the other on the south side of the Kaw Kiver, or where they shili be. , • . ' While I have no ri^ht to e£pect' to be codsulted on that point, I dn Bold that th^peoiile of Kansas have the right to be'consult^d l^ti^ to decfilg it, and you hive no rrghtfSl iuttiorlijt tojdcrfiye thein'of that privilege. It is '^o'Jjistmpaitlbn, in my mlniii tosiythat the provision for tHer ellgl))flity for tfie .ofttcefB.,of Soyernor and Lieut.-6o- vei'n^ reiiiliires' twenty years* (jitiaenship in the United State^: irmeh think that rid pdrson should vote or hold offiCe'iintll he has bfeen here twenty years, they have ^ right to think so ; alii' it a majority of tji^ people or Kan- sis think that no inai) of foreign birth should vote oT ■hpld office unless he has lived there 'tyfepty yfears, it is tJleIr right tof Say So, and I have no 'rt^bt Sb ibterfere with them;; it is their business, not niirie; butiiT I lived there I should not he willing to have tbaf provision in the constitution without being heard, upon the sublec'ti and allowed to record my jirdtest against it. ^ I have nothui^ to say atioi^t ^eir Bystera of taxation, in which they Have gone back and resorted to the old tx- ploded system W^iqh we trieS'in Illinois, but abandoned becaus^ wp did' not liXe'it.' ' 'If tfey wish to try it and get tired 'of it iind aliandon it, be 'it so : but if I were a ciiizeri 6^ Kahilas 1 wjiiid profit b^thie fexpeHence of lllinoiS'on, that subject, and' defeatitia J could. Yet 1 have £6 itaedtipn, to th^ir having it if mey waiit it ; it iS their bus'iiifeas, not mine. , < ^\'-' So it is in regard to 'the free negroes.' They provide that no free Ue^ro shall be permitted to li/et in Kansgs. I suppose they have a right to say so if they choose ; but if I lived there I should want to vote' on the qudstion. We, in Illinois, prqvide that no more shall come there. We say to the other States, " Take care of your own free negroes and we will take csre of ours." But we do not say thslt the liegroes now there shall not be permitted to live in Illinois ; andl think the people of Kansas ought to have the right to, say whether they will allow them to live ttfere, and if they are not going to do so, how thejr are to dispose of tliem. So you may go on with all the different clatiaes of the Constitution. Ihey may be all right ; they may be all wrong. That is a question on wHich my opinion is worth nothing. The opinion of the wise and patriotic Chief IMagistrate of the United States is not worth anything as against that of the people of Kansas, for they have a right to judge for themselves; and neither Presi- dent, nor Senates, nor Houses of Representatives, nor any other power outside of Kansas, has a right to judge for them. Hence it is no justification. In my mind, for the violation, of the gi-eat principle of self-govetnment, to say that the 'd'dnstitulion you are forcing on thera is npt particularly obfl make a «chedule,to whieh' they prdvlcle that the cohBtltuUon, do the 21st of bec^faner— the present nidnth^hall be siib- mttted to all the BOTiijfJMe Inhabitiirits of the Territory oi that day, Ibr thdurfred a!cceptance dr rejection, in the fal- lowing manUer, to' wit; Thiis acknowledging that th» were Bdulid'to sdbtMt It Vo tHe will of the Jiedple ; conced- ing that th^jr had no right to put it Into operation without mbmltting it to the people; providing in theliiBtruipcnf that it should take effect from and after the date Of Its ratification, and not before ; showing (ihat the OobKituflou derives its vitality, in thdir estlmalToi,' not ftoni' the au- thority of the Convention, but from tta't v6te Bf the peo- ple, tfl which it was to be submitted for thdii' fr^Vate'cept- ance or regectlon. How is it to be Submlttdd^'' ifsball'be submitted in. this form: "Constitution with Slayerji or CdiliHtutlgii *ltli no Slavery ?" ■ All meii must tots, «r the consUtuUon, wliether they like' it or iidt, in drddl:to bd nermittad to vote.tor.or against SJjiveiy. Thijs:a constltB; Hon made by a convention that iiad alithoqty to assemble and petition for 'a redress of ^6va!iicey, biit riot t'd'esta'^'- Ibh a goveimnlent — a cohsUtundn mlde iiridef ^'plfedt^e of honor t^t lit bhou^d b6.:Subnujited to.t^te'people bci&re if took effect— a constitution wl:dcb,proyid£s on 11^ facQ, l^at it shall have no validity except what It derives from such itibmlseion — ^ snbiriftted to the people at an election where all men are at liberty to come forwiard freely, ^itlir oiit hindrance, and vote f or it^, ]>ut no man is permitte,d to recoi:d a vote against it ! ' 'That would be ad fair an elefctiori as some of the ene- mies of Napoleon attributed to iiim when he waa elected first Consul. He is said to have called out his troops and liad them reviewed by his oflacers^wfeh'a speech, jEiatrioUc and fair in ' its pi*ofessidns; in wnlch he said to' thdrii : " Now, my soldiers, you are to go to the electidri and vote freely, just as you please. If you vote forNapoleon,'all is veil : vote against him, and you are- to, be Inptaptly shot I" That was a fair election, (Laughter.) This elec- tion is to be equally fair. All men in favor of the consti- tution may vote for it, -all men against it shall not vote at all. Why not let them vote against it? I presume you have asked riiany a man this question, t have asked, a very large number of the gentlemen who framed tttfe dori- ititution, quite a number of delegates, and a stiU larger number of, persons ,w;ho are their friends, and I have rer delved the same answer from every one of them. I never received any other ' kn^wer, and I presume we never Shili get any otfaerianswer. What is that? They say, if' they had a^dwpd a ^eg^iye TQte, the constituUon would have been'TOteddowriby arioverwhdtmingmaiiority ; and hence Hie fellAWs shall rioNI'Be alldwed'to tot4 at illr. (tanghtcr,) -Mr. President, thlat may be true. It is no part of my puI^o^s to denj the.,p«)poaitiOn"thij{ that constitution Voutd have been yoted down if submitted tp the pe9ple. i' believe it woiild Bave been voted doivn 'by a riiajority of four to one. I am irifoirnied by men wdll posted (hdre — Democrats — that it would be voted down tdn to one ; some say by twenty to one. , i- i , , But is i» a gdod reason why you should de'clare It m force, without being submitted to th'e people,' merely be- cause it would have been voted down by -five to dne if you had submitted it? What does that (apt prpve? IJoes it not show undeiuaBiy that an overwhelming ma;jof ity of the p'dople of EarisAS-ste uriialtera'biy dpposdd to that constitutianf Will you force it on them against their wilt amply because they wo^ld have yoted it down; if you had'cdnsulted them? If you will, are you going to force it upon them under the plea' bf leaving them perfectly free to form and' regulate theiB-domeStlo institutSonB in their own way ? Is that the mode in ^vhlcli^I am ,callp.d upon %o carry out the principle of self-govdrnment and popular Bovdrelgrity in the Tcrrftdries^to force a constitution pn the people against their, wM, iaiopposltioji to then- protest, with a knowjlegs of the.fiicfr, Sisd then to assign as a reason fpr my tyrannyi tlMkt .they would be so obstinate and so netveiSd ils td Vote dd'wutHeconititttHoHif Ihad giVen -them an oppoirtunity-to be consulted about it? sir I deny your right, or ini^dv to ;lnquire of these peo- gle what their objections to th^,ofinstftution are. They aVe a right td jlirage for themselves whdther tlhey like or dislike it.' 'Itla.^no answer to -tefl' me that^e constitution is a good one, and unobjecljonsblei lilt ja not sktisfaotory to me to have the President say, to his. message, to,t that cdnstitritibn ba'ri'adiriii'able one, like alt the consTOutioriS of the new State* that hayebeerireodrit^ fitariied. Whether good or bad, whether obnoxious or not, is none of my busi- ness, and none of yours. »,.'..■ It IS theif business, arid not ours. I care not what they Vave in their constitution, so that it suits them and does in defiance of the authority of Cbrigr'e'ss^ that if it was iis pure as the Hfcle, as holy as thd'Tf!en.Coriirpandment3,,yd' W6' would not touch it until i't'was submitted to and ratified by the people of Kansas, in jtursuance of the foriis of law-, Perhaps ffie Topeka Constitution, biit for the mode of riiating it, would have been lundxceptiori- able. I do not know ; I do not care. You have no right to force aij uriexcSptipnable constitution on a people. It does not mitigate the evil, it does not diminish the insult, it does not ameliorate the wrong, that you are forcing a good thing upSri. them. I am not willing to be forced to do that which I would do if I were left free to judge and act for myself: Hence 1 assert that there is no jusiificii- tiott to be made for this flagrant violation of popular rights in KapSas, on the plea that the constitution whiifh they haveriiadeis not particulai'lj^ obrioxious. But, sir, the President of the United States is really and sincerely of the opinion that tl|e Slayery clause has l.-een fairly and Impartially submitted to the'free acceptance or rejection of the people of Karis^s, and that, inasmuch as that was the excitipg and paramount queslioni if tlit^ get the right to vote as they please on that slihje^^ they ought to be satisfied; and possibly it mi^t v 116 A POLITICAL TEXT*:ppOK FOTct 1860. better if wo TO)Uld acpept it,.ap3. put an eqd to the quea- flon^. Let iQe ask, sir, is the Slavery^ clause fairly sub- iniited, ao, th^at tlie peoplecan'Tote for or agalDst it 7 £?up- pose.l were a citizen of Kansas* and should go up to the polls'and say, *' I desire'to vote tq.make Kansas a.Have State ; h^f e is my ballot^" ' thevj re^ly to jue, '-' 51k. Douglas, just vote for that constitution first', ff ,you please." " Oh, no I*' X answer,," I cannot vote for that constitution cpnscientlpusly — X am opposed to the clause by which yoii locate certain railroads in such a way as to sacrifice .my county and my part of the State. . I am opposed to that backing system. I ara oppqaei^ to this Kilow-NokfiiDg or Ainerican claiiie in tji^,. constitution about tlie qualifications foroflice. I caniipt vote for it:" Then they answer, " You shall not vote on maldrig it a Slave State." I then /say, " I want to make it a Free Slate." They reply, "Vote for that, constitution first, and ihen you can vote to make it a I'ree State ; otherwise you cannot." "Thus they disqualify eVery pPree-S'tate man who will not first vote for the constitution : they dis- flualify eveiy Slave-State man who will notflrsl'vote for the constitution. No matter whether or not the voters state that they' cannot conscientiously voipior'those, pro- visions, they reply, "You cannot vote fpr or against' Slavery here, ^ake.the constitution as'wejiaye made it, take the Elective Franchise as we |i^ve 'established.it, take the. Banking System as we have dictated It, take the Railroad lines as we have located them, take fbb Judiciary •System as we have fprmed it, take it all as we have fixed It to suit buraelvea, and' ask no questions, but vote fpr it, or you shall not vote either for a Slave or Free State." in other wprds, the legal effect of the' Bctiedule la this : ajl those who arein. favorof this constitution may vote for or against Slavery, as. they please; 'but 'all those whp are against (his constitution are disfranchised, .and shall not vote at all^ That is the mode in which the slavery pro- position is submitted. Every man opposed to the 9onsti- lution is disfranchised on the, (Slavery clause. How many are tliey ? They tell you 'there is a majority, for tiiey aay .the constitution will.be, voted dofm instantly, by an over- whelming majority, if you allo'w a negajiva vote. This 'shows tliat a majority are against it. Thsy disqualify and disfranchise every man who is against it, thus referring the Slavery clause to a minority of. the people of Kansas, and leaving that minority free to vote for or against the Sl'avery clause as they choose. Let me ask you if ^liat is a fair mode of submitting the Slavery clause ? Does that mode of submitting that par- ticular clause leave the people perfectly free, to vo^e for or against Slavery as they choose? "Xm I free to vote 'as I choose 6n the Slavery question j if you tell me I .shall not vote ,on it until I vote for the, Maine ijiquor.iLaw? Am I fi*ee to vofe on the.SIa,very.flpeatiop, if. you ^11" me 1 shall not vote either way until X vote for a Bank? la it freedora. o^f election to make your right to vote upon one question depend upon the mode, in which you are going to vote on aome .9ther que^tlo^ wh^ch haa no con- nection with it ? Is that freedom' of election ? Is that the great fundamental principle of Self-Government, for which we', combined and struggled, in this body and throughout the country, to eatahlTsJi a^ a rule of action in , all time to come f .....' Let me ask you, why force this Constitution down the throats of the people of, ^.haas, in ojipqsition tq their wishes and it^ violation of our pledges ? .What great ob- ject ia to be attained ? Cui Ixmo f What are you to gain by it? Will you aqstain the party by violating its prin- ciples? Do ^ou propose, to keep the p'arty united by forcing a division f Stand by the doctrine that leaves the pepple.perfectly free to form and regulate their insti- tutions for themselyea in their own way, and your party will be unjted ahd, iri'esistlble In power. Abandon that great principle, arid the parly is not worth saving, and cannot be saved, after it shall be violated. I trust we are not to be ruah^a upon this question. ,Why shall it be done? Who is to be benefited? Is the South to be the gainer ? Neither the North noj: the South has the right to gain a sectiopal advantage by trickery or fraud. But I am be8eeched,to wait till Ihear from the election on the 21st of December. I am told that'perhapa that will put It all right, and wIU solve. the 'whole diffloiilty. How can it? Perhaps there may be a ^a'fge vote. ' There may be a, large vote returned. (Laughter.) But I deny that it is possible to have. a fair vote, on the $la,v6ry Clause ; and I aay that It Is not possible to have any vote on the Conatitiitioh. Why wait. for the ipockery of an election, when it is provided, unalterably, that the people cannot vote— when the majority are disfranchised? Butlam told on all (Idea, " Oh, just 'wait ; the Pro- Slavery' clause will he voted down." That does not obvi- ate any of my objections ; it does hot ' diminish any of them. You hjive no more right to .fqroe a Free-State Constitution on Kansas than a Slave-State Constitution, ^^ JSansaa w;anta, a Slftve-State CopstjtntlpQi'alw.hsB a rl'ght to it; if she wants a Free-Stata Constitution., she has a j:ight,to,- it, H,ia -pone.pfimy huainess whiqhway the Slavery plause ,1^^ dgci4ed. ' J pare not VJ^ietKer it it voted down (ir'O^teaup., -Jio you suppoae, after pledges of my honor, .that I.'.no'uld.go for {^l^t .principle, and leave th^ people to vo'be. as dey choose, thatj would now degrade myaelf. by voting one way if the Slavery clause be voted dpwp,', and -another way if it, be voted., up? I care no( liow th*t vote may atand, , I .take it foj, granted that it .will be vpied out, 1 thipt I have seen enough in the last tbr'ep. daya to make it certain that it will be re- turned out, no matter Jipw the rote may stand. (Laugh? ter.) " , . ,, I Sir, I am opposed to that cqncei;n, because it Iqoka to me lik^ a system of trickery 'and jpgglery to jdefeat the fair expression of the will of thepaople. The^ ia up , ne- cessity for crpwdipg this measure^ aq upfair, so unjust, aa it is, In'all its ^p^ pt^ upon ua. ; . . , . . On, the 2nclof Feb., 185fi,;tlleP^•esidenttranST mitted to Congress the Leeompton Gonstitution, accompanied by a ' special Message . strongly urging tbe admission of Kansas as 'a Bt%ia unde'r this ,, constitution., (The folio wiug is a brief statement in Tega,rd to the origin of the Le- eompton Oonstituljion : ) The fir^t Territorial Legislature passed an act in 1855 to take the sense of the people on the eall- of a Convention to form a State Constitu- tioja,,3it the election in Oct., 1 856. Accordingly, an election was held at which about 2,500' votes were polled, the Free-State men Bdt voting.' At this election, a new legislature was e}ect9d,:all Pro-Slavery, whict met iu Jan., 1857, and in conformity with the vote of 2,500 at the preced- ing October election, passed ah act providing for the election of delegates, on the 15th of June, to meet in convention in September following. Soon after this, Gov. 'Walker went to Kansas, and published an address to the people in which he assured them of his determination to use every means in his power to prevent all disorder and violence. He persuaded' the Free-State men to go to the polls and vote. An objection which they urged was, that in 19 out of the 38 counties no registry had been m^de, and that in 15 out of the 19 no census had ibeen taken, so that it was impossible for the people to vote in those couhtiea. These facts arq conflrmed by Got. 'Walker and Secretary Stanton. The election for delegates to the Convention was held on the 1,6th of June. The Free-State men did not vote, for the reason just mentioned, and also (as they stated,) that they had no confi- dence in the officers who were to hbld the elec- tioij, and. because the Constitution which might be formed, musty in the opinion of Gov. Walker, be submitted to a vote of all the people for rati- fication or rejisction, whether they yoted at this election or not. The entire vote for delegates was only about 2,200. _ The delegates elected assembled iu Conven- tion at LeoompCon, Sept. 5th, but soon adjourned overto October, to await the reSult of the Ter- ritorial Election on the first Monday of that month. At this Territorial .Election, both par- ties nominated candidates. At the request of (Jov.. Walker, 2,00011. S,, troops Were ia the Ter ritory, and they were stationed so as to protect the polls as much as possible. Ov«r eleven thousand votes were polled, ' aftey ^ej'ect^ng 2,800 as fraudulent and irregular, 1,600 of which were retumedtrom the Oxford precinct, where, according to the. census, tbere were but 43 voters, and twelve hundred from iloGse County, whero MR; WCflfAKiaf 'S LBeiJMPTOI^ MESSAGE. n1 ih poll was opene^i. „ the reaulfc.of this election iras, the Free-State party cairi^d the legislature a;nd the delegate to CbngresB. , '' The Convention reasaembled in October, ac- ^rdic^ to adjournment, .and formed the Consti- tution now so famous as the Lecompton Consti- tution. When It became known that the Con- vention had lefused to submit the entire con- stitution to a vote of the people for ratifica^ioa pr rejection, ^adhad submitted only a proposi- tion in regard to Slavery, and that in a form and p,nder. a test oath which would preventthe Free- State people from voting, there was gi'eat excite- jiient in the Territory, threatening bloodshed. Under these circumstances, Acting Gov. StantOn called (6rov. "Walker had. resigned) an extra ses- sion of the Territorial Legralature. The legisla- ture assembled Dec* 17th, and passed an act to submit the Lecompton Constitution fairly to a. vote of the people on the 4th of January nejSjt, following, the;time fixed'by the Lecompton con- vention for the election of State -officM^a under that constitution. • '' ' Oii;the 21st of Dec, the vote was taken in, the manner prescribed by the Convention, and re- sulted aa followe : "For the constitiiUon Vith Slavery" . " For the constitution .without Slaveiy ", 567 Total vote . , , 6,t93 Jan. 4th, 1858, .in accordance with the atet of the Tetritorial Legislature, the people voted ap follows: . ' ■ For the Leoompton Constitution with Slavery '. 188 " ■ . " ■: " without "■ . 24 Against the Lecompton Oonstittttion ' i , . . 10,^226' - Being over ten thousand majority against the tiecompton Oonatitutioii, PRESIS^MT ^QCHANAS'S L£00MPTON MESSAOS. • 'The following is ihe President's special Mes- sage, of Feb. 2nd, 1858. ■ 'I have received from J. Calhoun, Esq., President -ot^e late Constitutional Convention of Kansas, a copy duly cei'tified by himself, of the Constitution framed by that body, with the expression of the hopB' that I, would 'sijB- mit thesanie to the coriBidefatlpnof Cbhgr'eHs " with the view of the admission of KAnti^ into theUhion as an independent Sfiate.** Iii compHaaroe with ihis request, I hereTVith transniit to Ccngress for' their actioh the .Con- stitution of Kansas, With the' oi-dlnajice respecting the publib lands, ds^ well' as th^ letter of Mr. Calhoun, dated at Lecompton, on the 14th ult:, ' by which they were ac- oompanied; Having i^eceived' but ii ^ngle copy of the Ooastitution anU 6rdin&n6e.'t serid this to the Senate. ' ' A gr^at deluMojIf seelaid'to' pervade ' the'' pub^ 'xdiU^ in EClatiEui'to' tbb coddltloh'or pdltles In^E^nsas. Thi^ arisifes from the difficulty of inducing the Am^i&afn people t,o rfiaUze the fact tihAt''4n^pbl^lditof them sfioftld be in a state of rebellibn 'against the €lbV^iibfent'uuder which theyhVe. Wh)eB,we sp^aik- of the'dlfl&irB of Kansas*,' we are apt to refer merely ^o the existence of two vl^ent politfoal parties in that'lfefritfory, divided on the question of Slavery, just as: wC'SpeaU of iveah parties in the States. TbiS' presents no adequate'idedi of the true state of ihe case. ^The- dividing liileJ there is not between twu politi- cal parties, both acknowledgihg the lawful esl^telice of the G-overnmcint, but'^etwebn those who ai^e I'oy^ to thfs Giovernment and those whohaveendeavoi'dd' to d'^stroy Its eatiatenoe by force and by uaut'pitio>n — between those who sustain, and those who ha;vecfon^-aU In their power to overthrow^ the Territorial Gtoireenta^nt established by OongresB. i^his Government 1k&^ Woiild long'since hav& ■ubrerted had it not'been- pi'OtBdtedfi^cfli their assaults by the troops of >the United ■States. ' Such has been the con- dition. of alfairs'siace my iDaugUrationt Ever since that periadj a largepxutlonofthepeople.bf Kansas have been ima state of iireb'lion against tbe'GtoYel'nraent, with a military lieader at their head, of mosfrturbulent and dan- gerous character. They have never acknowledged, but kiare coctsfeantly renounced and defiedj the Qovernment to whfch they owe allegiance, and have been all the time In a state of resistance against its auihority. 4^hey have all the timejjeen endeavoring to subvert it and to eatab- llsh a re,Yo\uJ:5i9nary Governm'entr,undfer, the. BO^calIed Topeka CoasU^utiop, tp its .'stead.. Even at this very . moment, the,.Top9lc3,^Ijegi3la'tui:p are'.Jn, session.. .Who- ever has read the correapondence of (iov. Walker with the 'Sta);e iD^aji-tn^eDft, recently communicated to the Senate, will l3e,copylnced that this picturj?, is not over- drawn, ,ne always protested agains; the w)tli. . ■" Without making further quotations of a similar lOharac- ter frompthe? dispatcher Of Gavernor Tyftlkei^i't appeals, by reference ta;9ect'etiai*y.!Stanton'Si coDununioalTion to Gen. 6^B on the, dth.of December last, that > ..: ' TBre Importdntstep of calling the legislitiire toffethef was ta^en a^eril (he)jhadbecome satisfied that the election ordered ' 'con- ucteg without collision and'bloodshed.',' ," , , , .So. intense was the disloyal feelii^ among the enen^ies of , the Goyernment .established .by^ Congress, that .an election which. affor4(;4-thebit oppprbvutities, if iuithe ma- jority,; of making Kansas a Free Sta^e according to their own eiixpressed desire, and pro- duce-universal aiSrchy. From this statement of taots, the reason becomes palpable why the enemies of the gov- ernment authorized by Congress have refused to vote for the delegates to the Kansas Constitutional Convention, and also, afterward, on the question 'of Slavery submitted by it to the people, ' It is because they have ever refused to sanction or recognize any, other Constitution than that friLmed at Topeka. Had the whole Lecompton Constitu- tion been submitted to the peoplei, the adherents of this, organization would doubtless have voted againstit, be- cause, if successful, they would thus have removed the obstacles out of the way of their own revolutionary Qon- Btitution;.tih^y would have done this, not upon Uie con- sideration of the merits of the whole or part of the Lecompton Constitution, but simply because they have ever resisted the author!^ of the government authorized by Congress from which it emanalied. 9u<;h being the unfortunate condition of affairs in the Territory, what was the right as well as the duty of the law-abiding people? Were they silently and patiently to submit to the Topeka usurpation, or to adopt the necessary measure to estab- lish a Constitution under the authority of the organic law of 'Congi'esB ? That this law recognized the ri^t of the people of the Territory, without an enabling act of Con- gress, to form a State Constitution, is too clear for argu- ment. For Congress " to leave the people of the Terri- tory perfectly free" in framing their Constitution " to form and regulatetheir domesticinsdtutions in their own. way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States," and'then to ^ay that they shall.not be permitted to preceed and frame the Cob'stlcuti'on in their own w; without express authority from Congi'ess, appear^ to almost a contradiction In terms, 'it would be much. more plausible to contend that Congress had no power to pass such an enabling act, than to argiie that the people at a Territory mightjbe kept oiit of tlie Union for an indefi- nite period, and until it might please Congress to permit them to exercise the right of self-government. . This would be to adopt, not their own way, bilt the way which Congress might prescribe. It is Ldii^ossible that any peo- ple could .have proceeded with more regularity in the formation of a Constitution than the people of Kansas have doDfv It was necessary, first, to ascertain whether it was- the desire of the people to be relieved from their Territorial dependence and establish a State Government. For this purpose, the Territoi-lal Legislature, in 186!S, passed a law for taking the sense of thfe people of the Territory upon the expediency of calling a Convention to form a State Constitution at the general election to be held in October, 1856. The " sense of the people" was accordingly taken, and they decided In favor of a Cdh- vention. It is true that at th1» election the enemies of the Terri- torial Government did not vote, because they were then .engaged at Topeka, without the slightest pretext of law Jul authority, in framing a Constitution'of their own for subverting the Territorial Government. In pursaance of this decision of the people in feVor of a Convention, the Territorial Legislature, on the 2Tth of February, 185T, aassed an act for the election of delegates on the tJUfd [onday of June, 185T, to frame a State Oonstltutidn. This law \i as fair In ita provisions as any that evei- passed a legislative body for a similar purpose. The tight of suffrage at this election la clfearly and justly defined. Every bona fide citizen of the United States, above the age of twenty-one, and who had resided thereto ftt three' months previous to that date, was entitled to a vote, fe' order to avoid all interference from neighboring States and Territories -vrith the freedom and fairness of the elec- tion, ^ provision was made for the registry of qualified voters; and i'n pursuance thereof, nine thousand two hun- dred and fifty-one voters were registered. ' Gov. Walker did his whole duty In urging all qualified citizens of Kan-' las to vote at this election. In his InaojMn-al Address on iie aTth of May, he informed them that^ " nndei'our praotioe, the preliminary act offtamtog a Slate ConstltuUon Is uniformly performed through the instra- mentallty of a Convention of delegates chosen bythe peopl^. themselves. That Coavention Isinom about )o be elated b| yoa, under tSieoaliof tlie ^rrltorial-Legislalure created,, and bUU recqgnlz^dnljf (he Ao^orjity of-Oongruss and elotheialbf tt,in the' comprenenBive language of the organic-laiw. withfiiU ?ow6r to make such an enactment. Thrf Territorial Legifila- iire* tlien, in Assembling this CoDventiqi^ ^ere fvjif sustained .'by the act of Congi'ess, and the authority of the Convention is dj9tiac^y recdgniaed In my iB6tf'A ' voting maust be voluntary, self-government would be Impracticable, .and nwuarchy or despotism would remain as me only- alternative." ' It may also be observed that at this period any hope, if such had existed, that the Topeka Constitution would ever b.e recognized by Congress must have' been aban- doned. Congress had adjourned on the thii-d of March previous, having recognized; the Inial existence of the Territorial Legislature in a variety of forms, which I need not. enumerate. Indeed, the Delegate elected' to the Hotise of Representatives unde^ a -Territorial law had been admitted to a^eat and had Just completed,his ie:m of service the day previous to my inauguration. This was the propitious moment for settfing all the difficuMes of Kansas. This was the time for abandoning the revo- lutionary Topeka organization, and for the enemie; of the existing government to conform to the laws and unite with its friends in framing a State Constitution. But this they -refused to do, and the consequences of their refusal .to submit to the lawful authority, and vote at the election of delegates, may yet prove, to be of the most deplorable character. Would that the respect for the laws of the land, which so eminently distinguished the men of the past generation, could be revived ! It is a disregard and violation of law which has ft)r years kept the Territory of Kansas in a state of almost open rebellion against its .Government — it is the same spirit which has produced actual rebellion 'ia ^ah. Our only safety consists in obedience and conformity to the law. Should a general sptit against Us enforcement prevaQ, this will prove fatal {to us as a nation. We acknowledge no master hut law, a-nd should we cut loose frppi its restraints and every one do what seeraeth good in his ov^ eyes, our case would ipdeed be hopeless. The enemies of .the. Territorial Government determined! still to resist the authority of Congress. They refused to vote fqr delegates to the Convention, not because, from circumstances which I need not detail, there was an omission to register thp comparatively few voters who were inhabitants of certain eounties in Kansas in the early spring of 1857, but because they ha* determined, at all hazards, to adhere to their revolutionary organiza- tion, and defeat the establishment of any- other consti- tution than that which they had framed at Topeka. The elecSOB was therefore sujrered to pass by default, hat 'of this result the qualified eleotora who refused to rote can never justly complain. Prom this, review, il; is manifest that the Lecompton , Convention, accardioe> to every principle of cooetito- tional lav, was legaJUy, constituted and intiested vtith power to frame a OQustitution. The aaered principle of Popular Sovereignlof has been involeed in favor of the enemies of Law and Order In Kansas ; but in what man- ner is Popular Soivec^goty to be exercised in this coun- try if not through the inatrumentaHty of established law f In. certain small republics of ancient times, the people' did assemble in pi'lmargF meeting, passed laws and di- rected public affairs^ , to our counti-y,, this is manifestly impossible. Popular Soveireignty can be exercised here only through theiballotbox,} and. if the people will refuse to exercise it in this manner, as they have done in Kan- sas ati the, eleotion of Delegates, it is not Ibr them to .coiQplain that theix rights have bees viiolated. The Kansas Convention, thus tatrfully constituted, pvo- ceeded to frame a GonstitulmMii and, having completed .their work, finally adjaamed on the Uh of November last. They did not think proper to submit the whole of this Constitution to a popular vote, but they did submit the qu^tion whether Kansas should be a Free or Slavs Stj,te to the people This was the.question which bad ooi» ■ MR. BDCHA2^AN,'S }:iEGOMP^N ^l^^qE. 119 Tttlsed the IJnlQn Md^flh,akeii it to the very center. This was the (jUjesliipa yrhScfe had lighted the flames of civil war iQ Kanfi^, *iwiM^ produided 4a'Qgerou8 aecUoaal parties thrbi^oM lJ^^9tf'fo(^ei'^cy. It was of a charac- ter BO paramoi^nt ia,y^speot to the condition of Kansas, as to riv^f" i]^ a^jcioufl attention of the people of the wjiole couijtBff; U^qo % and it alone— no person thought of any other c}uestion.' For my own part, when I in- structed Gove^'norWalkei: in general terms in favor pf BiibAutting the con^Utulion to the people, t had no object in yiew.exjcepti. the all-ahaorbihg question of Sfavery. In what E^;^i>aer the people of Kansas might regulate their other c(jii.cevng, was not the subject which attracted my attention. In fact, the general provisions of our recent ,St^ cqn9t^u^onB, after an experience of ejght^ years^ afe so ^^npJJlar. an4 excellent that it would be difficult to-.gcj.faj'd^rong at tie present day in framing a, new constitution !; I then belieyed, and still believe, that, under the drgfenic' act, the Kansa? Convention were bound lo submit this 'all-important question of SJavej;y; to the people. It w?* never, however, my ojmiion that, independently of^'this abt, they would have b^en bound to buomlfc aby i)ortloa of the coriatitutron to Eypopular vote in order to glwe it validity. Had I enter- tained si^ch an opinion, this would hs^e been in opposi- tion to many precedents in our history, commencing in the very best age of our Republic, It would have been in opposition lo the principle M^iich pervades our insti- tutions, and wiiioh is every day carried into practice, that the people have aright to delegate to the repre- sentatives chosen by ,themselves their sovereign power ta frame '■'CoastltutibtiB, enact- la'*B, and perform many othei* im:^ortanft acts, wiWIibut Bequiuing that these should oesubjected to,^heir subeequ^ approbation. It would be a most inconvenient limitation of tUeir own power, iihposed by. tlie people^' u^bn themselves, to exclude *hem from exercising their adv^eignty in any lawful n^a^i^erw^ith thfiy thiiik. proper. , , t It is true that the people pf Kahsaa might, If they hjid pleased, have required thedonvfention to submit the con- stitution to a popalav vote, but this they have not done^ The onjy remedy, therefore, in this case is that which esists in af^, other similar cases. If the delegates trho ffamed the 'Kansas Constitution have in any manned riolated the will of their constituents, the people always pussesa t^e pawner to change their constttutioQ or Ie^ws according to their own pleasure. The question of Slavery w'as submitted tb an election of the people on the 21st of December Ijast), in obedience to the mandate of the Con- rentioii. jlere, ftgain, a fair opportunity was presented to the adUerents of the Topeka Constitution, if they were the majority, to decide this exciting question "in their own fray," and thus restol-e-peace to the distracted Ter- ritory ; but they again refused to exerdse the right of Popular Soreneigu^y, and again suiTered the election to pass "by default. I heartily rejoice that a wiser and bet- ter spirit prevailed among a lacge majority of these people on^ thie first Monday in January, and that they dM.ou that dayjvote under the Lecompton Con^tibutioxl for ia. Crovernor ,and other State ofiicers, a member of Congress, arid for members of the Legislature. This election was warmly contested by the parties, and a larger vote polled thaja at any previous election in the Territory. We may now reasonably .hope that the revolutionary Tbpeka oi'gariization will be speedily and finally aban- doned, and this will ga far toward afinbl settlement Of the unhappy difference in Kansasi If frauds haive l^een com- mitted at this eljectifpQ by one-or both jpacties, the legisla- tute and people of Kansas, under their constitution, wiU' know how to redresff th^m'sdlves and puriisH these detestai-^ ble but too common crimes, without outside interference. , The people of JK^nsas havq, then, "in, their own way-„V and in strict acco't'dance, with the organic act, framed a Constitution and State Government, have soit&iitfced the all-important question of Slavery to the peopfe/uiid have elected a Governor, a member to represent them in Congress, members of the State Legislature and other State officers ; and they noW ask admission into the Union under this constitution,, which is republican in its form., ,,It is for Congress, to decide whether they will admit or reject the State which has thus been created. , l6*or iny bwn part, I am decijie^y lii. favor of its admik- Bion,'aind thus terminating' tae SanSM question. This wi\^ GS^ry' out the grqj^t priiipipU oC Non-Iuteryention recognized and sanctioned 'by the organic act, whiqh declares in express language in favor of the hon-lnter- vention of Congress with Slavery in the States and Territories, 'ytu^ing -^he people ** perfeotiy fre^ to form anc^ regulate their domestic institutions, iu t^eir own.^ay, sd6jec^^ii^y tothe Coilstitution of the'Onited States." In thifi'nialMier, bylocaHrahg the question of Slavery and ccm^inlog ift'flo ^® people whorit Immediately concerned, •vel'y patriot anxiously expected that this question would be banished ftora the halls of Congreas^ where }t, has alWayg everted a bahefid iniliieRce throughput fewhole count?^ \>.'t^7Z?tU^» m\ti ■ It is proper that I WoM , TSyjf refer to thei^lfecllon . held under the .apt of fttg'TsiSpM.l tegislaturp.qi the first Monday of Januaa^,).j^d5i the Lecomptoia, Consti- tution. This election, yMsJieJd,^ftpr the Territory had been prepared for a^^^lsaW Jnto the Union as. a Sove- reign State, an^d when, ijp,ai^o^ity existed in the.terri. torial Legislature whicli^oQu^d- possibly destroy its s^ist-' fence or change Its charflj^i^ , : The election, wKich was peaceably conducted ,)iii^er,iny Instructions, involved strange Inconsistencies.^ ^^arge majority of the persona. wtio voted against the ,Lpcpu^;tton Constitution were at the same time and place recognizing its valid existence Iq the most solid and authentic manner by voting under its provisions. I have yet received no official informa- tion of the result of this election. , As a question of expediency, ,after right has been maintained, it may be wise to reflect upon the benefits to Kansas and the whole. coi^ntry, that will result from its immediate admission intq the, Vmonj,a^, well &9 the , disasters that may follow its rejeptionf'^ Dqm€,atic peaQo Will be the happy consequehpe qf fehe adndfe§^on, and that fine Territory, which has hit!^i^to been^foiai by jjissen- Blons, will rapidly increase in pop.illation a^dweaji&« and speedily realize the blessings and comforte wJ^qh joUow jn the train of agricultural and mechanical; induptjcy,. The people, then, will be sovereign, and can regelate , their affairs in their own way. If the majprity of them desire to abolish domestic Slavery withua the State, there is no other possible mode, by which^ it can be effected so speedily as by prompt admissi(;n. The will of the majority is supreme and irresistible, when expressed in an orderly and lawful manner. It can make and un- ir^ake coiistitutions at pleasure. It would be aljsurd to say that they can impose fetters upon then* own power whieli they capriot afterward xemove. If thpy could do this, they might tie their own hands just as well for a hun- dred as for ten years. These are the fundamental princi- ples of American freedom, and are recognized, I beUeve, in some form or other by every State constitution ; and if Congress, in the act of admission, should .think proper tp reoognize them, I can perceive np objection! This has been done emphatically in the constitution of Kansas. It declares in its bill of rights that " All politi- cal power ia inherent in the people," and all free govern- ments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit, and therefore have at all times an inalien-'^ k.ble and indefeasible right to alter, reform and abolish ' their form of government, in such manner as they may tliink proper. The great State of Ne^-Vork i? at this mo)nent governed under a constitution framed and estab- , tished in direct opposition to a mode prescribed by the ' previous constitution. If, therefore, a provision chang?,. Ing the constitution of Kansas after the year 1861,.q:I3iu^ l3y possibility be construed into a prohiljt^lpn ,ta^ig8j^s>> such ciiaj?ge prevlpus. to that perfod, this prohjluitiga^ would be. wholly unavaillog. ^e legislatu]ig,jBtl)!e^d9r<« ele(\t,ecl fflay, at its very flr^t seB^ipn,. submit. the q^^UP&ii to a vbt'e of the people, wlie^e^^hii}; will or not have 4.. conventJi,9n^ to amend their^on^titutip^, and adopt all ' necessary means fojr givingpffeet ip tli^ pqpitlar will. It h^^ been solemnly adju^ged.'byju^e. highest judicial tri- bunal known to our daws,. 't^al,^ay9;^'y exists in Kansas by virtue, of the Constitution,. pf the tJnited States. Kansas ia therefore at iliis^omeiit^a inupii a Slave State as Georgia or South Carolina. Without this. tHe equality { of the Spyerefgn S'tates copiposing the Union would be i violated, and the use and' enjoyment of a UTerritory ac-' . quired by the commPn' t^^d^tlre' of all the States, would be closed ag^ipat, the people and pro^ierty of nearly half ; the members of the Confederacy. Slavery can, therefore, never be prohibited in Kansas, except through tlie means , of a cons^itutionaji, provision.; a^d in no other manner can this be obtained so promj^, if the majority of the people .-. desire it, aa by admitt^neltei; iptPjthe ynion under heif,, present con^titut^l .^On^jihe), other )xfi^id, should Con-, gress reject' the consfllution.'ii'nder the idea of aflfordjng,,. the disaffected in Kanaas.jiv thiwl, opportunity to prohibit Slavery in ^he,a^ate,'wt^ich tney might have done twice,; before if in th^ majority, no man can foretell the conse^ti- quences., If Cqngress, for the sake of those men who rc> (used to yo'te foj4elegates to tiie convention, when they , might haVe, excluded Slavery from the constitution, an^, who afteixi^rd refused to vote on the 21.st of December,,, when tbey might, aa they claimv have atricken Slavery from the constitution, should now.r^ect the State be- cause Slavery remains in the constitution, it is maniftist that the agitation upon this dangerous subject will be re- newed in a more aLuming form than it has ever yet assumed. Every pa^ujt in the country Jiad indulged the hope that the Kan(^!;J|ebraska Act, would have put {t .^■^ tw , ]g[i ^(yifinGAi^ TEXTt^baOife^ f6U 18fi0. '^ t to 'tfi&; Shivery 'a^t^tlftii, Jtt lebSt/iijColi^fefes,; ad for ' iiiViV6 ' Mtkn 'iirmif ''yiirs ' convhrsed .■the fiDar lehd which had ._, „ „ — comjiry and endaogeret^ the UnipD. , This act involVea grea^knd TuTidW6/italpVJ^'c$i^*;faTa'd. ;tf fairJ/ eairlefl into eflfect, -will seftie tl^e '^ieBtion.'* Snoiild agitallon be atfairi revived— shbuldtiie people of sisteir gitates )oe agaiii estvanged from each other with more than theii* former bitterness— this wliriiHSe' from a'cauBe^ so far' aStlie in- terest^ of Kansas ar,e coiicerned', move ti-ifling and in- slgaiflcant than has ever stii-'red'the eleoients of- a great pCople into coramotio'nJ ■ To t^e b '■ >■ ^! ! - Even if this wereii queistion of mere expediency and not of right, a small diflFarence of -timte fine way or the other, is not of 'the Ifeast tmpbrEarifcej wRen cbfatrasted with the evils which 'must, nectegsarily :fdsult to the whole cbunti-yfromthe-ferivarb'fthe Slavery agitation, ' In cOnBidering this question, it shOuld never be fof- gotten thkt in propo'rt^on, to Its InBigniflcance, let the dflcision be -what it may; sb far as it may affect a few thousand inhabHJants of KstJisaa, who h?iye from the be- ginning resisted the Constitution and the laws,' for this very re'asdri the rejection of the CbuBtitution will be so much the morfe Keenly felt by- the iieoi>le'of fourteen States of the Union whei-e Slavei^ Is ' IreeogniZed Under the Constitution offheU^^ed States. ; Again the speedy admissibn of Kansas ihtoHhe tTtaion will restoi'e peace and qUiefc to the 'whole country. Ah-eiidy the affairs bf tte TeiTitory Ha^ engrossed aid undue proportion' of pubKb attention. TKey have sadly affected the friendly' reUtibns of the people of the States With eacii'Oth'er and aldrtdeathe fears of patriots fofthe safety Of the Utaion. JKansas once admiited iiitg'the Union, theexcttement taeConttes localized and would soon die away for Want of outside aliment, and then every diflftculty^ could be ' settled Tay- th^ ballot^Ox. Besides, and no tt-ifling cohsideratib&,''I shall ther^'be enabled to' wlthdralv the trooj)s' fro^' Kansas, and emplOy them on 'a service whdrS they are' much. 'needed. They have been kept there On ' the earnest ' importunity of jjtoTerni>r Walliei', to inaintain the eSfstencefof the Territorial' G-overunient, and sfecurfe the execution tit the laws. He considered at least- two th6asand^regylai"iro6p9, under th« comUiandof GeneralHAraley^lyfer^'peiseBB^ry for this purpose. 'Acting upon his ■ t'eliable iiifoiTnation* I |iavle been' obliged in' some degree, l;o interf0r6 with the ex- pedition to 0tah"in order to keep down the rebellion in Kansas. This has involved very heavy Expenses to the Government.' KasrisiB onctfadmitted, it is believed there will no longer be occasioja 'th^re -fftr the troops. I have thus perforhied= my duty on this important' question under a deep sense of my responsibility to God aad to the countrjH. ' My public life will terminate in a bMef period, and lybaVd no other object of eai^ly jimbi- tion than to leave ihy country in a peaceful and pros- perous 'c6U'diMoi]|,'%,fid' to live in the affections and respect of my countrymen. 'The' dark and' omtnoua clOud^ now Impending ov^ the Union I conscientiously believe will be dissipated with horior- to every portion of It'by the admission- of Kansas dui-lng the present session oi'Congress ; i^hereaS, if shfe' shoul'd be'r^ected, I greatly fear the^e clouds Will'taeCOlne djtrker and more ominous' tli&n any whieh ha'ire evffi- y6t thi'ealehed the Constitu- tion and the Union. (Signed) '^' James BuchakjlH., • The Lecomptoni Constitutioa contains a pro^ 7isionon the subject of Slavery, as- follows: §1. The; right of/property is before- and higher than any constitutional Sanction, anol the right of the Qwhel* of a slave to such asiave"and its increase is the saitte, and is inviolable, 'as the right' of the o'wnet of any pi'o- perty whatever. " § 2. The Legislature fehallhave no power to pass laWs for the emancipation of Slaves Without the Consent of their owners, or without paying their ' owners, previous' t(T emancipation, a full equivalent in money for 'the Bl'aves so emancipated. They shall ha've no power to prevent emigrants tothe Statts from bringing with them BuSh persons ' as are deemed slavfes by the \a.\fs of any ofto of the United States or^Terriiofies so long afe any persons of the same age br de'sci-iptiou shall be continued Blteves by the' laws of thisi State; proDided, that stfch p6l*8on'oi* slave be the honafide property of sudi emi- grant j ^Tid. pt'omded. also, that laws may t>e, passed to nrohibit- the introdu6tioll'of slaves intb this State who iave committed high fcrimes in dther Statasr cr Tterl-itoHes. Th-'e^ shall hav^-p9,wer topertnit the oTvnerS orslavee U \ thein if Im huinanitjf— to pfOTide IbV their necessary fopd and cbtliing'— to abstain "frbm all injuries to them^ extendiWg' to life or limb— and, in case of neglect ot re!fasal'' to comply with the 'diredtip;ibf; 'siiqh.laws, td ' have such- slave or slaves solff|foi' the benefit 9f tne owner or (iwn6rs. - i > ' ^ i ' § 8. In tHs prosecution' of slavefl' foif' crimes .of higher grade than p6tit larceiiy, the 'lle|:isl£ilWe shall have no . po*er tb deprive theipof an'Ii^ai-tiat trial by a petit' jury. ' ' ■ ' ' ... §4. Any' p'pt^on who s^all dism'embcr' or deprive a slave of life shall' suffer siichpunisTinieht' as would b«' inflicted' in case the like offense had Veen conimitted on a free'white person, and. bn th'e Uke pro6f, except in ca3« . of insurrection of such slave. ' , This provision, and this pro*!sibn alone, it •wa^ flnaltj, 4eie,r)niiieii' by ^ close vote to sub- mit- to ihe regUtered electoral For this purpose, by the terms of a' sohedulS annexed to the Constitution, an election was to be held on the 21st of Deeeraber. . The ballots cast were to be indorsed either " Oonstdtution with Slavery," or " 'Constitution with No, Slavery;"';, Thus to hate the privilege of voting No Slavery, it was still made neoessaty f to vote for the Constitution, beside which, 'all persons offering to vote must, if ,,phalleriged,,"" take .an oath' to support the Constitution if .a40>pte4f" If the number of votes " for the. Constitution without Slavery "', sjiciiild, be ,ai , majority, theia.. the schedule provides, that "The rights of property in slaves now in the Territory, shall in no manner be interfered withi" Making it' impossible to abqlish Slavery. ■ This schedule, as if with a direct view of ■ superseding the .Territorial Legislature and! Congressional delegate elect, further provided that the Constitution shall be in force "after its ratification by the people" (without waiting for the approval of Qangress) a State election to be held on the fiirst Monday in January, 1858, for the choice of a Gcvernpr, Lieutenant- ' Governor, Secretary of Stfite, Auditor, State Treasurer, andi,raembers of the Legislature, and also a menrber of Congress. It %lSO provided (its if to deprive the, Territorial. 'Legislature of all power of acting) that all laws in force not repugnant to the Constitution shall continue until altered, amended- or repealed by a Legis- lature assembled under the provisions of this Constitution ; and that all officers, civil or military, uffder', the authority of the Territory bl Kansas, .bWII continue to hcdd and esercise their respective offioeSi until superseded by the authority of th^ Statci; the fii'st' meeting of the State LegJ^atui-^ "tQ, 'take place upon the issue of .a: pmojelamatida by the President of the Convention, upon ;1^6 teceipt . . . , ^ % i. Ari^ be if furiker enacted. That the State of Kansas is admitted iip;tO'tiie Union upon the ejcpcess con- dition that S3.id,§l^te' .s^^ll never interfere .frith the primary .'disposal 'of the. pMjjlie lands, or with apyTegula-; tipns whiqh Qtpngress may find hece-^sary fqr, securing the. titie in said^,^aq'd?, to. the bona fide -purchasers and grantees tiiere.^/i jor impo^eiqr levy any tax, aaqe^sment,, or impqsitidh of. any description whatsoever ,upoii, .thena, or other property of the;,U9ite4 States, withiii the Umita of. saidSjiate ; and that ^nothing in.this act shall be construed ^ to abridge,or ijnfritjgej^ny right of the people assented in the Cons^tut^on ^f Kansas, at. all times, to alter, reform or abtlish'thei'r forjn of government i^ such manner as they may-thlulc proper-, Congress hereby disclaiming any authority to intervene or declare the construction of the Constituijion of any State, except to see that it is republi- can in ib?m and not in, .conflict with the pqns(itutlon of the United States;, and nothing in this act .shall be con- Btj^'ued as. .an asseni by Congress to all or to any of the propositiions .or claims containqd ^in th^ prdinance an- riexed'to'tiie Cphstiiution. of the people of Kansas, nor to deprive the; said $tate of Kansas of'tlie same. grants \thich were .contained in said aqt',of. Congress, entitled, " An acli, to jiijtliqripie the people of the Terrstpry of Miuneso^tafo fdrm;a,0onsfitutio4and State Gayeroment, pVeparatory, to admission into .tiie Union pn an equal, footing with the original State%" approved , February 26,. 1868. ' , ' . ,,.^,^, . ,i ,■,,•■..." .■. § 3. And be it firmer maoted, That iSntjl. tjif ney^ general census shall be taken, and an apportionment of representation made, tteSli^ta of KaKsss^haif be enttfl'ed to one Ke'presentative in the House of Representatives of the United Sta.tes. , - The bill passed, 33 to 2S, as follows: ' TBAS-i-FOR LBOOMPTdN, .^ " ALiBiMi.— T'itzpa'tfi'it.'o'Iay. ' ARKiHsi's.— Seb^^tianJ, Johnson. Cai-ifohnia. — G-win. . Dblawarb.— Bayar^. Plokida.— Mairory.'Yuiee; GifpaiaA,— Iverson, Toombs. IBDIANA.— Fitch, Bright, loyi.— Jones. KBSinqKir.— Thompson. IionisjANA.-7:;?ei)jajnin, Slidell. Makvlas;?. — Pearc'e, Kesnedt; . Mississippi,— B.rown. UissovMr— Green, FDlk. New-Jersey'.— iWrlghl, Thomson. No^th CAKOUSA.r-Bigga^_ . , PsBB^l,7A*-lA.TrBigler. ,, Eh.(»s Isi.ASD;-^Mlen'. Sonti. CAB(li,uiA;^Eyans, .H^oimqiiii. TB»NBMeE.--^Jfpnns(!li; . TtoiB.-^HendersoUj HonsiONi, ViioiNU.—itfasin', HUfileir Total, 8S, ', . ... ,, SATS— AQAIHST ticOMPTOH. Calipoesia.— Brodericls. CossEa^iqtiv.—.^aaf6r,JCkieon. lLU.' Mr. Cameron paired off with MrJ DQ.vis. ' v . >- • PrfeYiotis to taking this vote, Mr. Cfitjtendeil moTed a substitute, for the bill, inj siobstance, that the Constitution be submitted to the peopl* at oh'ci,'>nd, if apjiroTed, the l^esident to admit Kansas jiy proclamation. If reje'ctedj the people to caU a Coiweiition and frame a Constitution. The sjibstitute Made special pro- Tision against frauds at the electioii.' ,,t ..,■„ .; . This substitute was lost : Yeas, 24; Nays, -34; On the first of April, the bill T^as taken 'up in (He 'HoilSe. iujd reaii on ■ HIti Montgomery, of Pa., offered aa a substi- tute, with: slight alter^^ons, the bill wl)ich Mr, prittendcn had offered in the Senate. Mr. Quitman, of Mississippi, also offered a substitute, which was the same;a3the Sena'te biUj with the , fln^s^iqn .gf the declaratory clause,,'* that the I people'Shall have the rightat all times' to alter or anfend'the' Constitution' in such .manner as they think proper," etc. .; Mr.i Quitman's substitute was lost — Yeas, 72 ; ^Nays^ieo,' 'the 'yeas' being all .frpin th^ .Slave States, ana Mr'. Montgomery's was adopted, 120 to 112.,- . ': ■ .- ■■ ■ '.. • > The Ci'itteaden-Montgortifery substitute, aS it passed the House, was in the following wpirds :, § 1. Be it maatid, etc. , That tHfe' State pf Kansas be, and is herebyi admitted into th6 Union on" an'eqnal fobt- 'iiig with the original States' in 'ajll rpspects whatever ; bu,^ ihasiHuch as it is greatly dispnt^a whether the Constitu- tionframed ^t l/ecompton on the TtV'tiay or*N6vember last, and now pend'ng before Congress, Wag' tairly inade, :or expressed thewU tff thetieojlfe of Kansas, this admis- sion of her into iiie -Uiiion' as 'a Stati is ^ere' declared to be dpon thia f^iidamen'tal ' coiidkSbh' precedent, -nasnely : That the sai'd constitutional instrument shalllbe first sub- mitted to a vote' of the people of Kansas,' arid assented to by them, or a ihajority of the voters, at an election to be held for the purposfe ;' and as soon as such a'sSent siiall be given, and duly made known, by a niajority'of the Com- missioners herein appbinle(^,'' to the ' President of the. United States, he shall' announce! the.'datne by ^rodlama- tion, aridthereafter, without any farther proceedings on the part' of Congress, the, admis8ib.n of the said State of 'EahsaS'^tO'-the'UhiPn 'lipon aln^'equal footing with tho original StatteJ^, 'in all T^sWec't's whatever, shall becoinplete .and-absoliil^.' ' At' the si«d elebtfori the voting shall be by iballot, and by indorsing on 'his ballot 4s eadn voter inay ple!*s'e!j;'''fpi- Ihf bdhstltutlon," or " against the' Cbnstitu- tion;** ''-Should the said Gonst:tutibn_.iie 'rejected at .the s^id election by a majority of votes being cast iigainst it, then, and in'ihat OTent, the inhabitants of 'said Territory' are hereby authorized 'anti' Empowered to form for them- selves aConfetitlltion and Stat'fe Government by the nam« cri tlte State of 'Kan^s, according to' the 'Federal Con- ^tltution/.and to that end may elect delegates to. a con- vention aahereinafter'pr6*^ided. '' '" '' ' *" ■ § a. And, 'ben further lena-cted. That the. saif State of ' Kansas shallhave concurrent jiirisdictl6n on the Missouri and all othef rivers ahd waters boi'derihg oh the' said State of Kans^s,'ao'fttras'thesame ffljiillform acominbiibound- ary-tosaiid' Stite' and- aiiy Oltei-" State or Statei ilow or hereafter to be. formed, or bounded by ih'6''saine; and w said-i^versand" wateb, and all the navigable w'aters of said State; Sliall'ba Common highways'attd foi'ever free, aS'weli to' the inhabitants of said'St'Atc as to all cither citi- zeria of the United States, without any tax, duty. Impost, or toll therefor. § 8. And be itfttriher enadted, That for' the pnrposa of insuring, as -far as possible, thafi, 'the electionb author- ized by this act may be fair and free, the GQv,efa6r and tlie Secretai-y' of the Territory of Kansas', and the presid- ing ofQoers of the two branches of its Legishiiure, namely 122 jl political text-book fok israa the President of the CanncU andSpeaker of the House of itepresentatires, are hereby oonsUtiUed i board of oom- missioners to carry Into eflfect the provisions of tliis aotj &nd'to use all the meand' necessary and proper to that end. Any three of them shall constitute a Board ; and the board shall hare power and authority, in respect, to each and all of the elections, hereby autborixed. or pro- vided for, to ddiltgnaite'and establish Meciacts fdr votrng, or to adopt those already establishes; to cau^e pollB to l^e opQBe^ at such plac,es as it m^.y deem proper in the re- spectire oounties and election precincts of Si^id Te^iritor^ ; to ap^qiiit, afr judges of ^l^ciioh at eabli of the several places of vothig, i^ree diser^t and respectable perst/ns, any t^o of Mom shall be competent to act; ttf requh'e the BheriA of the several counties, by themselves or deputies, to attend thejud^es at each of the places of voting, for the purpose of 'pifeservlng peace knd good orders or thfe ^aid Board may, instead of said Sheriff aud their deputies, appoint, at their ^Iscr^tion, and in such instances astthey may choose, other fit persons for the Sjame puri)os.e ; ^qd when' the purpose' of the election iEi to elect delegates to a OoDvention toforma Oonstitutton, as hereinbefbre pro- vided for, the nui^her of delegates shall .be sixty, and they shall be apportioned by said Board among the several counties of said Territory, according to tiie num- ber of voters ; and in maldng this apportionment, the Board may joii^ two or more counties together tp make an election or- representative district, where .neither of the said counties has the requisite number of voters to entitle it to a delegate, or ttf join a smaller to a lai^er county having ^ surplus population, wh^re it may serve to equalize the representa,1ilon. The elections hereby authorized shall continue one day only, and shall hot be continued IdteP than sui^do^^ on that day. The' said Boaird shall appoiM the day of election for each of the elections hereby authorlaed, as t^& same may beopme necessary. The'said'd-overnor shall announce, by pro- clamation, the day appointed f6r any 'on^&r said elections, and the day shalll)easeai%-.a one as is consistent with due notice thereof to the peppl^ of s^id Territory, subject to fneprovisidn^'of this act. The said Board shall have full power to prescribe the time, manner and places of each of said flections, and to direct the time and manner of the returns thereof, whijqh returns shal^ be made tbthe said Board, whose duty il^ shall be to announce tiie result by proclatnation,' attd to appoint therein as earl;^ a day as practicable for the delegates elected (where tfaeeleption has been for delegates) to assemble in Convention at the seat of flove^nment'of said Territory. When so assembled, the Ooavention shall first determine, by a vote, whether ft is the wish of the proposed State to be admitted into the Union at that time ; and if so, shall proceed to form a. Constltatloh, a^d take all necessary step^ for ihe estab- lishment of a, Slate government, in conformity witi) the Federal OonstituUop, sutjject to the approval andratigca- tion of the people of the proposed . State. And the sai4 Convention shall accordingly provide fCr its. submission to the vote of the people for approval or rejection; and if the niajority of votes shall be given fai' the ConstltuUoh so framed as aforesaid, the Goveriipr of the Territory shall, within twenty days after the result ig known, notify the President of the United States of the same. And- thereupon the President shall announce the same by pro-, clamation, and thereafter, and without any further pro-, ceedings whatever on the part of Cbtigres'st the admission of Che said State of E^ansas into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original States In all respects whatever, shall be complete and absolute. § 4. Arfd S« U/urHier enacted, *)iat jn the efeetlqnB hereby authpriaej, all white m»le iufiabitamts of »aid ter- ritory over the age of twenty-one years, who are legal voters under the laws of the Territory of Kansas, and none other^, shall be allowed to vole ; arid this shall be the only qualification requh'ed to entitle the voter to the right of sutfrage in said elections. And if any person not so qualified shall vote or offer tp vote, or if any person shall vote more than once at either of said elections, or shall make, pr, cause to be made, any false, fictitious or fraudulent' returns, or shalf alter or change. any returns ftf either" pf said elections, such person shall, upon.convlc- tion thereof before any court of competent jurisdlption^ be kept tit hard labor noli less than six months, and not more than three years. % 5. And be it farth&r enacted. That the members of the aforesaid Board of Oommissioners, and all persons appointed by them to carry ,into effect the provisions of this act, shall, before entering upon their jdutles, take an oath to perform faithfully the duties of .their respective ofttces ; and on failure thereof, they shall be liable and , subject to the same charges and penalties as are provided n like cases under the Territorial laws. % 6. And be itfwrlheir encfoted, That the officers men- 1 Uoued in the preceding section shall receive for their acr- 1 vices the same compensation as U'elireh foc^kc sarVIee* under the lerritprial laws. .. o i •;J •; rj.j / ' 1 7.' And T>'e u /iirthet-"maot6(i. That the said Staje^f Kansas, when her admission as-X State be'comeS'compTete and absolute, shall, t>,e entitled to one member in the House of Representatives, in the Congress of tt^e United States, till the next census be taken by the federal trov^ emment. .' - g 8. Andlhe it farther enaetedt, That tbe following propositions be, and the same are -hereby 'Offered to the said people of KsinsBa for their free acpeptance or rejec- tion, which, if accepted, shall be obligatory on the United States and upon the /said 3iate M Kansas, to wit ; Firai, That the sections niimberetl ^Wteen and thii-ty-six in every township of pabltc lands In said State, and where either of said sections, or aoy part'tihereof has been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto', and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to said State for the use of schools. Seacmfl, That sevOTty^two sections of land shall be set at>art and 'reserved for the; uBe and support of a State Uaiversity, tp be selected by the Governor of said State, subject to the approval M the Commissioner of the General Land Ofiice, and to be appropriated and applied in siieh manner as the Legis- lature of said State mhy pves~etib& fpi' the purpose afore- said, but for no other pui-poses. Il^d,^ That ten entire sections of land, to be selected by 'the Governor of said State, in legal subdivisions, shall be granted to saidfitate for the purpose of completing the public buildings, or for the erection of others at the seat of goverhmeh^ under the direction of the Legislature thereof. Foui'&i, That all salt springs within said State, not exceeding twelve ia number, with six sections of land adjoining, or as contigu- ous as may be to each, shall be granted to said State for its use ; the same to be eeleiited by the Governor thereof -within one year after the Admissibh of said State, and when so selected, to, be used o^, disposed of q^ such' terms, conditions and regulatiohd as the Legislature shall direct : Provided, That no salt Springs orland the right whereof is now vested in any Individual or individuals, or which may be hereafter be confirmed or at^udged to any Individual or individuals, shall by this article be granted to said State. Ftfifi, That five per centum of the net proceeds of sales of all public lands lyin^ within said States, which shall be sold by CohgresS after' the ad- mission of said State into the Union, after dteducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to said State, for the purpose of making-public roads aritl inter- nal impravements, as the Legislature shall direct : Pro- tjided, The foregoing propositions hereinbefore offered are on the condition that the people of Kansas shall pro- vide, by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent ^of the United States, that said State s'hall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soU within the same, by the United Sb,tes, or with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in said soil to bona Jidtt purchasers thereof^ and that no tax shall be Imposed on lands belonging to the United States, and that in no case shall non-resident proptiefors be taxed higher 'than residents. Siasth: And that the said S:ate shall never tax the lands or the prcperty of the United States in that State ; Provided Tiowever, That nothing in this act of admission shall be so construed as to ratify or accept the ^ordinance attached to said Constitution -, but sild ordi- nance is hereby rejected by tlie Government of the Uni- ted States. The following are the Teas and Nays : YEAS — TO AHBHD OR SUBSTITUTE. CALuroBK^A.r-MiiKibbiQ'^l. : ^■•^■ Connecticut. — Olark, Deam — 2. Illinois.— 7rW».jrn, Bobbim, Adraln— S. NOOTH CAROinii.- GiLBt-a— 1. N«w-TOHK.-^Haskin, H. F. Cixrk, iforraU, Thompsom, Oiin, Dodd, Palmer, Spinmler, OlarTc B. CoclS-cme, ifjrte, MatUesn, Seimeit, Goodwin;, Boari, Cfrimgtr' THE LEOOMfTON OONpip^UTiqi^ P PQ^qpESS. Xtrffan, fottle, Parker, KeUey, 4nchrmiu, ,iS4a«»a», S^rrougha, FmUm-^. ,J>f">r-^.—I)iurf6e, JSrayUm—i. Vbkhost.— TTaitoa, MorrlU, £oyae—B. yrisoasaui.—J>oUer, G C. Woihbume, Mllinghwrist— 8.— Total, 120. Alabama.— StaUworth, Shorter, Sowdell, Moore, Hous- ton, Cobb, Curry — 1, Arkansas. — Greenwood, 'VVarren — 2-. GaLIVOBMA.— Scotir— V ' OoNNscricuT. — Aniold,' Biahop — ^2. SixAvARa.— WhiteleF— 1. Flobida.— HawMns- 1. Geobgia.— Sewardi Crawford, Tbippk, Qartrell, Wright, Jackson, Hill, Btephens — 8. IinuAirA.— Niblack, Hagbeg, Gregp— 8. KiHTnoKT.— Burnett, Peyton, Talhott, Jewett, Elliott, Clay, Mascm, St^Tensoa — S. Louisiana.— EOBUS, Taylor, iBaridson, Sandidge— 4. MARTtANS.— Stewart, Eun^el, Bowie^S. MissouBi. — Anderson, Clark, Craig, VoonSOH, Phelps — ^. SIISSI3SIF7I.— Lamar, R. Dans, Barksdale, Singleton, Quitnlan— ^. ' ■ New-Jersbt.— Htqrler, WOrtendyke— SL North Carolina. — Shavy Buffin, Winslov, Branch, Scales, Craige, Clingman — 7. - New- Y611K.— Searing, Taylor, Elekle^, Eelly, Maclay, Jdhn Goohrane, Ward, Rosselt, @oiniiig| Hatch— 10. w— Caruth^is (Mfl.) BIJCAriTCLAtlON. I Teat. BepnbUiJaBa, 92; Democrats, 22 ; Americana, & Total —12a JUays. Democrats, 104 ; Americans, S. Total— 112. The bill having been returned to the Senate on the second day of April, Mr. Green moved to disagree to the House amendment Trhich motion was adopted : Yeas, 34, Nays, 22. The following are the Nays : Messrs. Broderick, Cameron,' Chandler, Clark, Col- lamer, Crittenden, Dixon^ Doohitle, Douglas, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Seward, Sim- mons, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade^ Wilson. '■ ' In the House of Bepresentativea, on the ^thi of April, Mr. Montgomery, of Pennsylvania, moved that 1;he Bouse , ajiljfi^ to ita amend- ment, which motion was carried, Ye*B, 119, Nays 1 1 1 — the vote being the same as on the ajdoption of the amendment, with the exception k4, Messrs! Marshall and.Bpwie, who paired off and did not vote. On the 13th of April, the Senate voted to in- sist and ask for a confeir^ice committer, Yeasi sbj Nays, 24 — the Nays being the same as the Nays en Mr. Green's motion to disagree, with the addition of Messrs. Bell a|id Sumner. On the following day, the H^ose received a mes- sage from the Senate , insisting oh its disagree- ment and asliiug a committee of conference, when Mr. Montgomery, of Fa., moved that the House insisi oEita itdllerence, oc which he Ai-' mai)4ed. t^e. previous qyes^Wn Th^iC^U fof the proTioius question was lost by the easting vote of the Speaker: 108 to 108.' VWy n}uch to t]^esurpi;ise,of the House, Mr. Jlflglish, of Indi- ana, who bad acted with the Anii-Lecompton party up to this time, moved that the Bouse agree to a Cppf^rence Committee, aiid thai) a committee of three be appointed by the Speaker, to meet a similar committee of the Senat?, and, on this he called for th'^ previous, question,, which was ordered. The Yeas and Nays were called, and the vote stood 108 to 108 : the Speaker vptipg in the affirmative, Mr. ; English's proposition was agreed to. Tlie Yeas and Nays were as follows : TilA3.-pM!esszs. Ahl, Anderaop, Atk^s, Avffly, Barks- dale, Bishop, lioqock, Bonha^, Bow^i^, Boyce, Branch, Bryan, Burnett, Bur]R'5,'jCaru.ther8r^0a9kie, Clark (Mo.^, Clay, Clemens. OwQgfQan, Cobb., Jolin Cochrane, Cn^g Mo.), Orajge (lf„G,>, Crawford, Curry, Dapdsop, Davis Miss.), Dewart, DpWdeD, Edmund^on, 'SXbx\i^,MigU8?i, stis^is, Fautifin.er, 'FlpireQce, Cfarnet^, 0artjre^,' Goode, 9raepwood, Gregg,: 2&2/XOhio), Hatch, Bawkins, Bill, Hopkins, Houston, Hughes, Jackson, Jwkins, Jewett, Jqnes. (Tenn.), J. Glancy Jones, Qw,m; ^onee, Eeitt, E^y, Eunk^l (M^O, l^amar, La^dy, L^dy, Letcher, Ma^lay, McQueen, Ma^oii, May^ard, Miles, Miller, -Millr son; ]$«(>i!e, Niblac)!!, Qrr, Pmrneion, jfeyton, Phelps, :fhi]lip;, ^oWjCl}, Quitman, %ftm7, Reaga^,, Buffin, Rus- sell, Sp, Lawrence, Leiter,,L.oy^'oy, Mar- shall (Ky.) Marshall (11}.), Matteson, Montgomery, Mor- gan, Monill, Morris (Penn.,) Morris (111.)., Morse (Me.), Morse (N. Y.), Mott, Murray, Nichols, palmer,. Pettit, Pike, Potter, Pottlet Purviance, Rlcand^ Ritcliie, Rob- bins, Royce, Shaw (IlL), Sherman (Ohio), Sherman (N. ¥.), Sfflithi (111.), Spinner, Stanton, Stewart (Peon.), Tappan, ^ompson, Tpmpliins, Underwood, Wade, Wal- bridge, Waldron, Walton, Waabburne (UU), Washburn* (Me.), Wils«ji, Wood— lOa The folloiring, not voting, had paired off: Adrain with Huyler, Dimmick with McEibbin, Gillis with Roberts, Glark B. Cochrane with Sicklm, Reilly with Thayer, Taylor sad^ 'n^/f>er^a8t,a,t Ji^e7am(!,ti(a^an(i,p^ace,,8M4 ponve;i^lon, did aclopt'an p'rdujance. which .aaid'ordihance asserts, that Kaufrfaa; when 'Admitted as'a'fltate,' willhave an: ufi- dvubted rigbitito taht the lafuis/witbln>her'liiAits belo^g^ iag tQ.the JjQited Stat^, {^p^ propopes to I'c^ucuiish eaf^, assefted right if certain conditions set forth in'said or- dinance be accepted and Agreed to by the ©ohgress of the United States\-fand wA/dreaeiMie said constitution and ordinance; hay^ib^en pfesetited to Congr^s by. ordjer of said convent|[on, ai^d adinfBsibn'of said Territory into^ the Union tbeVeon as a' Stkte requested; and' ftjAw'bas, said ordinance isi^ not acceptable to Congc^ess,, and' it is desirable to .ascertain whether Ji,];ie.pepft^ of,^ansas/; concur in the changes in said bi;ainance^ jhereina,fter stated,- and desire admission intb tllQ Unidn as a Stalfe as heisein pnoposeds Therefore; ■•'•."■■ " ; ;,.. £0 it enactedf etc, Tha^ tjie. State .o,f K^npas be/ap^ j is hprejjy admitted int;p the Uniop qn ah eqnal 'footing with the original' States, 'in all respects whateyefj But upon; this fundamental copdition- precedent, namely : That the question of admission with this following pro- position-, in lieu of the ordinance' fr'Am'eaat^I'ecompton, bfc submitted to, a vote of the pebj?le'or Kansas, and assented to 'by them or a majority df "fflie voters voting at an eledtion^ to. beheld for that' pui-|)o&e, namely: Tnaft'the follo'tping^'prbpdsitiotife be,;and*fhfe same are, hereby offered 'to -the people of 'Eaiisas for accept^nde' or rejection, which, if accepted, shall lye obT^gatory On- the iJ^nited 'States and Upon the said State of Kansas, to wit t'-jFWii, Thalj 'seetjionS mumber sixteen and thirty- siK in every tovvnship of public lands in said State, o* where cither pf' said sections' or any part thereof^ has been sold or othei'wise disposed bf^ other lands equiva- lent thereto; and ' as contiguous as may be, shall be gvanted to said State for, the u'se'of s&hdols. Second^- That 6eVehte *■ selectfed by the Governor thereofj within one year after the admission of said State ; and, when so ^elected^ to be used or disposed of on such terms^ conditions and regu- lations as the legislature may direct': Prouidec?, *That no salt spring o'r fand, the right whereof is now vested in any indlvidu*l'or inQlylduals, or which may hereafter be confirmed or adj>udgea to any individaal'or indivi- duals, shall by- tbie avtlole be granted' to ' said State. t'lfih^ That five per centum of the net proceeds of 'sales of all public lands lying within said State wh|ch.9baU'be Bold by Congress after the admission df said' fetate' into the UnioHf after ]derdUuting all 'tHee^^pefi^esi incident' tb the same, 8hajll)efpiaid to said State for the purpose tff marking publto rbads and internal improv'efmjents, .as the legiaiatare shali. diventf JProvUMd^ The fbregoiiig pro- pusitions herein offered are on the condition.tfaatsaid State of ICansas shaH never interfere wUh.,the,pripiary disposal of the lands of the tJnit^ Stifte3,'or with any reguUtionB which Congress tui.y'' fiild' ' -nteceSSary for sepuiiling, the (title. 'in said soil to hoHa Ji&0 purchasers' therepf, and that no, tax- shall be- imposed pa lands tae^ lohgip|g',to the uAited States, and that in no ^ase shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher tfcan i^esidents. Siwih^ 4>nd that said State ^all neyeL-tax tfa^ilaada or. property of the United States in that State. At the said election .tlie voting shJdl be by ballot, and by indorsin'g bd-h!^ balllot, 8fli'«ach voter 'tuay be plbaSed, " ProposViioii- .accepted^'^: or^ "Proposition, rejected^" Shpuldft niajorityof tbie yote9cast,befo&"Prop9|^tiqnac-- cepted^' the Presid^t of the Uniteoi States, as soon as the fact is dWy made kno^n tA'hlSi;''^aU'j£bii6i[nc'e the tfame by proclamatlDn ; .and kherirfafteri and' Without any ifurther' prctpee^ingp pi^ t^e.p^ij Qf, Poug]r«ss, the admi8pian,of th^, State of Kansas into the, Uni6n uppn, an equal fppting with the- brigm^l* 'States it/ all 'respects wriat^er'Shaim '<^pm- plete-and absolute ; 'and said State; sh^il be en>titted to one m§mber iu the IJouse ^f R^epresentatives iu .the Congress of the United States until tli.e next census fe^ takep bj^ the Federal Government. , Bat sluuld a majority; of Jh^ yotes. cast be for " Fropoaltion rejec^.ed," it shall )pie 4)2^ed a^4j held that the people bf Kansaa do not desire admfeslfin Into the Union with said Consti^tipn under the condIti6ns set - forth in saidproposiSoh : and inth'^ ev^nt the peoplfe of saitt Territory are hereby anthorlzfed ifid empowered to foTtti for themselves a -Constitution and State "Government, by the name of the State of Kansas, according^ to the Fed- eral CbnB«i!tutipii, arid Aay -elect delegates for that purpose whenever, and not IjefoFe, it is ascertained b^ a census duly and legally taken, that the population Of said Terri- tory equals or exceeds the ratio of representation required for a member of the House of Representatives of the Con- gre^ bf the United States ; and whenever thereafter such delegates shall assemble in Convention, they shiiU -first de- termine by a vote whether it is the wish of the people of the proposed State to be admitted into the Union at that timfe'j 'ftiai'lf Jj^o/Bhiall piroceed fo tb^ttf iKfOonstitation,- aAd take all necessary steps for the estabSshmeint ''of a State' t Government, in couf&rmityiwltti , the (Federal Constitution, subject te suchlimitationB and restrictions asto the mode and manner of its approval or ratification Jay the people of the proposed State as they may ha+e-pjieBCriWSd by law, and shall be entitled to admission into tfie •Union ks a. State nla- der sucH 'Constitution,'! thud fkWIy aaSl le^ly madejinriih or without Slavery, as said Constitution ^mfty preacrittQ^ ' § 2. And 'be W furthei* &ndct6dy,l^i^- ^ot the pur- pose of Inraiingy as tar ad pos^ble^ that the elections ail • tihorized by this act may be fair and free,'tiie, Oovemor, f United-States District AttorAey, and georetary a£. the Ter- ritoiy of Kansas, and the {ireriding officers of the t^'o brapched pf Its -Legislature, ^anhSdlyf the tPro^idei^ of-.thle Council and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, are hereby cqnstJtv^ed a, boaosd ht Cqmmiaslonera to carry into effect 'the provisions of this act, and to use all the « means necessary Mid proper to fhatsiiii- And three of them shall constitute a board; aod the . bofurd. £baU have power and authority to designate and establish' precincts for 'voting or to adopt those already established ; to cause polls to .be opened at such pl^es as it may deem proper in the respective counties and election preciacts of; eaid Teir- ritii»ry;'to appdint'j;as,:judgefi of<^ctlon ^t .eac>i of the sevesal pUices. of .voting; three §3. And. be iifwriher enacted^ That in the.electaott hereby authorized, ^U whlt^ ma|e inhaj^itants of sai^ Ter- ritory, over "the age of twenty-one yeait, who possess the qualifications which were're^tulrtabjpftielafl^ of ^aid Ter- litovj) fqr a legal voter at< tl^-laet g^i^al election for tiie memtters-of the Xerritoiial Le^latuiSCt and none others, ^all be:aUow£d to vote ; audi this ^aU l;^ the only qu^lifi- idation required to entitle#ie voter tojavefiisht of juffpaga-- in sa44 election. And if any persoQ pot so qu^^ed shall vote or'balferfo vote, or if any person bhallVote more thin '9i^ce at ;^d elecUoa, or. shall make, or cauee'to be made, any ^Is^e^ fictitdoii^s, gr fra^idulent returps, pr ^^4^ alter pr Aliange' any returns or s&td elec'tlo'ln' 6uch' person shall, up- on' conviction tha^eCfTjeTore any cotfft of- c6mj>eteiitjiiria- ^ictjon^ be kept at hard labor not iesa than six mt^nths-and ' ft)t more than three years. ,,,,.. : § ^, And be iij^rth^r eiiacU^, That .the members 6f the aforesaid bokrd df ' cdmmi^bnersj' and kll peraons appointed by them to carry Into effect- 'ttie/pTovistotis! of thia actt ^%. ^etcae ente]?in^ VPf>^ ^'^ jiuties, take^ an oath to, perform faithfully the, auffies ot their reppectiVo office* i afad oh fttllUtfe thereof,' fctiey ^hSll be liable arfd'' subject tO'theisame cb^rgea ;and penaitieB as are prorided in Aike^ ca^s undfft; th3 (Tppyltorial Jaws. -, ; 1 - ' . , , j 8; 5. And 'be^it J^riftier, etiacUd^ That the' officers m'entioned ra'the-preiediP^setMbn ^feall'i^ieive for their servicesthe same oompeBBaJ&nrasiisgif^entor-'lik'eservio^' under theiTerritor^lU'tySt.,, • .,t ■ I The v6te in the Senat6',0P ajweehig to the Conference CoOVr biiCtee'fe&epS^it, stood — Ye'as, SO'; Nays, 22; as follows: ' Yba3.— ]Messrs. Allen,'fiayard, CBes^'anlin, Blglftr; Biggs, Bright, Brown, play, Davis^ JEvacs^ pitapatric*^ Grevo,: WAssA^—mr'A^mt . ooNsriTnmoN.A 188; Owrn, Hammond, Hpmton, Hunter, Ireison, Johnson (Ark): I Johnson (Teinn.), Jones, Kennedy, MaUovy, Mason, Polk, I Pugh, Sebastian,, TliompsonXN.J.),ToorobB, Wright, Yulee.1 Nays.— Messrs.. pro.derioli;, Oam^rqn, CUiandler, Colla- ' mev, Crittenden, Dixon, Boolittle, Douglas, Durkee, Fbssenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, JJannlin,; Harlan, King,' Beward, SimmQns,,Sllsuart, TrumJjuUjjWadey Wilson. PiiRED.— B?ll Vith Bearoe, WtBhmilfcSuninBr/ Abskkt.— Clavlf, Eftte^, llewtewaa, Eeid, Thompson 'Ky.), Slidell. ^.»iw..-!l li la the House, on- the fi5»»l,Toi)e,*wfton^ those, who had voted against the originaHieooMpton BiU ,i«nd,iwho now Buppni-ted the English scheme, were Gilmer, Ain., of N. C, and, the following Democrats, -Ills. : English and Foley of Ind ; Cockerill, Cox, Groesbeck, HalL Lawrence and Pendleton, of Ohio i and Owen Jon«i, o* Pa. ' Ged. Quitman, of Mississippi, and Mr. Bonham, Of '' S. C, fire eaters, voted No, and the following m'embera "paired off," Tiz. : Washburn CWis.) with Arnold ; Mitteson with Reuben Davis ; Puvviance wifh Dlmmick ; Morrill with ^^'f"',';! Horton with ffiU;'J. C. Knhkel with Miles TijyToVv -Montgomery •WitH' Warrerf Thompson, with. Stewart (Md.) ; and Wood with George Taylor. ' III aceofdMhce' witti ''ttia. kcit, of Congress, t&e people faf 'Kansas went inttt an election on the 3d of August, 1858. Notwithstanding the libefal. offers M regard to donations to Kansas of public lands, in this bill, and the threart that ifthe people did not accept a StAte Government vrj'th the .Leoonipton Constitution, they should npt be permitted to come in as a State with any Constitution, till they should have a full population of 98,340, still, the Lecompton Con- stitutkyi was a,gflio., rejected by ^aore. than ten thousand majority. This may be regarded as the/nai dispositibri of this fatno'fli Coustit;ition. Fijom first to last,, it had ;been the cause o,r the subject of more Speeches in Congress than alny measure ever brought before that body. . THE WYASDOT COJfSTIIUTION, .The Territorial Legislature, passed an act (Feb. 11, 1869) to refer the question to the peopl,e bf a new CpoStitd.tiqinal Contention, the election to he held ©n the first Tuesday in March, 1859.> The election was held, and resulted in, '| maj|)rity of 3,881 in iavor of "a Ccjnveption. This result being ascertained, the Governor issued his proclamation for an elec- tfbii of delegates. 'The old party organizations, were now abandoned, and those of Kepublioana and Democrats substituted, and it was on this basis that the canvass fot the electioji of dele- gates proceeded. The Convention was to, consist of fifty-two delegates. The Democrats proclaimed themselves disciples of Mr. Douglas and bis Territorial Sovereignty doctrine, and decidedly opposed to making Kansas a, Slave State. The Leavenworth district, where, through its contractors for army supplies, ijhe Government exercisM ' a great influence, ahd which from its population was entitled to ten delegates, elected the Democratic tictet, not,, however, without the aid of fraudulent votes. But the. Republicans, by their predominance in other parts of the- -Territory, succeeded in securing a majority in the Convention of tbirty- fiVe to seventeen. -i ■The Convention met at -Wyandot on the 5th, otJuly, and adjourned on the 27th of the same m'dntb, after adpgting a Constitution by a vote of tiirty-four to' thirteen, all tit^e ^p,«!pooi]P!ta pt^sent voting against it and r^^^ng to!»gu it. They had strenuously, CQnten^Bd,i,,iu .the Cpnyention, for .the anuexati|ift,to^4nsa5|:-pf toat part of Nf;braska south ,of the, Platte ;, lor retaining as a partof the,Bew,St»teithe western gold region about Pike's Peak, which, was beginning to, attract grsatiinumbers; of immi- • grants; for the . exclusion, from thq „Stfite, of free negroes, and for the pi;qhibn,tioni ,(irf i bank issues, but had been defeated .as,, )lO!,all'',thQee. points. : , «,,; ,,;t.nu i i.iii . , hi ' ' By the Constitution, e% adiigjf^ted, the bounda^ riesof.thfi, n«w .State ,wpre ^solared to be the . Stataof Missouri / on, tha east,,tlie S7th parallel pf north latitude on the south, the 41st parallel,; pf north latitude on the, north, and, the 28d meridian of longitude west from, Washington On the west. The western bojun.dary cuts off the Pike's Peak region and the desert which boundsit on the east, and limits the new State to the habitable eastern- .portion, 9fi,,the. Terri- tory, embracing an area of some sixt^ thousand square miles. The Executive is ta consist of a Governor, Secretary of; State, Auditor, Attor- ney-General,, and Superigt^ndent of Publio Schools, to be chosen by the people, and Joj serve for itwo years. The Hquse of Repressep- tatives is to, consist of seventy-five meirbei!*, la.- sorve one year,, and the Senate of twenty,ifi|VQ;i Senators, tp serve two years, tte numbers to be > regulated by law; but never to. exceed' one hundred Representatives, ajjd thirty-three Sena- tors. The p(iy is ,to be three dQllar«,aday and ' fifteen 'cents per. mile travel., .All, bills must, originate with the House, and,^^o act can in- clude more than, one subject. The. Supreme Court is to consist of three Judges, .to,, be chosen, by the people,- to hold offipe for, sis, years,, ome tQ go out , eyery two years. There, are to be five Distrit^t., Judges, to be chosen by , the people of their re^pei^fiye district^, and, to serve for four year?., Each county is ,to choose : a Judg? ,of Probate, .to.sejsye, for two .years, , an^ each itojiiq^hip is; to phpose Justices, pf the Peace, to serve also for two years. Eleotipnai, are : to be . by , baPot,., Eye>'X , white male adult who is a citizen of the EluitedStates, or who,haj declared his inte^itipi), tp become one, having been a resident in. the State for six months, and.' in the precinct for thirty days, is entitled to vote.^ The ,Sta);e is, prohibited frpm becoming i^* party in parrying on any work of internal imi , proveftient, nOr can any debt, to exceed a mil- ' lion pf ' dollars, be contracted, unless the ques- . tion be previously submitted tp, and the debt , authorized by, a popular vote ; and in all cases aspfecia;! tax must be levied' sufficient to pay the interest and provide a- sinking fund adequate to meet the principal when it becomes due. All corporations, banks itlcluded, m.'ust be estab- lished, underi generfil laws Only, and the corpp- ratprsmade liable to twice the amount of their stWky The sale pf Ipttery tickets is prohibited. Tb|d,',;^ohe4i4^'.' annexed to the Constitution claiiBBd bi Congress $500,000, or in lieu there-': of eOOyOOO acfes of • land, tp meet the claims audited to nearly thttt amount fer losses in> purred by Citizens of Kfinsas during the late troubles. The iCommisdpners had declined tp entertain • the -claim of • the' 'If evwBngland 'Emi- gra.ut Aid Society, tp the amount of |25,000, for .the destructipu pf their ■ hp^l ,at Lawrence pn the ground that they had np autbprity to i act pn any claims except these presented bj ^ citizens of Kansas, and the Cpnventiph de- I as A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK fOft, 16@6.^ dined to go beyond the repbtt of the Commis' sranersj' "■ ' • A gtaht is asked frbiti' CongMsS of 4,650,000 acres of land for internal improvements, also the s#amp lands of ithe State' to tre appropriated as a selibol fund. ■ ■■ Prefixed to the Constitution is a Bill of Eights, -which includes a prtrhibition of Slavery. This Bill of Eights also' pi'oTides that no person shall be itfotriftpetent to ■testify on account of hia religious belief • > i > ■By a proTig'on of the schedule, this Constitu- tion was submitted to a popular vote on the first Tuesday- in Oetoiber, whifeh resulted in its ratification by the people by a majority of some fo^r thousand. The Territorial eteotion in Noveiftber iattra«ted but- little Interest frbm ihe general expectation of' the admission of the State under the flew Constitution. The Repub- licans, howeTerj succeeded iu electing their delegate to Congress and a, majority of the Legislature. < ' The first State ■Election underthia Constitu- tion was held December 6, 1859, and' resulted i» the election' of Charles 'Bobiueon (Eep.) as GbTernor- by' 2515 majority. Martin F. Con' way'(Eep.) for' Congress by '2107 majority, and the entire Republiifen' tJekel for State officers by majorities ranging ftbni 2000 to 2,500, also t. Legislature which was Eepilblicau in both trances by very decided miajoi'fties. Feb. 15 — Mr. Grow iritrodticdd' in the HoMse, a'bill t*) admit feansasnnder'the 'Wyandot C'on- BtftatioA. Referred to Committee on Territo- ries, which' (March 29th) reported '(mdj|Drity) through Mr. Grow in fkVSr 'bf admission. '■ " ' Apfil 11. — Mr. Grow demanded the Previous Question on the paSsagte of the Bill, whi'ch wasseconded, and the niaia question ordered. Mr. Barksdalc, demanded' the Yeas arid Naiys — ordered. - ■ ^ The queStiott "was then taken, and ' decided in the affirmative ; Teas, 134-, Nays, 73, as follows ; Yeas— Messrs. Chas. P. Adaiiis; A d r a 1 n , Aldrich. Mien, Allef, Asbley,< 'Babbitt, Bcirm, Barrett, Benle; Bingham, Blair (Pp.), Blake, TSrajfim, BniGos, BHffintOQt .SitrcA, Burlingame, liurnham, ButterAeld, Can^pbell, Cdrey, Carter, Case, Hdrac'e'F. Blkrt, omi-k?. Coch- rajie,' Jolm Ooahrane; Colfax, OftnkllBg, woperj Cotwiiij GoVode, (70fl>, C)irtis,jl^awe5, ]OelAno,«Puel]i,.Pi}Qp, Ed^eiv ton, Edjvarijs, |llUot,,Ely, Et^jSridpe, Farnaworth, Fenton, Farry^Wlordrice. Foster, FouJie, Frank/French, Goocli. Grow, GuTlEy, Hale, ■ Hall, H a s fc i ii, flWiilildt, Hick- man, Hoard, ifeiTOaj>,-jSroMair(J(QM(f)^2)a«M (Mis,), Lcmdlrwn, MarUn, (Ya,.), ICunka. Sgimtfi, Feb.. 2Jst,— Mr.,SeTfardin|9?pd.ui5ed. a bijl for the adn^jasion of Eaasas \inder the Wyandotte Constitution. On tbe, 6th June, this bil) beiqg under con- Siderat^pn, Mr. '^igfall, of Tex.,,, explained his views. He de^, claf ed he would not vote for Ijhe admission of this so., called State, under any circumstanc^. He objected to their morbl character,' and Was not willing Texas should a^spelate vitl^ euctt a, State. Mr. defeat the bin, . : ■ iifx. Hunter, mpvpd to postpone tl^e subject, and take up tfte Army bill. Mr. Trumbull opposed 'the motion. He should keep thfiiSa^fiaai bill before the Senate UU it was finally dis- po'sed of. J^was more Importailt tl^an the appropri- , atlon bins,' which appeared to be kept back In order to Interrupt other important-b.u^iness. ', Mr. Seward hoped the fnends of Kansas woyld leli.a vote be'taken, so thatthe responsibility mig^t lie where it )]^onged. ; ' , fhfi vote was ^k^n by yeas and nays, and resulted. Teas, 82,; Nays, 27.' It was a' strict partj^ vote,' except that Massn Fugh (Demj, oaio>) and I), .and Nieholsfm (Dem.^ Tehn ) were absent. Messrs. Ptougla^ ]an full. Tl» vote showed that sixty votes' had 'been cast, with two paired off*, showing the fullest vote ofthe session. He said the effect of. the vote just taken was equiva- lent t0|the defeat of the Kansas bill.. and the Senator from Pennsylvania must have knQwn ii\e effect of his vote, Mr. Wigfall flSiii-ied to call attehtion to the fact that tlie House had once defeated the Army bill, because it did not want the army used against; the Black Republi- can thieves knd murderers in Kansas. June 7. — Mr. Wade, of, Ohio, moved, to take up the Kansas bill, which ■was Ipst— as foUowa :- TEAS~-Me3^. Anthony, .Bigler, Anglian), Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Callamer, Dixon, Doolittld, Durkee, FeSseliden, FbM), *bsler. Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Pugh, Seward, Simmbhs, Sumner, Ten I^^^k. Trum- bpU, Wade, Wilkinson, WUeon, Republicans, 25 ; Demo- crats, (Bigler and Pugh) 2 — 27. JfA+^Mfessi-s. Biyard, BenjiiitalU, Bragg, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clingman, Davis, Fitch; Fitspatrick, Greene, (^vfi^, Bajninond, Hemphill, Hunter, Iversdn, Johnson, (Tenn.) Lane, Lathi^m, Mallory, Mason, NichoV. sort, PcaroB, Polk, Powell, Rice, Sebastian, Slldeli; Thom- son; Toombi, Wigfall, Ynle^.-i-SS. [All Democrats.] Mh Douglas wa.s paired With Mr. Clay ; Crittenden (Am.), with Johnson, of Ark., Ken- nedy and Saulsbnry absent. ' So both House's adjourned and left Kansaii still in the condition of a Territory. THE NEBRASKA DOCTRINE AND THE DRED SCOTT DECISION REVIEWED. SPEECH OE THE HON. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At SjprmgMd, 111, fune 17, 1858. [The following speech was delivered at Springfield, III., at the cloae of the Republican €tat.e Convention neld at that time and place, and by which Convention Mr. Lincoln had been named as their candidate for U. S. Senator.] Mb. PRESIDKNT, AND GrNTLEMEN OF THE CONVRNtlOS: If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better Judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was Initiated wil. the avowed object, and confi- dent promise, of putting an end to Slavery agi;tation Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a cnsis shall have been reached and passed. *' A house divided against itself cannot stan4" ^ believe th^ government cannot endure permanen^tiy half slave and half tree. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved— I do not expect the house to fall— but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of t^lavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place It where the public mind shall rest in the be- lief that it is in tb« course of ultimate extinction ; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South. Have we no tendency to the latter condition ? Let any one who doubts, carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination — piece of ma- chinery, so to speak.— compounded of the Nebraska •doctrine, and the Dred Scott Decision. Let him con- sider not only what work the machinery is adapted to do, and how well adapted ; but also, let him study the history, of its construction, and trace, if he can, or rather fail, if he can, to trace the evidence of design, and con- cert of action, among its chief architects, from the be- ginning. ^ The new year of 1354 found Slavery excluded from more than half the States by State Constitutions, and from most of the national territory by Congressional prohibition. Four days later, commenced the struggle which ended in repealing thjit Congresaion'al prohibition. This opened all the national territory to Slavery, and was the first point gained. . ^ ^ But, 80 far. Congress only had acted : and an indorse- ment by the peoffle, real oi- apparetft, w^ indispen- sable, to save the point already gained, and give chance for more. This necessity had not been overlooked; but had been provided for, as well as might be, in the notable argument of "squntter sovereignty,* otherwise called *' sacred right of self-government," which latter phrase, though expressive of the only rightful basis of any gov- ernment, was so perverted in this attempted use of it as to aipount to just this : That if any o-ne man choose to enslave anotJver, no ihird man shall be allowed to object. That argument was incorporated into the Ne- braska bill itself, in the language which fbllows: "It being the true infrent and meaning of this act not to legislate Slavery into any Temtory or State, nor to ex- rtude it therefrom ; but to leave the people thei-eof per- ffectly free to form 'and regulate their domestic institu- tions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." Then opened the roar of loose declamation in favor of " Squatter Sovereignty," and "lacied right of self-government." "But," said oppo- tit'on membe s, " let us araeftd the bill so as to expressly declaae that the people of the Territory may exclude Slavery." "Not we," said the friends of the measure- and down they voted the amendment. While the Nebras^ bill was passing through Congress, a law ease involving the question of a negro's freedom, by reason of his owner having voluntarily taken him first into a Free State and then into a TeiTitory covered by the Congressional prohibition, and held him as a slave for a long time in each, was passing through the United States Circuit Court for the District of Mis- souri ; and both Nebraska bill and law suit were broughti to a decision in the same month of May, 1854. The: negro's nam&was " Bred Scott," which name now desig- nates the decision finally made in the case. Before the* then next Presidential Election, the law ease came to,, and was argued in, the Supreme Court of the Unitedl States ; but the decision of it was deferred until after* the election. Still, before the election, Senator^Trnm- buU, on the ,fioor of the Senate, requested the leading; advocate of the Nebraska bill to state Mi opinion whether the people of a Territory can constitution ally- exclude Slavery from their limits ; and the latter an- swers : "That is a question for the Supreme Court." The election came. Mr. Buchanan was elected, and the: indorsement, such as It wa^, secured That was the secoudl point gained. The Indorsement, however, fell short of a clear popular majority by nearly four hundred thou- sand votes, and 'so, perhaps, was not .overwhelmingly reliable and satisfactory. The outgoing Pre^i^deut, iot his last annual messtige, as impressively as possible^, echoed back upon the people the weight and authority of the indoraOment. The Supreme Court met again ; did ifot announce theii' decision, but ordered a-re-argu— ment. The Presidential inauguration came, and still n»i decision of the court ; but the incoming President in his> inaugural address, fervently e:tfhorted the. people to. abide by the forthcoming decision, whatever it mights be. Then in a few days, came the decision. The reputed author of the Nebraska bill finds an^ early occasion to make bs peech at this capital, indorse ing the Dred Scott decision, and -vehemently denDunc-<- ing all opposition to it. The new President, too, seizes^ the early occasion of the Silliman letter to indorse and) strongly construe that decision, and to express his-ao-- tonishmeht that any different view had ever been enter- tained ! At length a squabble springs up between the President, and the q-uthor of the Nebraska bill, on the mere <;ues- tion oT/ac^, whether the Lecompton Constitution was on was not, in any just sense, made by thei:-people of Kan-- sas ; and In that quarrel the latter declares that all he- wants is a fair vote for the people, and that he cares not whether Slavery be voted aown or voted tip. I do not understand his declaration that he cares not whether Slaveiy be voted down or voted up, to be intended by him other than as an apt definition of the policy hti would Impress upon the public mind— the principle' for which he declares he bas euffered^so much,-.an,d is ready to suffer to the end. And well may he clingy to that' principle. If he has any parental feeling, well may he- cling to it. That principle-is'the only shred left of hisv original Nebraska doctrine. Under the Dred Scottx decision "squatter soveretfjnty" Squatted out of t?x-- istence, tumbled down like temporary scaffolding- -ltke.v the mold at the foundry served through one blast and! fell back into loose sand-i— Kelped to carry an election,. and then was kicked to thewinds. His late joint Btrug different portions of which we know have been gotten out at diO'erent times and places, and by different workmen — Stephen, PrankUn, Roger and Jitmes, for instance— and when we see these timbers joined to- gether, and see they exactly make the frame of a house or a mill, all the tenons and mortices exactly fitting, and all the lengths and proportions of the different pieces exactly adapted to their respective places, and not a piece too many or too few— npt omitting even scaffolding — or, if a single piece be lacking, we see the place in the frame ex- acUy fitted and prepared yet to bring such piece in — in such a case, we find it impossible not to believe that Ste- phen and Franklin and Roger and James all understood one another from the beginning, and all worked upon a common plan or draft drawn up before the fli'st blow was struck. It should not be overlooked that, by the Nebraska bill, the people of & Stcbte as well as a Tenitory, were to be left "perfectly free," "subject only to the Constitution." Wliy mention a State ? They were legislating for Territo- ries, and not for or about States. Certainly me people of a State are and ought to be subject to the Gocutitution of tlie United States; but why is mention of this lugged into this merely Territorial law? Why are the people of a Ten-itory and the people of a State therein lumped to- , gether, and their relation to the Constitution therein treated as being precisely the same ? While the opinion of the court, by Chief Justice Taney, In the Dred Scott CMe, and the separate opinions of all the concurring Judges, expressly declare that the Constttution of the United States neither permits Congi-ess not a Territorial Legislature to exclude Slavery from any United States Ter- ritory, they all omit to declare whether or not the same Constitution permits a State, or the people of a State, to exclude it. Poaaibly^ tliis is a mere omission ; but who can be qmte sure, if McLean or Curtis had sought to get into the opinion a de.cUiTatioii of unlimit^ pow^r in th6 people of a State to exclude Slavery from their lirflitd, just ' as Chase and Mace sought to get such declaration, in be- half of the people of a territory, into the Nebraska bill — I jisk, who can be quite sure that itwould not have been voted down in theume case as it had been in the other? Tbti nearest approach to the point of declaring the power of a State over Slavery, is made by Judge Nelson. He ap- proaches it more than once, using the precise idea, and* almost the language, too, of the Nebraska act. On one occasion, his exact language is, " except in cases where the power is restrained by the Constitution of the United States, the law of the Stateis supreme over the subject of Slavery within its. jurisdiction." In what cases the power of the States is so restrained by the United States Consti- tution, is left ''an open question, precisely as the same question, as to the restraint on the power of the Territo- ries, was left open in the Nebraska act. Put this and that together, and we have another nice little niche, which we may, ere lon^, see filled with another Supreme Court de- cision, declaring that the Constitution of the United States does not permit a State to exclude Slavery from its limits. And this may especially be expected if the doctrine of " care not whether Slavery be voted down or voted up," shall gain upon the public mind sufficientiy to give pro- mise that such a decision can be maintained when* made. Such a decision is all tJiat Slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States. Welcome, or unwelcome, such decision is probably coming, and will soon be upon us, unle^ the power of' the present political dynasty shall be met an^ overthrown. We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free, and we shall awake to the reality instead, 'that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a Slave State. To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now befcre all those who would prevent that consummation. , This is what we have to do. How can we best do it ? There are those who denounce us openly to their own friends, aad yet whisper us softly, that Senator Douglas is the aptest instrument t^iere is T\ith which to efifect Uiat ob- ject. They wish us to infer all, from the fact that he now has a little quarrel with the present head of tlie dynasty ; and that he has regularly voted with us on a single point, upon which he and we have never diffeied. They remmd us that he is a great man, and that the largest of us are very small ones. Let tliis be granted. But " a living dog is better than a dead lion," Judge Douglas, if not a dead lion*, for this work, is at least a caged and toofthless one. How can he oppose the advances of Slavery ? He don't care anything about it. His avowed mission is impressiog the " public heart " to care nothing about it. A leading Douglas Democratic newspaper thinks Douglas's superior talent will be needed to resist the revival of the African slave-trade. Doe^ouglas believe an effort to revive that trade is approaching ? He has not said so. Does'he really think so ? But if It is, how can he resist it ? For years he has labored to prove it a sacred right of white men to take negro slaves into the new Territories. Can he possibly show that it is less a sacred right to buy them where Uiey can be bought cheapest? And unquestionably they can be bought cheaper in Africa than in Virginia. He has done all in his power to reduce the whole question of Sla- very to one of a mere right of property ; and as such, how can he oppose the foreign slave-trade — how can he refuse that trade In that " property" shall be " perfectly free "— upless he does it as a protection to the home production ? And as the home producers will probably not ask the pro- tection, he will be wLoUy without a ground of opposition. Senator Douglas holds, we know, that a man may right- fully be wiser to-day ti;an be was yesterday — thai he may rightfully change when he finds himself wvQjfg. But can we, for that reason, run ahead, and infer that hs will make any particular change, of whicli he, himself, has given no intimation ? Can we safely base our aciion upon any 'Such vague inference? Now, as ever, I wisli not to misiepresent Judge Douglas's position, qutstion his motives, or do auglit that can be personally offensive to lilm. Whenever, if ever, he and we can come together on principle so that our ciuse may have assistance from hia MR. LINCOLN'S SPEECH. 139 * "eat abilltj', I hope to have Interposed no adventitJoaB ostaole. But clearly, he is not now with us— he doea not pvutand to be— he does not promise ever to be. - Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, and conducted by, its own undoubted friends — those whose hands ai'e free, whose hearts are in the work — who cUi cafe for the result. Two years ago the Republicans of the nation tnustpred over thirteen hundred thousand strong. We did this under the single Impulse oT resistance to a common ganger, with every external clrcumstai.ce against us. Of strange, discordant, and eyen hbstlle elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battlethrough, under the constant hot fire of a discipliLed, proud and pampered enemy. Did we brave all thein to falter now? — now, when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail — if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victorv is sure to come. SLAVERY DISCUSSED BY LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS. QUESTIONS K^I> ANSWERS. ^ MR. LI^l^COLN'S SPEECH. At the second Joint Debate, between Mr. Douglas and Mr. Lincoln^ at Freeport, Illinois, August 27th, 1858, Mr. Lincoln spoke as fol- lows: Ladibs jINd Gkntlemkn: On Saturday last, Judge Douglas and myself first met in public discussion, lie Bpoke one hour, I an hour and a half, and he replied for half and hour. Tlie order is now reversed. I am to speak an hour, he an hour and a half, and then I am to reply for half an hour. I propose to devote myself during the first hour to the scope of what was brought within the range of his hatf-hour speech at Ottawa. Of course there was brought within the scope in tli^t half-hour's speech sBomething of his own opening speech, In the course of that openir^ argument. Judge Douglas proposed to me seven distinct interrogatories. In my speech of an hour and a half, I attended to some other parts of his speech, and incidentally, as I thought, answered one of the in- terrogatories then. I then distinctly intimated to him that I would answer the rest of his interrogatories on condition only that he should ^ree to answer as many forme. He made no intimatioa at the time of the propo- Bition, nor did he in his reply allude at all to that sugges- tion of mine. I do.him no irgustice in' saying that he occupied at Ieas.t half of his reply iu dealing with me as though I had refi4>seGl to. answer his interrogatories. I now propose that I will answer any o f the interrogatories, upon condition that he will answer questions from me not exceeding the same number. I give him an opportiAiity to respond. The Judge remains silent. I now say that I will answer his interrogatories, whether he answeis mine or not; and that after I have done so, I shall propound mine to him. I have supposed myself, since the organization of the Republican party at Bloomington, in May,- 1856,^ boUnd as x party man by the platforms of the party, then and since. If in any interrogatories which I shall anawei go beyond the scope of what is within these platforms, it will be per- ceived that no one is responsible but n-yself. ^ Having said thus much, I will tatee-up the Judge's in- terrogatories as I find them printed in the Chicago Times, and answer them seriatim. In order that there may be no mistake about it, I have copied the int-errogatories in writing, and also my answers to them. The first of these iaberrogatorles is in these words : Que^ion 1. *'I deah*e to know whether Lincoln to-.iay Btands, as he did in 1854, in £avor of the unconditional repeal of thnFugiaveSlavelawJ" , . ., ^ ArtBwer. I do not DOW, nor ever did, stand in mvor of the unconditional repeal of toe Fugitive Slave law. Q 2. "I desire him to answer whether he. stands pledged to-day, as ho did in 1854, against the admission of any more £lavo States into' the Union, even if the people want them f" A, I do not now, or ever did, stand Pledged againat tibie ad- mlsaioa of any more Slave States into the Tfnioit. - ■ 3 3 "I want to know whether he stands pledged against the admission *»f a new State Into the Union with such a|Con- fiUtution as the people of that State may see fit to make ?» A I do not stand pledged against the admission of a new Stale into the Union, with such a Conatitutlon as the people of that Suite may see fit to make. ,,...,. , ^ . 4 "I want to know whether he stands to-day pledged to Qie abnilUoii of Slavery in the District of Columbia !» A. T do not stand to-day pledged to the abolition of Slaver}' In the District T6f Columbia. ■ Q. 5. " I desire Mm to answer whether he stands pledged to the prohibition- of the slave-trade between the different States?" A. I do not stand pledged to the prohibition of the slave- trade between the different States. Q. 6. " I desire to know whether he stands pledged to pro- hibit Slavery in all the Territories of the United States, North as well as South of the Missouri Compromise hnet" A. I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the right and duij/ of Congress to prohibit Slavery in all th« United States Territories. Q. 7. "I desire him to answer whethe^'he is opposed t* the acquisition of any. new territory unless Slavery is first pto- hibitedlherein?" A. I am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of ter- ritory ; and, in any given case, I would or would not oppoaa such acquisition, accordingly as I might think such acguisltioq would or would not aggravate the Slavery questiou among ourselvpfi. Now, my friends, it will be perceived upon an examina- tion of these guestions and answerSf that so far I have only answered that I was nat pledged to this, that or the other. ^ The Judg&i^asnot framed his Interrogatories to ask me anything more than this, afld I have answered in strict accordance with the interrogatqries, and have answered truly that I, >m not pledged aiaM upon any of the points to which I haVe answered. But I am not disposed to hang upon the exact form.of his iuteiTogatory. I am father disposed to take up at least some of these questions, and state what I really think upon them. As to the first one, in regard to the Fugitive Slave Law, I have never hesitated to say, and I do not now hesitate to say, that I think, under the Constitution of the United States, the people of the Southern States are entitled to a Congressional fugitive Slave Law. Having said that, I have had nothing to say in regard to the existing Fugitive Slave Law, further than that i think it should, have been fi-amed so as to be free from some of the objections tliat pertain to it, without lessening its efficiency. And inas- much as we are not now in an agitation in regard to an alteration or modification of that law, I would not he the man to introduce It as a new subject of agitMion upon the generaf qaestion of Slavery. In regard to the other question, of whether I am pledged to the admission of any more Slave States into the Union, I state to you very frankly that I would be exceedingly sorry ever to be put in a position of having to pass upon that question., I should be exceedingly glad to know that there would never be another Slave Stale admitted into the Union ; bu^ I must add, that if SlaVcry shall be kept out of the Territories during the tcrrltoital existence of any one given Territory, and then the people shall, having a fair opportunity and aclear field, when they come to adopt the Constitutipn, do such an extraordinary thing as adopt a Slave Constitution, unin- fluenced by the actual presence of the institijtion among thenii I see no. alternative, if We own the country, but to admit them into the iJnton. The third interrogatory is answered by the answer to th« second, it being, as I conceive, the 59,01$ as the second. The fourth one is in regard to tlie abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia. In relation to that, I have my mind very distinctly made up. i should be exceed- 180 X POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK /OR 1860. Ingly glad to see Slarery abolished in the District of Columbia. I believe that CoDgreas possesses the consti- tutional pover to abolish It. Yet, as ^ member of Con- gt-eas, I should not, with my preseot views, be in favor of ^ndeavorinff to abolish Slavery in the Bistrict of Go- lumbia, unless it would be upon these conditions: JFiret^ that the abolition should be gradual. Seoondt that it Bhoald be on a vote of the majority of qualified voters in the District ; and T/i/ird^ that compensation should be madtt to unwilling owners. With these tln'ee conditions, I confess I would be e'xeeedingly glad to see Congress abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia, and, in the UnguHge of Henry Clay, " sweep from our Ca^tal that foul blot upon our nation." In regard to the fifth interrogatory, I must say here, that as to the question of the abolition of the slave-trade between the different States, 1 can truly answer, as I have, that I am pledged' to nothing about it. It is a subject to which I have not given that mature considera- tion that would make me feel authorized to state a posi- tion so as to hold myself entirely bound by it. In other words, that question has never been prominently enough before me to induce me to investigate whether we really have the constitutional power to do it. I could investigate it if I had sufficient time, to bring myself to a conclusion upon that subject ; but I have not done so, and I say so ft-cinkly.to you herd, and to Judge Douglas. I must say, however, that if I should be of opinion that Congress does possess the constitutional power to ^ abolish the slave-trade among the different States, I should still not be in favor of the exercise of that power unless upon some conservative principle as I conceive it, akin to what X have said in relation to the abolition of Slavery in tJie District of Columbia. ' My answer as to whether I desire that Slavery should be prohibited in all the Territories of the United States, is full and explicit within itself, and cannot be made clearer by any comments of mine. So I suppose in regard to the question whether I am opposed to the acqui- sition of any more territory unless Slavery is first pro- hibited (herein, my answer is such that I could add no- thing by way of illustration, or making myself better under- stood, than the answer which I have placed in -writing. Now in all this, the Judge has me, and he has me on .the record. I suppose he had flattered himself that I was really entertaining one set of .opinions for one place and another set for another place — that I was afraid to say at one place what I uttered at another. What I am say- ing here I suppose I say to a vast audience as strongly, tending to Abolitionism as any audience in the State of Illinois, and I believ^ I am saying that which, if it would be offensive to any persons and render them enemies to myself, would be offensive to persons in this audience. I now proceed to propouod to the Judge the interroga- tories, so far as I have framed them. I will bring for- ward a new installment when I get them ready. I will bring them forward now, only reaching to number four. The first one is: Question 1. If the people of Kansas shall, by means en- tirely unobjeclionablu In all other respects, adopt a.State Con- aiituLiou, and ask admission Into the Union under It,' before they have the requisite number of Inhabitants according to the English bill— some ninety-three thousand— will you vote to admit them? Q. 2. Can the people of a United States Territory, In any law^l way, against the wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude Slavery from its limits prior to the formation of a State Constitution f Q. 3. If the Supreme Court of the United States shall decide that States cannot exclude Slavery from their limits, are you in favor of acquiescing In, adopting and following such de- cision as a rule of political action ? Q. 4. Are you in favor of acquiring additional territory, in disregard of how such acquisition may affect the nation on the Slavery question f As introductory to these interrogatories which Judge Douglas propounded to me at Ottawa, he read a set of re- solutions which he said Judge TrumbuH and myself had participated in adopting, in the first Republican State Convention, held at Springfield, in October, 1854. He Insisted that I and Judge Trumbull, and perhaps the entire Bepublican pai-ty, were responsible for the doc- trines contained in the set of resolutions which he read, and I understand that it was from that set of resolutions that he deduced the Interrogatories which' he propounded to me, using these resolutions as a lort of authority for propounding those questions to me. Now I say here to- 1 day that I do, not answer his interrogatories because of their springing at all from that set of resolutions which lie read. I answered them because^Judge Douglas thought fit to ask them. I do not now, nor never did, recogniie any responsibility upon myself in that set of resolutions. YThen I replied to him on that occasion. I assured him that I never had anything to do with them. I repeat Jiere to-day, that I never, in any possible fOrm, had any- thing to do with that set of resotutloni. It turns out, I believe, that those r^olutions were never passed in anj Convention held in Springfield. It turns out that they were never passed ' at any Convention or any publiu meeting that I had any part in. I believe it turns out ii addition to all this, that there was not, in the fall of 1854 any Convention holding a session at Springfield callinji itself a Republican State Convention ; yet it is true thers was 9 Convention, or assemblage of men calling them- selves- a Convention, at Springfield, that did pass somb resolutions. But so little did I really know of the pro- ceedings of that Conventionj or what set of resolutions they had passed, though having a general knowledge that there had been such an assemblage of men there that when Judge Douglas read the resolutions, I really did not know but they had been the resolutions passed then and there. I did not question that they were the re- solutions adopted. For I could not bring myself to sup- pose that Judge Doiiglas could say what he did upon this subject without i^nowinff that it was true. I contented myself, on that occasion, with denying, as I truly could, all connection with them, not denying or affirming whether they were passed at Springfield. Now it turns out that he had got hold of some resolutions passed at some Convention or public meeting in Kane County. I wish to say here, iliat I dun't conceive that in any fair and just mind this dii^i^vury relieves me at all. I had just as much to do with the Convention in Kane County as that at Springfield. I am just as muc^ responsible for the resolutionl at Sane County as those at Springfield, the amount of the responsibility beirig exactly nothing in either case : no more than there would be in regard to a set of resolutions passed in the moun. I allude to this extraordinary matlei; in this canTass for some furthier purpose 'than anything yet advAhce4, Judge Douglas did not make his statement upon tnat oc- casion as matters that he believed to be true, but he stated them roundly as ^einff true, in such form as to pledge his veracity for their truth. 'When the whole matter turns out as ft does, and when we consider who JudgeDouglasIs— that he is a distinguished Senator of the United States — that he has served nearly twelv< years as such — that his character is not at all limited a^ an ordinary Senator of the United States, but that bis name has become of world-wide renown — it is moBt M- traordiTtizry that he should so far forget all the sugges- tiona of justice to an adversary, or of prudence to him. self, as to venture upon the assertion of that which the slightest investigation would have shown hinlto be wholly false. I can only account for his having done so upon the supposition that that evil genius which has attended him through his life, giving to him an apparent astonish- ing prosperity, such as to lead very many good men to doubt there being any advantage 'in virtue over vice — ^I say I can only account for it on the supposition that that evil genius has at last made up its mind to forsHke him. And I may add that another extraordinary feature of the Judge's conduct in this canvass — made more extra- ordinary by this incident — is, that he is in the habit, in almost all the speeches he makes, of charging falsehood upon his adversai'ies, myself and others. I now ask whether be is able .to find in anything that Judge Truin- bufi, for instance, has said, or in anything that I have said, a ju&tificatiou at all compared with what we have, In this instance, for that sort of viugarity. MR. DOUGLAS' REPLY. Ladies ahq Gentleueh : I am glad that at last I kave brought Mr. Lincoln to the conclusion that he had better define his position on certain political questions to which I called his attention at Ottawa. He there showed no dispo- sition, no inclination, to answer them. I did not present idle questions for him to answer merely for my gratifica- tion. I laid the foundation for those interrogatories by showing that they constituted the platform of the party whose nominee he is for the Senate, I did not presume that I had the right to catechise him as I saw proper, unless I showed that his party, or a majority of it' stood upon the platform and were In favor of the propositions upou whlc^ my questions were based. I desired simply to know, inasmuch as he had been nominated as the first, last, and only choice of his party, whether he concurred in the platform which that party had adopted for its govern- ment. In a few moments I will proceed to review the answers which he has given to" these interrogatories ; but in order to relieve his anxiety I will first respond to these whnh he has presented to me. Mark you, he has not pre- sented interrogatories which have ever received the sanc- tion of the party with which I am acting, and hence he~ has no other foundation for them than his own curiosity. First, he desires to know if the people of Kansas shall form a Constitution by means entirely proper and unob- MR. DOUGLAS' REPLY. 131 {actionable and ask admission into the Union as a State, >efore they iiave the requisite.population for a member of Congress, whether I will vote for that admission. Well pow, I regret exceedingly that h^ did not answer that mterrogatory himself before he put it to me, in brder ttiat we might understand, and not be left to infev on which .side he is. Mr. Trumbull, during the last session of Congress, voted from the beginning to the end against the admission of Oregon, although a free Slate, becauSe she ' liad not the requisite population for a member of Con- gress. Mr. Trumbull would not consent, under any cir- cumstances, to let a State, free or slave, come into the Union until it had the requisite population. As Mr. Trumbull is in the field, fighting for Mr. Lincoln, I would like to have Mr. Lincoln answer his own question and tell me whether he is fighting Trumbull on that issue or not. But I will answer his question. In reference to Kansas, it is my opinion, that as she has population enough to constitute a slave State, she has people enough for a Fi-ee State. I will not make Kansas an exceptionable case to the other States of the Union. 1 hold it to be a sound rule of universal application to require a Territory to contain the requfeite population for a member of Con- gress, before it is admitted as a State into the Union. I made that proposition in the Senate in 1856, and I renew- ed it during the last session, in a bill providing that no Territory of the United States should form a Constitution and apply for admission until it had the requisite popiy.- Jation. On another occasion I proposed that neither Kansas, or any other Territory, should be admitted until it had the reqiiisite population. Congress did not adopt Buoy of my propQsitipns containing this general rule, but did make an exception of Kansas. I will stand by that sxception. Either Kansas must come in as a ^ree State, with whatever population she may have, or the rule must ye applied to all the other territories alike. I therefore Answer at once, that it having been decided that Kansas has people enough for a Slave State, I hold that she has enough for a Free State. I hope Mr. Lincoln is satisfied with my answer ; and nft./ I would like to get his answer to ills own interrogatory— rwhether or not he will vote to admit Kansas before she has the requisite population. I want to know whether he will vote tp admit Oregon before that Territory has the requisite population. Mr. Trumbull will notj and the same reason that commits Mr. Trumbull against the admission of Oregon, commits hiin against Kansas, even if she should apply for admission as a Free State. If there is any sincerity, any truth, in the argument of Mr. Trumbull in the Senate, against the admission of Oregon because she had not 93,420 people, although her population was larger than that cf Kansas, he stands pledged against the admission of both. Oregon suid Kansas until they have 93,420 inhabitants. I would uke Mr. Uncoln to answer this question. I would like him to take his own medicine. If he differs with Mr. Trumbull let him answer his argument against the admis- sion of Oregon, instead of poking questions at me. The next qdesf^on propounded to me by Mr. Lincoln is, can the people of the Terrxtoiy in any lawful way, against the wishes of any citizen of the United States, exclude Slavery from their lioiits prior to the formation of a State eonstitution ? I answer' emphatically, as Mr. Lincoln* has heard me answer a hundred times from every stump in Illinois, that in my opinion the people of a Territory can, by lawful means, exclude Slavery from their limits prior to the formation of a State constitution. Mr. Lincoln knew ' that I had answered that question over and over again. He heard me argue the -Nebraska biU on that principle all over the State in 1864, in 1855, and in 1856 ; and he has no excuse for pretending to be in doubt as to my position on that question. It matters not what way the Supreme Court may hereafter decide as to the abstract question- whether Slavery may or may not go into a Territory un- der the Constitution ; the people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude it as they please, for the reason that Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations. Those police regulations can only be established by the local le^lature ;. and.if the people are opposed to Slavery they will elect representatives to that body who will by un- friendly legislation effectually prevent the introduction of It Into their midst. If, on the contrary, they are for it, their legislation will favor its extension. Hence, no mat- ter what the decision of the Supreme Court may be on Uiat abstract question, still the right of the people to make a slave Territory or a free Territory is perfect and com- plete under the Nebraska bill. I hope Mr. Lincoln deems my answer satisfactory on that pomt. j. In this connection, I will notice the charge which nfe has Introduced in relation to Mr. Chase's amendment. I thought that I had chased that amendment out of Mr. Lincoln's brain at Ottawa ; , but it seems that still haunts bis imagination, and he ia not yet satisfied. 1 had sup- posed that he, would be ashamed to press that question further. He is a lawyer, and has been a member of Con- gress, and has occupied bis time and amused you by tell- ing you .about parliamentary proceeding. He ought to have known better than, to try to palm off hia miserable impositions upon this intelligent audience. The Nebraska bill provided that the legislative power and authority of the said Territory should extend to all rightful subjects of legislation, consistent with the organic act .and the Consti- tution of the United States. It did not make any exception as to Slavery, but gave all the power that it was podsible forCongreas to give, without violating the Constitution, to the Territorial Legislature, with no exception or limitation on the subject of- Slavery at all. The language of that bill which 1 have quoted, gave the full power and the full au- thority over the subject of Slavery, affirmatively and ne- gatively, to introduce it o'r exclude it, so far as the Oonstit«- tion.of the United States would permit. What more could Mr. Chase give by his amendment ? Nothing. He offered his. amendment for the identical purpose for which Mr. Luicoln J5 using it, to enable demagogues in the country to tiy and deceive the people. Hk amendment was to this effect. It pro-rided that the Legislature should have the power to exclude Slavery : and Greneral Cass suggested, " why not give the power to introduce as well as exclude ?" The answer was, they have the power already in the bill to do both. Chase was afraid his amendment would be adopted if lie put the alternative proposition and so make it fair both ways, but would not yield. He offered it for the purpose of having it rejected. He offered It, as he has himself avowed over and over again, simply to make capital out of it for the stump. He expected that it would be capital for small politicans in the country, and that they would make an effort to deceive the people with it ; and he was not mistaken, for Lincoln is carrying out the plan admirably. Lincoln knows that the Nebraska bill^ without Chase's amendment, gave all the power which thff Constitution would permit. Could Con- gress confer any more ? Could Congress go beyond the Constitu^on of the country ? We gave all a full grant with no exception in regard to Slavery one way or the other. We left that ques,tion, as we left all others, to be de- cided by the people for themselves, just as they pleased, I will not occupy my time on this question. I have argued it before all over Illinois. I have argued it in this beauti- ful city of Freeport; I have argued it in the North, the South, the East, and the West, avowing the same senti- ments and the same principles. I have not been afraid to avow my sentiments up here for fear I would be trotted down into Egypt. The third question which Mi*. Lincoln presented is, if the Supreme Court of the United States shall decide that a State of this Union cannot exclude Slavery from its own limits, will I submit to it? I am amazed that Lincoln should ask such a question, ("A school-boy knows better.'') Yes, a school-boy do^ know better.) Mr. Lincoln's object is to cast an imputation upon the Supreme Court. He knows that there never was but one man in America, claiming any degree o:^ intelligence or decency, who ever for a mo- ment pretended such a thing. It is true that the Wash- ington V^vion, in an article published on the 17th of last December, did put forth that doctrine, and I denounced the article on the floor of the Senate, in a speech which Mr. Lincoln now pretends waS agamst the President, The Union, had claimed that Slavery had a right to go in- to the free States, and that any provision in the Constitu- tion or laws of the Free States to the contrary were null and void. I denounced it in the Senate, as I said before, and I was the first man who did. Lincoln's friends, Trum- bull, and Seward, and Hale, and Wilson, and the whole Black Republican side of the Senate, were silent. They left it to me to denoxmce it. And what was the reply made to me on that occasion ? Mr. Toombs, of Georgia, got up and undertook to lecture me on the gi'ound that I ought not to have cleemed the article worthy of notice, and ought not to have replied to it ; that there was not one man, wo- man, or child south of the Potomac, in any Slave State, who did not repudiate any such pretension. Mr. Lincoln knows that that reply was made on the spot, and yet now ^ he asks this question. He might as well ask me. Suppose Mr. Lincoln should steal a horse, would I sanction it ; and ' it would "be as genteel in me to ask him, m the event he stole a horse, what ought to be done with him. He ciists an imputation upon the Supreme Court of the Unite.d Stat^, by supposing that they w,ould violate the Constitu- tion of the United States. I tell him that such a thing is not possible. It would be an act of moral treason that no man on on the bench could ever descend to. Mr. Lincoln himself, would never, in his partisan feelings, 66 far forget ' what was right ats to be guilty of such an act. 'The fourth question of Mr, Lincoln is, are you in favor of acquiring additional territory ,^ in disregard as to how such acquisition may affect the' Union on the Slaveigr 132 A POLITICAI* TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. question f This question ia very ingeniously and -cun- ningly put. Th« Black Republican creed lays it down expressly, that under no circumstances shall we acquire any more territory unless Slavery is first prohibited in the country. I ask Mr. Lincoln whethet ie Is infavor of that proposi- tion. Are you (addressing Mr. Lincoln) opposed to the acquisition of any more territory, under any circum- stances, unless Slavery .is prohibited in it f That he does not like to answer. When I ask him whether he stands up to that article in the platform of his party, he turns, Yankee- fashion, and without answering it, asks me whether I am in favor .of acquiiing territory without re- " gai-d to how it may aflfect the Union on the Slavery ques- tion. I answer that whenever it becnines necessary, in our growth and progress, to acquire more territory, that I Am in favor of it, without reference to the question of Slavery, and when we have acquired it, I will leave the people free to do as they please, either to make it slave or free territory, as they prefer. It is idle to tell me or you that we have territory enough. Our fathers sup- posed that we had enough when our territory extended to the Mississippi Kiver, but a few years* growth and ex- pansion satisfied them that we needed more, and the Louisiana territory, from the west branch of the Missis- sippi to the British possessions, was acquired. Then we acquired Oregon, then California and New Mexico. We have enough now for the present, but this is a young and a growing nation. It swarms as often as a hive of hees, and as new swarms are turned out each year, there must be hives in which they can gather and make their honey. In lees than fifteen years, if the same progress that has distinguished this country for the last fifteen years continues, every foot of vacant land between this and the Pacific Ocean, owned by the United States, will be occupied. Will you not continue to increase at the end of fifteen years as well as now ? I tell you, increase, and multiply, and expand, is the law of^this nation's ex- istence. You cannot limit this great Kepubllc by mere boundary lines, saying, *' thus far ahalt thou gp, and no farther." Any one of you gentlemen might as well say to a son twelve years old that he is big enough, and must not grow any larger, and in order to prevenfiiis growth put a hoop around him to keep him to hia pre- LCQt size. Wh^t would be the result ? Either the hoop must burst and be rent asunder, or the child must die. So it would t« with_tbis great nation. With our natural iwsrease, growing with a rapidity unknown in any othw part of the globe, with the tide of emigration that is flee- Ingfrom despotism in the old world to seek refuge in our own, there is a constant torrent pouring into this country that requires more "land, more territory upon which to settle, and just as fast as our interests and our destiny require additional territory in the North, in the South, or on the Islands of the ocean, 1 am for it, and when we acquire it, will leave the people, according to the Nebraska bill, free to do as they please on the sub- ject of Slavery and every other question. I trust now that Mr. Lincoln will deem himself an- swered on his four points. He racked his brain so much in devising these four questions that he exhausted him* self, and had not strength enough to invent the others. As soon as he is able to hold a council with his advisers, Lovejoy, Farnsworth, and Fred Douglass, he will fiame and propound others. (" Good, good.") You Black Republicans who say good, I have no doubt think that they are all good men. I have reason to recollect that some people in this country think that Fred Douglass is a very good man. The last time I came here to make a speech, while talldng from the stand to you, people of Freeport, as I am doing to-day, I saw a carriage,^ and a magnificent one it was, drive up and take a position on the outside of the crowd ; a beautiful young lady was sitting on the box-seat, whilst Fred Douglass and her mother reclined inside, and the owner of the carriage acted as driver, I saw this in your own town. ('' What of it ?") All I have to say of it is this, that if you, Black Republicans, think that the negro ought to be ona social equality with your wives and daughters, and ride in a carriage with your wife, whilst you drive the team, you have perfect i-ight to do so. I am told that one of Fred Douglass's kinsmen, another rich black negro, is now traveling in this part of the State making speeches for his friend Lincoln" as the champion of blaok men. (" What have you to say against it ?") All I have to say on that subject is, that those of you who believe that the negro is your equal and ought to be on an equality with you socially, politically, and legally, have a righ- to en tertain those opinions, and of course will vote for Mr Lincoln. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY IN THE TERRITORIES. BY STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. From Harper^s Magazine^ 1859, Unocr our complex system of government it is the first «luty of American statesmen to mark distinctly the divl- &ng line between Federal and Local Authority, To do tills with accuracy involves an inquiry, not only into the powers and duties of the Federal Govei-nment under the Constitution, but also into the- rights, privileges, and im- munities of the~people of the Temtories, as well as of the States composing, the Union. The relative powers and functions of the Federal and State governments have become well understood and clearly defined by their practical operation and -harmonio'us action for a long series of years ; while the disputed question — involving the right of the people of the Territories to govern them- selves in respect to their local affairs and internal polity— remains a fruitful source of partisan strife and sectional controversy. The political organization which was formed In 1654, and has assumed, the name of the Republican Farty, is based on the theory that Aft-ican Slavery, as it exists in this country, is an evil of such magnitude — social, moral, and political— as to justify and require the exertion of the entire power and influence of the Fede- ral Grovernraent to the full extent that the Constitution, according to their interpretation, will permit for its ulti- mate extinction. In the platform of principles adopted at Pliiladelphia by the Republican Natinnal Convention In 18&6, it is afiii-med : *' That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power over the Terrilorles of the TTniLed States for their gov- erumenl, and that in the exerelse of this power it Is both the rigliiaudtheduiy of Congi-esa to prohibit In the Territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and Slavery." According to the theory of the Republican party there is an irrepressible conflict between Freedom and Slavery, free labor and slave labor, Free States and Slave States, which is irreconcilable, and must continue to rage with Increasing fury until the one shall become universal by the annihilation of the other. In the language of the mosi eminent and authoritative expounder of their political faith, '* It Is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and endur- ing forces ; and It means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become cither entirely a slave h61ding naLioa or entirely a Iree-labor nation. Either the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina, and the sugar plantations of Louisiana will ultimately be tilled by free labor, and Charleston and New-Orleans become marts for legitlniate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields and wheat fields of Massachusetts and Kew-York must again be surrendered by their farmers to slave culture and to the production of slaves, and Rosion and New-Tork become once more markets for trade in the bodies and souls of men." In the Illinois canvass of 1858 the same proposition was advocated and defended by the distinguished Repub- lican standard-bearer in these words : " In my opinion it (the Slavery agitation) will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed^ ' A House Oinded against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government can- not endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not espect the House to fall, but I do expedt it will cease tu b« divided. It wiH becom.e all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of Slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the pubhc mind shall rest in the belief that itisv the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the Stai^ —old as well as new. North as well as South." Thus it will be seen, that under the auspices of a po- litical party, whith claims sovereignty in Congi'ess over the subject of Slaverv thei'9 can be no peace on the MB. DOUGLAS ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. I3a Slavery question — no truce in the sectional strife — no fra* ternlly between the North and South, bo long as this Union remains as our fathers made it — divided into free and slave States, with the right on the part of eada to retain Slavery so long as it chooses, and to abolish it whenever \t pleases. On the other hand, it would be uncandid to deny that, while the Democratic party is a unit in its irreconcilable opposition to the doctrines and principles of the Repub- licaw party, there are radical differences of opinion in respect to the powers and duties of Congress, and the rights and immunities of the people of the Territories under the J'ederal Constitution, which seriously disturb its harmony and threaten its integrity. These differen- ces of opinion arise from the different interpretations placed on the Constitution by persons who belong to one of the following classes : MrsL—llaQBe who believe that the Constitution of the United States neither establishes nor prohibits Slavery in the States or Territories beyond the power of the people legally to control it, but *' leaves the people thereof per- fecMyfree Uo forfti and regulate their domestiftinstitntions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." Secon-d.— Those who believe that the Constitution es- tablishes Slavery in the Territories, and withliolds from Congress and the Territorial Legislature the power to control it ; and who insist that, in the event the Territo- rial Legislature fails to enacfe the requisite laws for its the creator ; and that Congress, not possessing the powet to legislate in respect to African Slavery in the Territories, cannot delegate to a Territorial Legislature any power which it does not itself possess." This proposition is as plausible as it is fallacious. But the reverse of it is true as a general rule. Congress can- not delegate to , a Territorial Legislature, qr to any other body of men whatsoever, any power which the Constitu- tion has vested in Congress. In other words : Every powe/r conferred on Congress "by. th^ CoTit^Utuiion rrmjust be csceroisAd by Congress in the modepresoribcd Mb the OonnHtution. Let us test the correctness of this proppsition by refer- ence to the powers of Congress as de&aed in the Constitu- tion : "The Congress shall have power— "To lay aud collect taxes, duties, hnposts, and excisRs," btc. : / \' To borrow money on the credit of the United States r " To regulate commerce and foreign nations," etc. ; " To esiablish a uniform rule of naUiralization," etc. ; " To coin money, and regulate the value Uiereof ;" " To establish poat-olfices and posi-roads ;" " To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ;" "I'o declare war," etc. ; " To provide and maintain a navy." This list might be extended so as to embrace all the power confeiTed on Congress by the Constitution ; but enough has been cited to test the principle. Will it be contended that Congress can delegate any one of theso protection, it becpmes the imperative duty of Congress^ powers to a Territorial Legislature, or to any tribunal to interpose it-s authority and furnish such protection. Third.— Those who, while professing to believe that the Constitution establishes Slavery in the Territories be- yond thte power of Congress or the Territorial Legisla- ture to Gonti'ol it, ati tbe same lime protest against the duty of Congress to interfere for its protection ; but insist that it is the duty of the Judiciary to protect and maintain slavery in the Territories without any la^v upon the subject. ^ By a careful eTcamination of the second and third pro- positions^ it will be seen that the advocates of each agree On the theoretical question, that the Constitution estab- lishes Slavery in the Territories, and compels them to have it whether they want it or not ; and differ on the practical point, whether a right secured by the Constitu- tion shall be protected by an act of Congress when all other remedies .fail. The reason assigned for not pro- tecting by law a right secured by the Constitution is, that it is the duty of the Courts to protect Slavery in the Ter- ritories without any legislation upon the subject. How tUe Courts are to afford protection to slaves or any other property, where there is no law providing remedies and jjnppsing penalties and conferring jurisdiction upon the ' courts to hear and determine the cases as they arise, re- mains, to be explained. The acta of Congress, establishing the several Terrlto- ijies of the United States, provide that : *' The jurisdiction of the several Courts herein provided for, both appellate and original, and that of the Probate Courts and Justices of the Peace shall be limited by law" — meaning such laws as the Territorial Le^slatures shall from time to time enact. It will be seen that the judicial ti-ibunals of the Territories have just such jurisdiction, and only such, in respect to the rights of persona and property pertaining to tiie citizens of the Tenitory as the Territorial Legisla- ture shall see fit to confer; and consequently, that the Courts can afford protection to persons and property no further than the Legislature shall, by law, confer the jurisdiction, and prescribe the reniedies, penalties, and modes of proceeding. It is diflacult to conceive how any person who believes that the Constitution confers the ^ight of protection in the enjoyment of slave property in tlie Territories, regard- less of the wishes of the people and of the action of the Tei*ritorial Legislature, can satisfy his conscience and bis oath of fideUty to the Constitution in withholding such Congressional legislation as may be essential to the en- joyment of such right under the Constitution. Under this view of the subject it is impossible to resist the con- clusion that, if tb« Constitution does establish Slavery in the Territories, beyond the power of the people to con- trol it by law, it ik the imperative duty of Congress to supply all the legislation necessary to its protection^ and if this proposition is not true, it necessai-ily results that the Constitution neither establishes nor prohibits Slavery anywhere, but leaves the people of each State and Terri- fcoi-y entirely free to form and regtilate their domestic affairs to suit themselves, without the Intervention of Congress or any other power whatsoever. But it is urged with great plausibility by those who have entire faith in the soundness of the proposition, that *' a Territory is the mere creature of Gongress ; that the crea- ture cannot be clothed with any powers not p OongresB, ftiey shall receive from them authority, wlih ap- pointments of time and place, to call a Convention of Repre- sentatives to establish a permanent Constitution and govern- ment for themselves." Having thus provided for the first settlers " a tempo- rary government" in these " additional States," and for a "permanent Constitution and government" when they shall have acquired twenty thousand inhabitants, the Flan contemplates that they shall continue to govern them- selves as States^ having, as provided in the Vir^nia deed of session, " the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and ~ indepertdence," in respect to their domfstic affairs and internal p6lity, " as the other States," until they shall have a population equal to the least numerous of the ori^nal thirteen States; and in the meantime shall keep a sitting member in Congress, with a right of debating but not of voting, when they shall be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States, as fol- lows : Fourth. — " Tliat whenever any of the said States shall have of free Inhabllants ais many as shall then be in any one of thO' least numerous of the thirteen original States, such State shall be admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the United States on an equal fooling with the said original Stales." .... And— *• Until such admission by their delegates into Congress any of thfl said Siaien, after the establishment of their temporary gov rnmerrt, shall have authority to keep a sitting member ia Congress, with ihe right of debating, but not of voting," Attached to the provision which appears in this paper under the " third" head is a proviso, containing five pro- positions, which, when agreed to and accepted by the people of said additional States, were "to be formed into a charter, of compact," and to remain forever " unal- terable," except by the consent of such States as well as of the United States— to wit : " Provided, That both the temporary and permanent gov- ernments be established on these principles as their basts :" 1st.—" That they shall forever remain a pan of the Unitefl States of America.", , jf 2d.— "That in their persons, property, and Territory they shall be subject to the government ot the United States in Congress assembled, and to the Articles of Confederation in all those cases in which the original States ^ail be so subject." 3d.—" That they shall be subject to pay a part of the federal deb^ contracted, or to be contracted— to be apportioned on them by Congress according to the same common rule and measur* by whtbh apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States." 4(7i.— " That their respective government shall be In repub lieau form, and shall admit no person to be a citizen who holds any hereditary tiUe." The fifth article, which relates to the prohibition of Slavery, after the year 1800, having been rejected by Congress, never became a part of the Jeffereonian Plan of Government for the Territories, a,s adopted April 23, The concludlngparagraph of tills Plan of Government, which emphatically. Ignores the right of Congress to bind the people of the Territories without their consent, ami recognizes the pebple therein as the true source of all legitimate power in respect to their internal polity, is in thtee words : "That all the prpcedlng articles shall be formed Intb a char- terflf comjjrtcf, Hhall be duly executed by the President of thA Uiilrefl Fiat PS, In Congress assembled, under his hand and thy the British Parliament over British colonies in America? Bid they confer upon Congress the right t< bind the people of the American Territories in all cases whatsoever, after having fought the battles of the Kevolu- tion against a " Preamble" declaring the right of Par- liament "to bind the Colonies in all cases whatsoever?" If, as they contended before the Revolution, it was the . birthright of all Englishmen, inalienable when formed intc political communities, to exercise exclusive power of legis- lation in their local le^latures in respect to all things affecting their internal pslity— Slavery not excepted — did not the same right, after the Revolution, and by virtue of it, become the birthioght of all Americans, in lite manner inalienable when organised into political communities — no matter by what name, whether Colonies, Temtories, Pro- vinces, or new States ? Names often deceive persons in respect to the nature and substance of tlungs. A single instance of this kind la to be found in t^at clause of the Consiitutiou which says: " Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting ihe territory or other property belonging to the United Slates." This being the only clause of the Constitution in which the word " Territory" ^.ppears, that fact alone has doubt- less led many persons to suppose that the right of Con- gress to establish temporary governments for the Terri- tories, in the sense in which the word is now used, must be derived from it, overlooking the important and con- trolling facts that at the time the Constitution was formed the word " Territory'* had never been used or understood to designate a political community or government of any kind in any law, compact, deed of cession, or public document; but had invariably been used either in its geographical sense to describe the superficial area of a State or district of country, as in the Virginia deed of cession of the "Territory or tract of country*^ novthvtesi of the rivetOhio ; or as meaning land in its character as propertyvin which latter sense it appears in the clause of the Constitution referred to, when providing 'for the disposition of the '' Territory or other property belong- ing to the United Slates?." Tlj*,-se lacts, taken in connec- tion with the kindred one that during the whoje period of the Confederation and the formation of the Constitu- ' tion the temporary governraer.ts which we now call '* Territories," were invariably referred to in the deeds of cession, laws, coiupacts, plans of govei'nment, re&olu- tiona oF Congress, public records, and authentic docu- ments as "States," or "new States," conclusively show that the words " Territory and other property", in the Constitution were used to designate the unappropriated lands and other property which the United States owned, and niit the people who might becomt, residents on tliose lands^ and be organized into political communities itftcr the United States had pai'ted with their title. 188 A POLITY AL TEXT-BOOK FOR I860- It ifl from this :Uuse of the Oonatitution, alone that Congress derives the power to provide for the surveys aad sale of the public lands and all other j roperty be- loiigfing to the United States, not only in the Territorieaf but aiso in the several States' of theUoioa. But for this provision Congress would h&re no power to authorize the sale of the public lands, military sites, old ships, cannon^ muskets, or other property, real or personal, wliich be- long to the United States, arid are no longer needed for any public purpose. It refers exclusively to property in contradistinction to persona and communities. It con- fera the same powdr '^ to make aJL needful rules and regulations" in the States aa in the Territories, and ex- tends wherever there may be any land or otber property belonging to the United States to be regulated or disposed of; but does not authorize Congress to control or inter- fere with the domeatic institutions and internal polity of the people (either in the Statea or the Territories) who may reside upon lands which the United Statea once owned. Such a power, had it been vested in Congress, would annihilate the sovereignty and freedom of the States as well as'the great principle of self-government in the Territories, wherever the United States happen to own a portion of the public lands within their respective limits, aa, at present, in the States of Alabama, Florida, lili.-isUsippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Midhlgan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, California, and Oregon, and in the Territories of Wash- ington, Nebraska, Kanaa8,Utah, and New-Mexico. The idea is repugnant to the spirit and genius of our complex system of Crovernment; because it effriotually blots out the dividing line between Federal and Local authority which forms an essential barrier for the defense of the independence of the States and the liberties of the people against Federal invasion. With one anomalous excep- tion, all the powers conferred on Congreaa are Federal, and not Municipal^ in their character — affecting the general welfare of the whole country without ioterfeiing With the internal polity of the people — and can be carried into effect by laws which apply alike to Statea and Ter- ritories. The exception, being In derogation of one of the fundamental principles of our political system (be- cause it authorizes the Federal Government to control the municipal affairs and internal polity of the people in . certain specified, limited localities), was not left to vague Inference or loose construction, nor expressed in dubious or equivocal language; but is found plainly written In that Section of the Constitution which says : " Congress shall have power to exercise exclusive legisla- tion in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding Ken miles sij[uare) as may, by cession of particular States, ana the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the govern- ment of the United States, and totexercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and otiierneedfulbuUdtnga.'' No such power '*to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever," nor indeed any legislation in any case whatsoever, is conferred on Congress in respect to the municipal affairs and internal polity, either of the States or of the Territories. On thfe contrary, after the Constitution had been finally adopted, with its Federal powers delegated, enumerated, and denned, in order*to guard in all future time against any possible infringement of the reserved rights of the States, or of the people, an amendment was incorporated into the Constitution which marks the dividing line between Federal and Local authority ao directly and indelibly that no lapse of time, no partisan prejudice, no sectional aggrandizement, no frenzied fanaticism can efface it. The amendment is in these words : "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the Stales, are reserved to ihe States respectively, or to the people.*' This view of the subject is confirmed, If Indeed any cor- roborative evidence is required, by reference to the pro- ceedings and debates of the Federal Convexition, as re- ported by Mr. Madison. On the 18th of August, after a series of resolutions had been adopted as the basis of the proposed Constitution and referred to the Comrnlttee of Detail for the purpose of being put in proper form, the re; cord says : " Mr. Madison submitted, In order to be referred to the Com- mittee of Detail, the following powRrs, as proper to be added to those of the general Legislature (Congress) : " To dispose of the unappropriated lands of the United States. " To Institute temporary governments for the new Statea arising therein. " To regulate aflfalrs with the Indians, as well within as without the limits of the United States. *' To exercise exclusively legisladve autliorily at the seat of the General Government, and ovfer a diatrlct around the same not exceeding s'^uare mllcd, the consent of the legisla- ture of,tte Slate or States comprising ihe same being fii'gt ob- tained '- Here we fin4 the origmal and rou^h draft of these leny ra'. powers as they now exist, in then- revised form, in th« Oonatitution. The provision empowering Congress ''t* dispose of the unappropriated lands Cf the United States'* was modified and enlarged, so as to include " other pro perby belon^ng to the United States," and to authofizff Congress to'" make all needful rules and regulations " fox the preservation, management, and sale of the same. The provision empowering Congress '* to institute tem- porary governments for the new States arising in the un- appropriated lands of the United States," taken in con- nection with the one empowering Congress "to exercise exclusively Legislative authoi]ity at the seat of the Gene- r^L Government, and over a district of country around the same," clearly -shows the difference in the extent and na- ture of the powers intended to be conferred in the new States or Territories on the one hand, and in the District of Columbia on the other. In the one case it was pro- posed to authorize Congress " to institute temporary govr emments for the new States," or Territories, as they are now called, just as our Revolutionary fathers recognized the right of the British crown to Institute local govern- ments for the Colonies, by issuing charters under which the people of the Colonies were "entitled (according to the Bill of Rights adopted by the Conl&nentfil Congress) to a free and exclusive power of legislation, in theur several Provincial Legislatures, where their right of representaUou can alone be preserved, in all cases of taxation and inter- nal polity;" while, in the other case, it was proposed to authorize Congress to exercise, exclutiively, legislative authority over the municipal and internal polity of the people residing within the district wliich sliould be ceded for that purpose as the seat of the General Government. Each of these provisions was modified and perfected by the Committee of Detail and Revision, as will appear by comparing them with the corresponding clauses aa finally incorporated into the Constitution. The provision to authorize Congress to iA^titute temporary government* for the new Stages or Territories, and to provide for their admission into the Uhion, appears in the Constitution iu this form : "- New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union." The power to admit " new States^''* and " to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" to that end, may fairly be construed to include the right to institute temporary governments for such new States or Territories, the same aa Great Britain could rightfully institute similar governments for the Colonies : but certainly not to authorw ize Congrees to legislate m respect to then* mumcipa. affairs and internal concerns, without violating that great fundamental principle in defense of which the battles of the Revolution were fought. If judicial authority were deemed necessary to giv& force to principles so eminently just in themselves, and which form the basis of our entire political system, such authority may be foimd in the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Dred Scott case. In that case the Court say : '* This brings us to examina by what provision of the Con- gtitution the present Federal Government, under its delegated and restricted poWers, is authorized lo acquire territory out- side of the original hmits of the United States, and what powera it may exercise therein over the person or properly of a citi- zen of Uie United States, while It remains a territory, and im* til it shall be admitted as one of the States of the Union. " There ia certainly no power given by the Oonstltuiion to the Federal Government to estabUsh or maintain colonies, bordering on the United States or at a distance, to be ruled and governed at its own pleasure; nor to 'enlarge its terri- torial limits In any way except by the admissiou of new States " The power to expand the territory of the United States by the admission of new States Is plainly given ; and in the con- struction of this power by all the departments of the Govern- ment, it has been held to authorize the acquisition of -territory, not fit for admission at the time, but to be admitted aa soon aa its population and situation would "entitle it to admission. It Is acquired to become a State, and not to be held as a colony and governed by Congress with absolute authoriiy ; and aa the propriety of admitting a new State Is comraiiied to the sound discretion of Congress, the power to acquire territory for that purpose, to be held by the United States until it is in a suitable condition to become a State upon an equal footing withiho other Statea, must rest upon the same discretion." Staying determined the question that the power t6 ac- quire territory for the purpose of enlarging our territorial Undfa and increasing the number of States, is included wlthm the powbr to admit new States and conferred by the same clause of the Constitution, the Court proceed to say that " the power to acquire necessarily carries witli it the power to preserve and apply to the purposes for wlUch It was acquired." And again, referring to a former deci- sion of the same court in respect to the power of Congreaa to institute governments fo»- the Territories, the Court say : ' "The Dovver stands fii-miy on the latter aliernaUva put by DOUGLAS Oi^" POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. '13» . the Couff. -thatla, as tie * Inevitable consequence of the riclit to acquire territory.'" The power to acquire territory, as well as the right, in the language of Mr. Madison, " to institute temporary governments for the new States arising therein " (or Terri- toi-ial governmenta, as they are now called), having been traced to that provision of the Constitution which provides for the admission of "new States," the Court proceed to consider the nature and extent Of the power of Congress over the people of the Territories : *' AU we mean to say on this pomt is, that, as there la no ex- Eress regulati6a in the Constitution defining tlie power which i£ General Government may exercise over the person or pro- perty of a ciLizen in a territory thus acquired, the Court must necessarily look to the provisions and principles of the Consti- tuiion, and its distributiou of powers, or the rules and pidnci- ples by wlilch its decision must be governed. '* 'Xakiug this rule to guide us. It may be safely ^asaumed that citizens of the United States, who emigrate to a territory be- longing 1o the people of the United States, cannot be ruled as mere colonists, dependent upon the will of the General Govern- ment, and to be governed bv any laws it may think proper to impose The Terriiory being a part of the United States, the GoTernment and the citizen both enter it under the authority of the Constitution, with their respective rights de- fined and marked out ; and the Federal Government can ex- ercise no power over his person or property beyond what that instnmient confers, nor lawfully deny any right which it has reserved." ' Ilence, inasmuch as the Constitution has conferred on the Federal Government no right to interfere with the pro- perty, domestic relations, police regulations, or internal polity of the people of the Territories, it necessarily fol- lows, under the authority of the Court, that Congress can rightfully exercise no such power over the people of the Territories. For this reason alone, the Supreme Court were authorized and compelled to pi^onounce the eighth section of the Act approved March 6, 1820 (commonly called the Missouri Compromise), inoperative and void — there being no power delegated to Congress in the Consti- tution authorizmg Cofagressto proliibit Slavery in the Ter- ritories. In the course of the discussion of this (Question the Court gave an elaborate exposition of the structure, principles, and powers of the Federal Government; . showing that it possesses no powers except those which are delegated, «iumerated, and defined in the Constitu- tion; and- that all other powers are either proMbiied altogether or axe reserved to the States, or to the people. In order to show that the prohibited, as well as the delegated powers are enumerated and defined in the Constitution, the Court enumerated certain powers which cannot be exercised either by Congress or by the Territorial Legislatures, or by any other authity what- ever, for th^ simple re^on that they are forbidden by the Constitution. Some persons who have not examined critically the opinion of the Court in this respect have been induced to believe that the slavery question was included in this class of prohibited powers, and that the Court had decided in the Dred Scott case that the Territorial Legis- lature could not legislate in ,respect to slave property the same as all other property in the Territories. A few extracts from the opinion of the Court will correct this error, and show clearly the class of powers to which the Co^rt referred, as being forbidden alike to the Federal Government, to the States, and to the Territories. The Court say : " A reference to a fbw of the OTovlalons of the Constitution will illustrate this proposition. For example, no cne, we pre- sume, will contend that Congress can make any law, in a Ter- ritory respecting the establishment. of religion, or the free ex- ercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the the press, or the right of the people of the territory peaceably to assemble, and to petition me Government for the redress of grievances . " Nor can Congress deny to the people the right to keep and bear arras, nor the right to trial by jury, nor compel any one \o be a witness against himself in a criminal proceeding. . . . So too, it will hardly be contended that Congress could by law quarter a soldier in a house in a territory without the consent of the owner in a time of peace; nor In time ef war but in a manner prescribed by law. Nor could they by law forfeit the property of a citizen in a territory who was convicted of trea- Bon for a longer period than the life of the person convicted, cor' take private property for public use without just fcompen- Aation." J "The powers over persons and Property, of which we Bpeak, are not only not granted to Congress, but are hi ex- presTterms denied, and thpy are forbidden to exercise them- And this nrohiWiion Is not confined to the States, but the words are general; and extend to the whole territory oyer wtUch the Constitution gives it nower to le^slate, mcluding those portions of It remaining under Territorial governments, lis well as that covered by Slates. . -- " It is a total absence of power, everywhere within the domhiion of ^he United States, and places ihe citizens of a Territory so fer as these rights are concerned, on the same footing with citizens of the States, and guards them as firmlj and plainly against any inroads which the General Government might attemp t under the plea of implied or Incidental po^rrs. «And if Congress itself cannot do this— if it is beyond the powers conferred on the Federal Government— it will be ad- mitted, we presume, that it could not authorize a Torritorial government to exercise Ihem. It could confer no power ou any local government, established by its authority, lo violate the provisions of the Constitution," Nothing can be more certain than that the Court wei« here speaking only of forbidden powers, which were denied alike to Confess, to the State Legislatures, and to the Territorial Legislatures, and that the prohibition extends "everywhere within the dominion of the United States," applicable equally to States and Territories, as well as to the United States. If this sweeping prohibition— this just but inexorable restriction upon the powers of * Government— Federal, State, and Territorial — shall ever be held to include the Slavery question, thus negativing the right of the people of the States and Territories, aa well as the Federal Government, to control it bylaw (and it will be observed that in the opinion of the Court " the citizens of a Terri* tory, 80 far as these rights are concerned, are on the same footing with the citizens of the States.") then, indeed, will the doctrine become firmly established that the principles of law applicable to Afi-ican Slavery are WTii^z-m tftrougTiout the dominion of ihe United States, and that there "is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, which means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slaveholding nation or entirely a free labor nation." Notwithstanding the disastrous consequences which would inevitably result from the authoritative recogni- tionfand practical operation of such a doctrine, there are those who maintain that the Court referred to and included the Slavery question within that class of forbidden powers which (although the same in the Terri- tories as in the States) could not be exercised by the people of the Territories. If this proposition were true, which fortunately for the peace and welfare of the "whole country it is not, tha\ conclusion would inevitably result, which they logically deduce from tlie premises— tha!t the Constitution by the recognition of 'Slavery establishes it in the Territories beyond the power of the people to control it by law, and guarantees to every citizen the right to go there ,and be protected in the enjoyment of his slave 'property ; and when all other remedies fail for the protection of such rights of property, it becomes the imperative duty of Congress (to the performance of which every member is bound by his conscience and his oath, and from which no consideration of political policy ,or expediency 6an release him) to provide by law such adequate and complete protection na is essential to the enjoyment of an important right secured by the Consti- tution. If the proposition be true, that the Constitution eitablighea Slavery in the Territories beyond the power of the people lejgally to control it, another result no less startling, and ftom which there is no escape, must inevi- tably follow. The Constitution is uniform "everywhere within the dominions of tlie United States" — is the same in Pennsylvania as in Kansas — and if it be true, as stated by the Ftesident in a special m^sage to Congress, " that Slavery exists in Kansas by virtue of the Consti- tution of the United States," and that " Kansas is there- fore at this moment as much a Slave State as Georgia or South Carolina," why does it not exist in Pennsylvania by virtue of the same Constitution ? If it be said that Pennsylvania is a sovereign State, and therefore has a right to regulate the Slavery question within, her own limits to suit herself, it must be borne in mind that the soverei^ty of Pennsylvania, like t^at of every* other State, is limited by the Constitution, which provides that : " This Constitution, and all laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof and all irealies made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laicB of any Staie to the oontrfiry noiwitJuitanding." HencBj the State of Pennsylvania, with her Constitution and laws, and domestic institutions, and internal policy, is subordinate to the Constitution of the United States, in the same manner and to the same extent as the Territory of Kansas. The Kansas-Nebraska Act says that the Ter- ritoi-y of Kansas shall exercise legislative power over " all righ^l subjects of legislation consistent with the Consti- tution," and that the people of said Tenitory shall be left "perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic insti- tutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." The provisions of this, act are be- Uevcd to be in entire harmony with the Constiiuljon, and T^O A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. under them the people of Kansas possess every right, fuivil(!g;e, and iinniunity, in respect tq their internal polity vid 'domestic relations, which the people of Pennsylrania can exercise under their Coi^titation and laws. JBlach fa invested with full, complete, and exclusive powers ih this respect, "subject only to the Constitution of the United States." "^ The question recurs, then, if the Constitution does estab- lish Slavery in Kansas or any other Territory beyond the power of the people to control it by law, how can the con- clusion be resisted that Slavery is established in like man- ner and by the satme authority in all the States of the Union? And if it be the imperative duty of Congress to provide by law for the protection of slave property in the TeiTitories upon the -ground that " Slavery exists in Kan- sas" (and consequehtly in every other Ten-itoiy) "by virtue of the Constitution of the United States," why is it not also the duty of Congress, for the same reason, to pro- vide similar protection to slave property in all the States of the Union, when the le^latures faU to furnish such protection ? » Without confessing or attempting to avoid the inevitable consequences of their own doctrine, its aldvocates endeavor to fortify their position b^ citing the Dred Scott decision to prove that the Constitution recognizes property in" slaves — that there is no legal distinction between this and every other description of property — that slave property and every other kind of property stand on an equal foot- ing — Uiat Congress has no more power over the one than over the other — and, consequently, cannot discriminate between them. Upon this point the Court say : " Now as we have already said in an earlier part of this opinion, upon a different-point, the right ofproj^ertyinaBlare is distinctly and expressly alllrmed la the Constltuuon. . . ' ■And if the Constitutlorf recognizes the right of property of the master in a slave, and makes no distinction between that des- cription of property and other property owned by a citizen, no tribunal acting under the authority of the United States, wjiether it be leglslatire, executlTe or judicial, has a right to draVsuch a distinction, or deny to it the bene0tof the pro- visions and guaranties which have been provided for the pro- tection of private property against the encroachments of the government. And the government In express terms ispledged to protect It in all future time, if the dave escapee Jrom hia owner. This Is done in plain words— too &lam to be understood. And no word can be found I the Constitution which gives Congress a greater power over slave property, or which entitles property of that kind to leaa protection than property of any other description. The"^ only power conferred is the power coupled with the duty of guarding and protecUng the owner in his rights." The rights of the owner, which it is %hMS made the duty of the Federal Government to guard and protect, are those expressly provided for in tbe Constitution, and defined In clear and explicit language by the Court — ^that "the gov- ernment, in express terms, is pledged to protect it (slave property; in all future time, if ^6 elo/oe escapes from Ids own-er," This is the only contingency, according to the plain reading of the Constitution, as authoritatively inter- preted by the St^reme Court, in which the Federal Gov- ernment la axithorized, required, or permitted to interfere with Slavery in the States or Territories ; and in that case only for the purpose " of guarding and protecting the owner in his rights " to reclaim his slave property. In all other respects slaves stand on the same footing with aill other property — "the Constitution makes no distinction between that descfriptlon of property and other property owned by a citizen;" and "no word can be found in the Constitution wMcli gives Congress a greater power over slave property, or which entitles'property of that kind to less protection than property of any other description." This is the basis upon which all rights pertaining to slave property, either in the States or the Territories, stand under the Constitution as expounded by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case. Inasmuch as the Constitution has delegated no power to the Federal Government in respect to any other kind of property belonging to the citizen — neither introducing, establishing, prohibiting, nor excluding it anywhere witMn the dominion of the Uiiited States; but leaves thb owner thereof perfectly fi'ee to remove into any State or Ten-i- tory, and carry his property with him, and hold the. same subject to the local law, and relying upon the lodal author- ities for protection, it follows, according to the decision of the Court, that slave property stands on the same footing, Is entitled, to the same rights and immunities, and, in like manner, is dependent upon the lopal authorities and laws lor protection. The Court refer to that clause of the Constitution wliioh ^OTides for the rendition of fugitive slaves as '^helr authority for saying that "the right of property in slaves is distihctly and expressly affirmed ih the Constitution." By reference to that provision, it will be seen that, while tho word *'• slaves" is not used, still the Constitution not only recognizes the right of property In slaves, as Btato4 by the Court, but explicitly states what class of persona shall be deemed slaves, and under what laws or authority they may be held to servitude, and under what circum- stances fugitive slaves shall be restored to their ownei-s, all in the same section, as follows : " No perBon held to service or labor In one Slate, under ths laws thereo/j escaping Into another, shall, in consequence of any Taw or regulation Iherehi, be discharged Aora such ser- vice or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." Thus it will be seen that a slave, within the meaning of the Constitution, is a " person held to service or labor in oQc State, imder the Iwws thereof'' — ^not under the Con- stitution of the United States, nor by the laws thereof, nor by virtue of any federal authority whatsoever, but under the laws of the particular State' where such service or labor may be due. It was necessary to ^ve this exact definition of Slavery in the Constitution in order to satisfy the people of the Bouth as well as of the North. The slaveholding States would never consent for a moment that their domestic re- lations — and especially then: right of property in their slaves-fBhould be dependent upon Federal authority, or that Congress should have any power over the subject- either to extend, confine, or restraui it, much less to pro- tect or regulate it— leal, under tbe pretense of protection and regulation, the Federal Government, under the infiu? ence of the strong afid increamng anti-slavery sentiment which prevailed at that period, might destroy the institu- tion, and divest those rights of property in slaves which were sacred under the laws and constitutions of their re- spective States so long as the Federal Grovernment had no power to interfere with the subject. In like manner, the nou-slaveholding States, while they were entirely willing to provide for the surrendei* of al) fugitive slaves — as is conclusively shown by the unanimous vote of all the States in tl^e Convention for the provision now under consideration-^and to leave each State perr fectly free to hold slaves under its own laws, and by virtue of its own separate and exclusive au&ority, so long as it pleased, and to abolish it when it chose, were unwilling to become responsible for its existence by incorporating it into the Constitution as a national institution, to be pro- tected and regulated, extended and controlled by Federal authority, regardless of the wishes of the people, and ia defiance of the local laws of the Several States and Terri- tories. For these opposite reasons, the Southern and Northern States united in giving a unanimous vote in the Convention for that pro™ion of the Constitution which recognizes Slavery as a local institution in the several States where it exists, "under the laws thereof," and pro- vides for the surrender of fugitive slaves. It will be observed that the term " State " Is used in this provision, as well as in various other parts of the Con- stitutioft, in the same sense in wMch it was used by Mr, Jeffersonin his plan for establishing governments for the new States in the territory ceded and to be ceded to the United States ; and by Mr. Madison in his propoai^n t4 confer on Congress power " to institute temporary govern- ments for the new States arising in the unappropriated lands of the United States," to designate the political communities. Territories as well as States, within the do- minion of the United States. The word " States " is used in the same sense in the ordinance of the 18th July, 178T, for the government of the Territory northwest of the river Ohio, which was passed by the remnant of the Congress of the Confederation, sitting in New York while its most emi- nent members were at Philadelphia, as delegates to the Federal Convention, aiding in the formation of the Consti- tution of the United States. In this sense the word " States" is used in the clause pro- viding for the rendition of fugitive slaves, applicable to all political communities under the authority of the United States, including the Territories as well as the several States of the Union. Under any other construction, the right of the owner to recover his slave would be restricted to the States of the Union, leaving the Territories "a secure place of refuge" for all fugitives. The same remark is ap- plicable to the clause of the Constitution which provides that " a person charged in any iStats with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from jus^ce, and be found in another State, shall, on the demand of the executive a* thority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime." Unless, the term State, as used in these provisions of the Constitution, shall be construed to Include every distinct political community under the jurisdiction of the United States, and to apply to Territories as well as to the States of the Union, the Territories must become a sanctuar4y for all the fugitives from service and justice, for all the felons and crinunals who shall escape from the several Staiet and seek refiige and immunity in the Territories. DOtGIiAS ON POPULAR SOVEREIiGNTY. 14X If any_«fcher illusti»a1^oii were necessary to show that l»e political cojmouxiitiea which we now call Ten'ltovles- (but which, during ttie whole period of the Confederation and the fonnation of the Constitution, wei-e always re- ferred to as ".States" or " new States"), are recognized as " States" in some of the provisions of the Consti- tution, they may be found in those clauses which de- clare that " no Stata'^ shall enter into any "treaty, alli- ance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque and re- prisal ; com money ; emit bills of credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts : pass any bill of attainder, «b post facto law, or law im- pairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility." It must be borne in mind that i6 each of these cases where the, power is not expressly delegated to Congress the prohibition is not imposed upon the Federal Govern- ment, but upon the States. There was no necessity for any such prohibition upon Congress or the Federal Go- vernment, for the reason that the omission to delegate any Buch powera In the Constitution was of itself a prohibition, and so declared in express terms by the 10th amendment, which declares that "the powers not' delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohiMted by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Hence it would certainly be competent for the States and Territories to exercise these powers but for the pro- hibition contained in those provisions of the Constitution ; aQd inasmuch as the prohibition only extends to the "-States," the people of the " Territories" are still at liberty, to'cxercise them, unless the Territories are iricluded with- in the term Stated, within the meaning of these provisions of the Constitution of the United States. It only remains to be shown that the Compromise Mea- sures of 1850 and the .Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 are in perfect harmony with, and a faithful embodiment df, the principles herein enforced. A brief history of these jnea- sures will disclose the principles upon which they are founded. On the 29th of January, 1850, Mr. Clay introduced into the Senate a series of resolutions upon the Slavery ques- tion, which were intended to form the basis of the subse-' Saent le^lation upon that subject. Pending the discus- on of these resolutions, the chairman of the Committee on Territories prepared and reported to the^ Senate, on the 85th of March, two bills — one for the admfasion of Califor- nia into the Union of States, and the other for the organi- zation of tiie Territories of Utah an^ New Mexico, and for the adjustment of the disputed boundaty with t^'e State of Texas,, which. were read twice and printed for the use of the Senate. On the 19th of April a select committee of thirteen was appointed, on motion of Mr. Foote, of Miss- issippi, of which Mr. Clay was made chairman, and to' which were referred all pending propositions relating to the slavery question. On the 8th of May, Mr. Clay, from the select committee of thirteen, submitted to the Senate an elaborate report covering all the points in controversy, accompanied by a bill which is usually kngwn as the " Omnibus Bill." By refereiJbe to the provisions of this bill, as it appears on the files of the Senate, it will be Been that it is composed of the two printed bills, which had been reported by the Committee on Territories on the Qoth of March previous ; and that the only material change in its provisions, Involving an important and es- sential principle, is to be foUnd in the tenth section, which prescribes and defines the powers of the Territorial Legis- lature. In the bill, as reported by the Committee on Ter- ritories, the legislative power of the Territories extended to " all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the Constitution of the United States," 'wi^ou^ eoiceptW'ff JJHoan Slavery ; while the bill, as repotted by .^he com- inifttee of thirteen, conferred the same power on the. Terri- torial Legislature, tiMh the exc^Uon of AfHctm SlOr eery. This portion of the section mits original form Vead tlius : ^ ' ' ' " And he it ^rfher enacted tkat the Legislative power of the Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects. of legislaUon consistent wlih the ConstltutlDU of the United States and the proW&lons of this act ; but no law shall be^passed interfering With the primary disposition of the soil." To which the committee of thirteen added these words : '^Ifor in respect to Africa/n Slavery." When the bill eame up for action on the 15th of May, Mr. Davis, of Mis- sissippi, said: "I offer the following amendment. To strike out, in the ■Uth line of the tenth section, the words ' in reypef^ to African S^averj/,' and Insert the word^, ' with those fights of promrly groicing out of tlie insiitiaion of Afr^Mti Slavery tut U exiBta in any of the States of {he Union.' The object of the amendment In to prevent the TerritorlaJ Legislature f^om legiBlaUng aeainst iho rights of property growing out of the Institution of Slavery It will leave to the Territorial Legisla- tures IhoAe rights and powers which are essenUaliy necessary, not only to the preservation of property, but to the peace of . the Territory. It will leave the right to make eudi pohco regulations as are necessary to prevent disorder, aud which V^ilLbe absolutely necessary with such property as that tc aectire its beneHcial use to Its owner. With tbia brief ex- planation I submit the amendment." Mr. Clay, in reply to Mr. Davis, said ; " I am not perfectly sure that I comprehend he full roeffln- hig of the amendment offei>ed by the Senator from MiaslBslppl. If I do, I think he accomplishes nothing by sirlking out the clause now in the bill and iuscrtiug that which he proposes lo insert. The clause now in the bill is, that the Terriioria] legislation shall not extend to anything respecting AA-lcan Slavery withiu the Territory. The ett'ect of retaining the clause as reported by the Committee will be this : Tliat if In any of the lerrltorles Slavery now exisis, ii shall not be abol- ished by the Territorial Legislature ; and if in any of the Ter- ritories Slavery does not now exist, it cannot be Inlroduced by ' the Territorial Legislature. The cUuse itself wasintrodaced into the bill by the Committee Ibr the purtiose of lying up the hands of the Territorial Legislature in respect to legislalthg at all, one way or the other, Upon the subject of African Sla- very. It w^as ^tended to leave the legislation and' the law (tf the respective Territories in the condition in which the Act will find them. I slated on a former occasion that I did not. In Gommlitee, vote for the amendment to insert the clause, though it was proposed to be introduced by a majority of the Committee. I attached very Mttle consequence lo it at the time, and I attach very little to it at present. It is perhaps of no particular importance whatever. Now, sir, if I under- stand the measure proposed by the Senator from Mississippi, it alms at the same thing. I do not understand him as propos- ing that if any one shall carry slaves into the Territory— . although by the laws of the Territoryyhe cannot take them there— the Legislative hands bf the Territorial government should be eo lied as to prejvenl it saying he shall nqt enjoy the fruits of their labor. 1£ the Senator fi-om Mississippi means to say that—" Mr. Davis: " I do mean to s^yit" Mr. Clay : "If tlie object of the Senator Is to provide that slaves may be Introduced into the Territory contrary to the lex lod, and, being introduced, nothing 'shall be done by the Leglshiture to in\pair the rights of owners to hold the slaves thus brought contrary to the local laws, T certainly cannot vote for it In doing so I shall repeat again the expression of opinion which I announced ai an early period of the session." , Here we find the line distinctly drawn between those who contended for the right to carry slaves into the Territories and Jiold- them in defiance of the local law, and those who contended that such right was subject to the local law of the TeiTitory. During the progress of the discussion on the same day, Mr. Davis, of Mi^issippl, said : ' " We are giving, or proposing to give, a government to a Territory, which act rests upon the-basis of our right to make sueh provision. We suppose we have a right to confer pbwer. If so, we may mark out the limit to which they may legislate, an^-are bound not tn confer power beyond that which exists In Congress. If we give them power to legislate beyond that, we commit a fraud or usurpation, as it may ba ^done openly, covertly, or indirectly." To which Mr. Clay replied : Now, sir, I only repeat what I have had occasion to say bo- fore, ,that while I am willing to stand aside and make no legis- lative enactment one way or the other — lo lay ofi" the Territo- ries without the Wllmot Proviso,- on (he one band, with Which I understand we ar^ threatened, or without an attempt to introduce a clause for the introduction of Slavery into tho Territories — while I am for r^eciing both (he one and the other, I am content that the law as it exists shall prevail : and If there be any diversity of opinion as to what it means, I an willing that it shall be settled by the highest judicial authority of the country. While I am content thus to abide the result, 1 must say that I cannot vote for any express provision recogniz- ing the right to carry slaves there." / To which Mr. Bavia rejoined, that — " It is said our Revolution grew out of a preamble ; and 1 hope we have something of the ^ame character of the hardy men of the Eevoluiion who first commenced the war with the mother country— something of the spirit of that bold Yankee who said he had a right to go to Concord, and that go he would : and who, in the maintenance of that right, met his death at the hands of a British senliijel. Now, sir, if our right to carry slaves into these Territories be a constitutloual right, it Is our drat duty to maintain it." Fending the discussion which ensued, Mr. Davis, at the suggestion of friends, modified his amendment from time to time, until It assumed the following shape : ' '* Nor to Introduce or exclude AiVican Slavery. Pro- vided that nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to prevent said Territorial liOgisiature from passing such laws ,as may be necessary for the protection of the rights of property of every ktbd which may have been, ;r may be hereafter, conformably to the Oonstilution of the Uidted States, held in or Introduced Into said Terri- tory." To which, on the same day, Mr. Chase, of Ohio, offered the following amendment ; " Provided further^ That nothing herein contained shall bo construed as authorizing or permitting the introduction of '42 A POLITICAIi TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. lareryor the holding of persons as property within said Ter- Itory." ' Upon these amendments— the one affirming' the Pro- Slavery, and the other the ^nti-Slavery position^ in oppo- .ition to the right of the people of the Territones to de- cide the Slavery question for themaelvea— Mr. Douglas said: " The positioQ that 1 have ever taken has been, that this, and all oiher question^ relating to the domestic atfaii^ aud domestic policy of the Territories, ought to be Ifeft lo tile deci- sion of the people QbtemsGlv^s ; and that we ought to be coh- tent with whatever way they may decide Ihe question, bftcaase they have ^ m!uch deeper interest l^ these matters than we have, aud know much better what institutions suit them than we, who have never been there, can decide for them. I would therefore have much preferred that that portion of lhe bill should have remaiaed as it was reported from the Committee on Territories, withwo provision on the subject of Slavery, the one way or the othet. And I do hope yet that that clause wlllbeslrickehout. I am satisfied, sir, that it gives no strength to ihe bill. I am satisfied, even if it did give aft-engih to It, that'it ought-not to be there, because it ia a violation 'lts determined conservatism of the Union — non- interference by Congress with Slavery m State and Territory, or in the District of Columbia ; " That this was the basis of the Compromises of 1850, con- flt>med by both the Democratic and Whig parties in National Conventions— ratified by the people in the election of lS5i— and rightly applied to the organization of the Territories In 1864 ; That by tbe uniform application of this Democratic principle to th6 organizfftion of aVritories apd to the admis- sion of new States, with or without domestic Sl&very as ihey may elect, the equal rights of all will be preserved intact— the original compacts of the Constitution maintained inviolate— — andthe^erpe'iivlty and expansion of this Union Insured to its utmost capacity of embracing in peace and harmony any future American State that may be constituted or annexed, with a Republican form of government." In accepting the nomination of this Convention, Mk- Buchanan, in a letter dated June 16, 1 856, said : " The agitation on the ouestlen of domestic Slavery has loo* long distracted and divided the people of this Union, and. alienated their affecUons fk-om each other. This agilauon hns< assumed many forms since its commeqicment, but ^it noW'' seems to be directed chiefly to the TerrUoriefi ; and judging' from its present cjharactfer, I think we may safely antltipate that it is rapidly approaching, a 'finality,' The recent legis- lation of Congress respecting domestic Slavery, derived, as> it has been, ftom the original and pure fountam of^ legitimate political power, the wiU of the majorily, promises, ere long, to allay the dangerous excitement. This legislation is founded upon principles as ancient as tvee government Itself, and In accordance with Ihem^has simply declared that the people of a Territory, like those of a State, ehail decide for themneh^ whether Slavery aJtall or altaU not exist vrithin their limits." This exposition of the history of these measures shows' conclusively that the authors of the Compromise Measures' of IKSO, and of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1 854, as well as tbe members of the Continental Congress of 1774, and' the^ouriders of our system of government subsequent to the Revolution, regarded the people of the Territories and' Colonies as political communities Vhieh were entitled to a- ft-ee and exclusive power of legislation in their Provincial Lepslatures, where thmr representation could alone be preserved, in all cases of taxation and internal polity. This right pertains to the people collectively as a law- abiding and peaceful community, and not to the isolated' Indi'riduals who may wander upon the public domain in violation of law. It can only be exercised where there are inhabitants suflBcient to constitute a government, and ca- pable of performing its various functions and duties — a: fact to be asceriained a,nd determined by Congress.. Whether the number shaU be fixed at ten, fifteen or- twenty thousand inhabitants does not affect tbe principle. The principle, under ourpolitical system, is that every distinct poHUcal Comrmmdify, loyal to the ConaUiution- and the V^on, is entitled to all the rights^ prvoilegea, and fmrmmiUeB of eelf-ffovemment in reject to their' local ooneema and vntemal polity^ subject only to &t6'- OonaiUution of the Oniied States, 144 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1S60. NATIONAL POLITICS SPEECH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OF H^LINOIS. Delivered at the Cooper InsHtttte, Monday, Feb. 27, 1860. Mh. President and Fellott-CItizens of New- York; The facts with wMch I shall deal this evening are mainly old and famiUar ; nor is there anything new in the gene- ral use I shall make of them. If there shall be any n6velty, it will be in the mode of presenting the facts, and the inferences and observations following that presentation. ■ * In his speech, last autumn, at Columbus, Ohio, as reported in "The New York Times," Senator Douglas said: ^ ' , " Our fathers, when they framed the Government un- der which we live, understood this question just as well, and even better than we do now." I fully indorse this, and I adopt it as a text for this discourse. I 90 adopt it because it furnishes -a precise and an agreed starting point for a discussion between Republioans and that wing of Democracy headed by Senator Douglas. Jit simply leav* the inquiry : "Wha* was the understanding those fathers had of the question mentioned?" What is the frame of Government under which we live? The answer must be : " The Constltubion of the United Spates," That Constitution consists of the original, trasssd in 17S7 (and under which the present Govern" menj ^t went into operation), and twelve subsequently framed amendments, the first tea of which were framed in, 1789. Who were our fathera that framed the Gonsiltutlonf I suppose the "thirty-nine" who signed the orighaftl instrument may be fairly called our fathers wtio framed that part of the present Government. It is almost exactly true to say they framed it, and it is altogether true to say they fairly represented the opinion and sen- timent of the whole nation at that time. Their names, being familiar to nearly all, aad acoessible to quite all, need not now be repeated^ t take these " thirty-nine," for the present, as being " aur fathers who framed the Goverament under which we live." What Is the question which, Accdrdtog. to the text, those fathers understood just as well, and even better than we do now? It is this: Does the proper division of local from federal authority, or anything in the Constitution, forbid oiir Federal Government to control as to Slavery in our Federal Territories ? Upon this, Douglas holds the affirmative, and Republi- cans the negative. This affirmative and denial folm an issue ; and this issue— this questlon~iB precisely what the text declares our fathers understood better than we, Let us now inquire whether the V thirty-nine," or any of them, ever acted upon this question ; and if they did, how they acted upon it— how they expressed that bet- ter understanding. In 1T84 — three yqars before the Constitution— the United States then owning the Northwestern Territory, and no other— the Congress of tlie Confederation had before them the question of prohibiting Slavery in that Territory ; ' and four of *the " thirty-nine," who afterward framed the Constitution were in that Congress, and voted on that question. Of these, Roger Sherman, Thomas Mifflin, and Hugh Williamson voted for the prohibition— thus showing that, in their understanding, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor anything else, properly forbade the Fedei-al Government to con- trol as to Slavery in Federal Territory. The other of the four— James McHenry — voted against the prohibition, showing that, for some cause, he thought it improper to vote for It. In 1787, still before the Constitution, but while t^ Convention was in. session fra^ming it, and while the Northwestern %etrMovy still iwas the only Territory ■ owned ' by the United States— the same queatipn of pro- > hibiting Slavery In the Terjatory again CM.me before the Congress of the Confederation ; and three more of the " thirty-nine" who afterward signed the C(Histitution, were in th^t Congress, and voted on the question. They were Wlliiani Blount, William ^&^ and graham Bald- win; and they all voted fpr the prohibition— lihus show tng that, in their underatanding, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor anything else, propedy forbids the Federal Government to control as to Slavery in federal territory. This time the prohibitionrbecaiiiQ a law, being part of what is now well known a& the Qrdinance of *87. The queatton of federal control of Slavery in the Ter- - ritories, seems not to have been directly before ^e . Convention which framed the original Constitution ; and.; hence it is not recorded, that the " thirty-nipe,^* or any of them, while engaged on that instrument,, expressed any opinion on that precise question. In itSd; by the flj.'st Congress which sat under the Constitution, an act was passed to enforce the Ordinance of '87, including the prohibition of Slavery in the North- western Territory. The bill for this act was reported by one of the " thirty-nine," Thomas Fitzsimmons, tjieu a. meiiriser of the House of Representatives irom. Pennsyl- vania. It went tlirough all its stages wi;.hout a word of opposition, and finally passed both branches without yeas and naye^ wJbidi Is equivalent to a unanimous passage. ' In this Congress there were sixteen of' the " thU'ty-nine'* fathers who framed the original jCoostHu- tldn. Ihey were John Langdon, Nicholas Gilraan^ Wm. S. Johnson, Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Thomas VitBshnnions, William Few, Abi-atiani Baldwin, Uufus King, WlUiam Patterson, George Clymer, Richard Bas- sett, George Read, Herce Butler, Daniel Oarrollf James Madison. « This shows that, lit their understanding,, no line dividing 4«6(A^it( '"federal authority, nor anythibgin the Constitution, properly forbade Congress to prohibit Slavery in the federal tei-ritory ; else both their fidelity to correct principle, and their oath to support the Con- stltutlon^ would have constrained them to oppose the prohibition. Again, George Washington, another of the "thirty- nine," was then President of the United States, and, as such, approved and signed the bill, thus completing its validity as a law, and thus showing that, in his under- standing, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor anything in the Constitution, forbade the Federal Government, to control as to Slavery in federal terri- tory. No great while after the adoption of the original Constitution, North Carolina ceded to the Federal Government the country now constituting the State of Tenn«ss.ee ; and a few years later Georgia ceded that which now constitutes the States of Mississippi and Ala- bama. In both deeds of cession it was made a condition by the ceding States that the Federal Goverament should not prohibit Slavery in the ceded country. Besides this. Slavery wm then actually in the ceded country. Under these circumstances, Oongi-ess, on taking charge of these countries, did not absolutely prohibit Slavery within them. But they did interfere with it— take control of It — even there, to a certain extent. In 179S, Congress organized the Territory of Mississippi. In the act of organization they prohibited the bringing of Slaves into the Territory, from any place I VIEWS OF "THE fATHERS" OS SLAVERY PfiOHIBITION. US SaUvL i*K«°"l^ ^'»*°'> '■y fi''^' ^"a Blvtag freedom ConSSt S.i^K""!'"- *'"'*'=' »*'=«* ""^h branches of Comtituti^n ^t "«"'-f,y-Mne" who framed the ori|lnal and AbrX™ ^7, '^"" ''"'° tangdon, eeorge Bead ft rt«,1i?r.J*'''''™;. ^""'y all, probably, T%ted for to it Innn/r^'^"^?"^ ""^^ P"""^* their Opposition d^.irii^f? ?r'''''5 '" *''«''" understanding, any line eons Sltlan*'^*'''"" "^flJ^' "■"'"ority, or anything in the to coS a,' ?„ «?*'''^ '"■'^^^^ ""« Tedei-areovemment JO control as to Slaverv in ff^rierai t»..i4»..» T„ isns ?h ?.'' *''TX '° '«<'*'*1 territory, ana counuv of."'?' »°'«™"«"' purchased the LouSsi- from cer,.?^"„ 2^" '""^"^ '"■'"'"■ial acquisitions came from certain of our own States : but this Louisiana JCS,""' »nS"-^* f™a fore'igu naUon. In 1804* S »E ^'•" " ■f«""<'Wa' organizaTlon to that part of rt which now constlmtes the State of Louisiana. New in^ V« F" °"^- ^*'=''^ **™ """^"^ considerable towns S?„1.n„i,rT^',^",*. ^"'^'■y '"'= eKtenslvely and not, in the Territorial Act, prohibit Slavery; but they did raterfero with it- take Cffntrol of it— in a snore marked and extensiTe way than they did in the case of Mississippi. Ihe substance of the ptoYislou therein made, in relation to slaves, was : ■ Mrai. That no slave should be imported into the Ter- ritory from foreign parts, Sedond. That no slave should be carried into it who had been imported into the United States sinob tke first day of May, 1198. Third. That no slave shall be carried into iteroepl by the owner, and for his own use as a settler: the penalty In all the cases being a fine upon the violator of tlie law, and freedom to the slave. This act also was passed without yeas and nays. In the Congress which passed it, there were' two of the thirty-nine." They were Abraham Baldwin and Jona- than Dayton. As stated in tne case of Mississippi, itls probable they both voted for it. They would not have allowed it to pass without recording their dpposition to it, if, in their understanding, it violated either the line propet dividing local from ^^^del•al authority oranypro- Tiaion oftheComstitntion. In 1819-20, came and passed the Missouri question. Many votes were taken, by yeas and nays, in both branches of Congress, upon the various phases of the general question. Two of the " thirty-nine"— Rufus King and Charles Pinckney— were raembersof that Congress. Mr. King steadily voted for Slavery prohibition aTid against all oompromisea, while Mr. Pinckney as steadily voted against Slavery prohibition and against all compro- taises. By this Mr. King showed that, in his understand- ing, no line dividing local from federal authority, nor anythihg in the Constitution, was violated by Congress prohibiting Slavery in federal territory ; while Mr. Pinck- ney, by his voles, showed that in his understanding there was sufficient reason for opposing such prohibition in that case. The cases I have mentioned are the only acts of the " thirty-nine," or of any of them, upon the direct issue, which 1 have been able to discover. To enumerate the persons who thus acted, as beingfonr in 1T84, three in 17S7, seventeen in 1T89, three ttilTgS, two in 1804, and two in 1819-29— there would be thirty- one of them. But this-would be counting John Langdon, Roger Sherman, William Few, Rufus King, and George Read, each ^wiee, and Abraham Baldwin four timeff; The true number of those of the •' thirty-nine" whom ' 1 'have shown to have acted upon the question, which, by the text they understbod better than we, is twenty-three, leaving sixteen not shown to have acted upon it in any way. Here, then, we have tweniiy-three out of 'olir " thit-ty- nine" fathers who framed the Government under which we live, who have, upon their official ^responsibility an^ their corporal oaths, acted upon the very question which the text affirms they " understood just as well, and even better than we do now;" and 'twenty-one of them — a clear majority of the whole **^tMi*ijy-nine" — so acting up- on it as to make them guilty of g'^tt^s political impropriety, and willful perjury, if, in their understanding, any proper division between local and federal authority, or anything in the Constitution they had made themselves, and sworh (o support, forbade the Federal Government to control as to Slavery in the federal territories. Thus the twenty- one acted ; and, as actions speak louder than words, so actions under such responslfoillcy speak still louder. Two of the twenty-three voted against Congressional prohibition of Slavery in the federal Territories in the in- ■taucea in which they acted upon the question. But fdr what reason they so voted is not known. They m^y'haVe ' done so because they-thougfat a proper division of local 10 ftom federal authority, or some provision or principle of the Constibution, stood la tJhe way; or tiiey may, without anrauch question, have voted against the prohibition, oa what appeaiJed to them to be sufficient grounds of expe^ dlencyt No one who has sworn to support the Constitu-. tion, eaB conscientiously vote for what he understands to be an unconstitutional measure, however expedient he may think it ; but one may and ought to vote against a measure which he deema constitutional, if, at the saLiO time, he deems it inexpedient. It, therefore, would be unsftf^ to set-down even the two who voted against the l>rohlbition, as having done so bectiuse, in their under- standing, any proper division of local from federal au- thority, or anything in the Constitution forbade the Pedferal Government to control as to Slavery in federal territory. The remaining sixteen of the " thirty-nine," so far as I have discovered, have left no record of their understand- ing upon- the direct question of the control of Slavery in the federal territories. But there is much reason to be- lieve that their understanding -upon that question would , not have appeared diJItefent frtJm that of their twenty- three compeers, had tt been manifested at all. For the purpose of adhering rigidly to the text, I have purposely omitted whatevev understanding may have Taeeii' manifested, by any person, howeveii' distinguished, ofeh«rthan the thirty-nine fathers who framed the original Constitution; dnd,forthe same reason, I hav^e also omit- ted whatever understanding may have been manifested by any of the '* thirty -nine" even, oA any other phase of the general question of Slavery. If we should look into their acts-and declarations on those other phases, as the foreign slave-trade, and the morality and policy of Slavery getigraily, it would appeal' to us that on- the di- rect question of federal control of Slavery in federal territories, 'the sixteen, if they had acted at all, would probably have at^ed just as the twenty-three did. Amongthat sixteen were several of the most noted anti- slavery men of lihose times— aa Dr. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Q-Ouverneur Morris — while there was not one now known to have been otherwise, unless it may be John Rutlfcdge, of South Carolina. The sum of the whole is, that of our " th'rty-nine" fathers whoi framed the original Constitution, twenty- one— a clear majority of the whole— certainly understood that no proper division of local from ffederal authority nor any part of the Constitution, forbade the Federal Government to control Slavery in the ffederal territories, while all thfe rest probably had the same uoderslip.nding. Such, unquestionably, was the understanding of our father^ who framed the original Constitution ; and the text affirms' that they understood the qxiestion better than we. But, 80 forj I have been considering the understanding of the question manifested by thefraftiers of the original Constitution. In and by the original instrument, a mode was provided for amending it ■ and, as 1 have already stated, the present frame of (*overnment under which we live consists of that original, and twelve amendatory articles friamed and adopted since. Those who now insist that fed'^ral'coatrol of Slav'efy in federal temtories vio- lates the Constitution, point us to the proyisions Vhich they suppose it thus violates ; and, as I understand, they all fix upon pi'bvi^iods in these amendatory articles, and not In the <*riginal instrument. The Supreme Court, in the Bred S6otfc case, plant themselves upon the fifth amendrfient •'which provides that " no person shall be de prived of prbperty without due process of law;" while Senator Bougtas and his iJecifliat adherents plant them- selves upon the tenth adiendmelit, providing that '' the powers not granted by the Constitutloh, are reserved to the States respectively, and to the people." ' Now, it so happens that these amendments were framed bj the first Oohgress which sat under th^ Constitution— the identical Congre^ whiot passed the act already men- tioned, enfdrcing the prohibition of Slavery in the no.th- western Teilltffry, Not only was It the same Congress, but they were the identical- saine individual men, who, at the Bam6 ^^si^idn^'atid at the'same time within 5he ses- sion, had under 'Cohsideratibn, and in progress toward maturiby, the^'Constituticmal amendnients, and this act prbhibifiingf Sla^ety in airthe Territory the nation then owned.. Tib« Constitutional amehdoients wereinti'oduced beforei'arfdpftssed' after the act enforcing the Ordmaiice, of »8T;'so tKat duling the whole- pendency of tlieacttfo enforce the ordinance^ the Copstitutional amendments were also pe'H'ding'. ' ... * . : ,l -v That Congress, cotisistln^ in all of seventy-six toeift- bers, includlhg Sixt^eri; of the framers of the original Coil- stitution, as befot-e stated.'Were preeminently our fathefs Wh6 framied tliat part of*th6' Government under which wa five, which, is now Claimed as forbidding the Federal Goverdmtent t ington gave that warning be had, as President of the United States, approved and ngned an act of Coijgress en- forcmg the prohibition of Slavery in the northwestern Terri:- tory, which act embodied the policy of the Govei-nment upon that subject, up- to and at the very moment he penned that warning ; and about one year after he ot^^'^f^ it he wrote Lafayette, that he considered that j.ts.niDition a wise measure, expressing in the aame connection hS hope tha.t we should sometime have a confederacy of free States. Bearing this in mind, and seeing that sectionalism has since arisen upon this same subject, is that warning a weapon in your hands against us, or, in our hands, against you ? Could Washington himself speak, would he cast the blame of that sectional^m upon us, who sustun his policy, or upon you, who repudiate it? We respect that warning of Washington^ and we commend it to you, together wiu his example pomting to the right ^plication of it. But you say you are conservative — eminently conserva- tive — while we are revolutionary, destructive, or some- thing of the sort. What la conservatism ? Is it not ad- herence to the old and tried, ^gainst the new and untried; We stick to, contend for, the identical old poUcy on^the point in controversy which was adopted by our fathers who framed the Government under which we Uve ; while you, with one accord, reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substiti^ting somethmg new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that sub- stitute ahall be. You have considerable variety of new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in r^ecbiAg and denouncing the old policy of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave-trade ; some for a con- gressional slave-code for the Territories j some for Con- gress forbidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery within their limits ; some for malntaiiung Slavery In the Territo- ries through the judiciary ; some for the " gur-reat pur-iin- ciple" that " if one man would enslave another, no third person should object," fantastically called '^ Popular So- vereignty ;" but never a man among you in favor of fede ral prohibltioia of Slavery in Federal Territories, accordiog to the practice of our fathers who framed the Government under which we live. Not ,oue of all your various plam can show, a preoedent or an advocate in the ceutm-y with in which our Government originated. Consider, theii whether your claim of conservatism for yourselves, aai SfiAYli'lNSTiRRECTIONS— DRED SCdTT. 147 tour charge o? destructiveness against us, are based on 6ue most ciear and stable foundations. Again^ you say we have made the Slavery question more proadneat than it formerly was. We deny it. We adnut that it is more prominent, but we deny tliat we made it so. It was not we, but you, who discarded the old policy of the fathers. \ye resisted, and still resist, your innovation ; and thence comes the greater promi- nence of the question. Would youiave that question re- duced to its former proportions? Go bact to that old pohcy. What has be6n will be again, under ,th^ same conditions. It you, would have the peace of the , old Uraes, re-adopt the precepts and policy of the oldtimes. YGU.^harge that we stir up insurrections among your slavesv We deny it ; and what is your proof ? Harper's Ferry I John Brown 1 John Brown was no Republican; and you havefailed to implicate a single Republican in his Harper's Perry enterprise. If any member of our party is guilty in that nvatter, you know it, or you do not know it. If you do know it, you are inexcusable to nqt designate the man,'and prove the fact. If you do not know it, youi are iaexcusable to assert it, and especially to persist in the assertion after you have tried and failed to make the proof. You need pot.be told that persisting- in a charge which one does not know to be true, is sun- ply II malicious slander. , Some of you admit that no Republican -designedly aided or encouraged the Hai-per*8 Ferry affair ; but still insist that our doctrines and declarations necei^aroly lead to such results. We do not believe it. We l?now we hold to no doctrine,,and make no declarations, which were not held to and made by our fathers who framed the Government under which we live. You never dealt fairly by us in relation to this affair. When it occurred, some Important State elections were near at hand, and you were in evident glee with the belief that, by charg- ing the blame upon us, you could get an advantage of us in those elections. The elections came, and your ex- pectations were not quite fulfilled. Every Republican man knew that, as to himself at lea^t, your charge was a slanderi and he was not much iacHned by it to cast his vote in y^ir favor. Republican doctrines and declara- tions are accompanied with a continual prot^t against any intei'fereuce wBatever with your slaves, or with you about your slav-es. Surely, this does not encourage them to revolt. True, we do, in common with our fathers, who framed the Go.vernment under which we live, declare our belief that Slavery is wrong,;; but the slaves do not hear us declare even this. For anything we say or do, the slaves would scarcely know there is a Republican party, I believe they would not, in fact, generally know it but for your misrepresentations of us, in their bearing. In your political contests among yourselves, each fac- tion charges tiie other with sympathy with Black Re- publicanism; and then, to give point to the charge, defines Black Republicanism, to simply be insurrection, blood and thunder among the slav.ea. Slave insurrections are no more common now than they were before the Republican party was organized. What induced the Southampton insurrection, twenty- eight years ago, in which, at least, three times as many lives were lost as at Harper's Ferry ? You can scarcely stretch your very elastic , fancy to the conclusion that Southampton was got up hy Black Republicanism., In the present state of things in the United States, I do not think a general, or even a very extensive slave insurrec- tion, is, posaibie. The indispensable -concert of action cannot be attained. The slaves have no means of rapid communication; nor can incendiary free men, black or white, supply it. The explosive, materials. -are every- where in parcels ; but there neither are, nor can be sup- plied, the indispensable connecting trains. Much is said by Southern people about the affection of slaves for their mastws and mistresses ; and a part of it, at least, is'-true. A plot for an uprising could scarcely be devised and. communicated, to twenty individuals before some one of theiU, tS save the life of a favorite master or mistress, would ^vulge it. This is the rule ; and the slave-revolution in Haytl was not an exception to it, but a case occurring under peculiar circumstances. The gun- , powder plot of British history, though not connected with slaves, was more in point. In that case, only abouttwenty were admitted to the secret; and yet ohe of them, in his anxiety to save a Mend, betrayed the plot to that friend, and by consequence, averted the calamity. Occasional poisonings from the kitchen, and open or stealthy assassi- nations in the field, and local -revolts extenduag to a score or so will continue to occur as the natural results of Sla- Veiy- but no general insurrection of slaves, as I think, can happen in this country for a long time. Whoever much feara, or much hopes, for such an event, will be alike dis- ^^tc t^- iansruaffe of Mr. Jefferson, uttered many years ago, " it la still In out "power to direct the process of eman- cipation, and deport^tioh, peaceabliTi and in such slow degrees, as that the eyil will wear off insensibly ; and their pHces be, pari paasu^ filled up by free white laborers. Ifj/on the contrary, itis l^tt-to force itself on, human na^ ture must shudder at the prospect held up." , , Mr. Jelferaon did not. mean to say, nor do I, that the power of emancipation is in the Federal Government. He spoke of Y&rgliiia; and, as to the power of emancipation, I speak of the slayeholding States only. The Federal Government, however, as we insist, has the power of restraining the extension of the institution — the power to insure that a slave insurrection shall never occur on any American soil which is now free from Slavery. John Brown's effort was jieculiar. It was not a slave In- sm-recUon., . It was an attempt by white men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which the slaves refused to pai'tici- pate. In fact, it was so absurd' that the slaves, with all theh- i^orance, saw plainly enough It could not succeed. That afl^ir, in, ijs pMosophy, corresponds with many at- tempts, related in Imtbry, at the assassination of Kmgs and Emperors. Ah enthi;^iaBt broods over the oppression of si, people till he fancies himself cominissioned by Heaven to liberate them. He ventures the attempt, which ends in littl^ else than in his own execution. ' Orsini's attempt on Louis Napoleon, and John Brown's attempt at Harper's FeiTy, were, in their philosophy, precisely the same. Th6 eagerness to cast blame on old England in the one case, and on New England in the other, does not disprove the sameness, pf the two thin^. And how much would it avail you, if you could, by the use of John Brown, Helper's book, and the like,' break up the RepublicsA organization ? Human action can be mod- ified to, some extent, buthuhian nature cannot he changed. There, is a judgment and a feeling against Slavery in this nation, which cast £it least a million and a half of votes. You cannot destroy that judgment and feelmg— that sen- timent—by breaking up the political organization which rallies around it. You can scarcely scatter and dispersa auarmy which has been formed into order in the face of your heaviest fire, but if you could, how much would you gain by forcing the sentiment which created it out of the peaceful channel of the ballot box, into some other chan- nel ? ^hat would that other channel probably be ? Would the number of John Browns be lessened or enlarged by the operation ? But you will break up the Union rather than submit to a denial of your constitutional rights. That has a somewhat reckless sound ; but it would be palliated, if not fully justified, were we proposing, by the mere force of numbers, to deprive you of some right, plainly written down in the Constitution. But we are pro- posing no such thing. When you make these declarations, you have a specific and well-understood allusion to an assumed constitutional right of yours, to take slaves into the federal territoriea, and to hold them there-tis property. But no such right is specifically written in the Constitution. That instrument is litei'ally silent about any such right. We, on the con- trary, deny that such a right has any existence in the Con- stitution, even by implication. Your purpose, then, plainly stajjed, is, that you will destroy tfee Government, unless you be allowed to con- strue and enforce- the'Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events. This, plamly stated, is your -language to us. Perhaps you will say the Supreme Court has decided the disputed Constitutional question in your favor. Not quite so, But waiving the lawyer's distinction between dioium and decision, the Courts have decided the question for you in a sort of way. The Courts have substantially said, it is your Constitutional righfr to take slaves into the federal territories, and to hold them there as property. When I say the decfeion was made in a sort of way, T mean it was, made in a divided Court by a bare majority of the Judges, and they not quite agreeing with one another in the reasons for making it ; that it is so niado as that its avowed supportei^ disagree with one another about its meaning, and that it was mainly based upon a mistaken statement of fact— the statement in the opinion that "the right of property in a slave is digtmctly and expressly affirmedin the Constitution." An inspection of the Constitution will show that the right of property in a slave is not distinctly and expressly affiritoed in it. Bear in mind the Judges do not pledge their judicial opinion that such is right is impliedlj af- firmed in the Constitution ; but they pledge their veracity that it is distinctly and expressly affirmed there-^" dis- tinctly," that is, not mingled with anything else—-*' ex- pressly," that is, in words meaning just that, without the aid of any Inference, and susceptible of no other meaning. If they had only pledged their judicial opinion that 148 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK POR 1860. Biich right is a^rmed in the instr^meat by Implication, It would be open to others to show that neither the word " slave" rior " Slavery" ia to be found in the Con'jtitu- tion, nor the word ** property" bven, in ally connectidn with the language alluding to the things slavei or Slaveiry, and that wherever in that instrument the slave is alluded to, he is called a " person ;" and wherever his master's legal right la relation to him is alluded to, it is spoken of as " service or labor due," as a " debt" payable in service or labor. AIso^ it would be bpen to show, by contemporaneous history, that this mode of altuding to slaves and Slavery, instead of speaking of them, was en- ployed on purpose to exclude from the Constitution the idea that thei-e could be property in man. To show all this is easy and certain. "When this obvious mistake of the Judges shall be brought to their notice, it is not reasonable' to expect that they' will withdraw the mistaken statement, and reconsider the conclusion based upon It? And then it is to be Remembered that ^' our fathers, who framed the Ctovernment under wh!ch we live" — the men who made th!e Constitution— decided this Sanie Constitu- tional question in our favor, long ago— decided it without a division among themselves, when making the decision; without division among themselves about the meaning of it after it was made, and so far as any evidence is left, without basing it upon any mistaken statement of fiLCtS. Under all these circumstances^ do you really feel yourselves justified to break up this G-ove?nihent, un- less such a court decision as yoxai is shall be at once submitted to as a conclusive and final rule of political action? But you will not abide the election of a Republican President. In that suppdsed event, you say, you will destroy the Union ; and then, you say, the great crime of having destroyed it will be upon us ? That is cool. A highwayman ho^ds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, " stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will b6 a murderer !" To be sure, what the robber demanded of me — my money — was my own; and I had a clear right to keep It ; but it was no more my own than my vote is my own ; and the threat of death to me to extort my money, and the threat of destruction to the Union, to extort my vote, can scarcely be distinguished in principle. A few words now to Republicans. It la exceedingly desirable that all parts of this great Confederacy shall be at peace, and in harmony, one with another. Let us Republicans do our part to have it so. Even though much provoked, let us do nothing through passion and ill temper. Even though the southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their demands, aiid yield to them if, In our deliberate view of our duty, we possibly can. Judging by all they say and dp, and by the subject and naturn of their controversy with us, let us determine, if we can, what will satisfy them? Will ihey be satisfied if the Territories be uncondition- ally surrendered to them ? We know they will not. In all their present complaints against us, the Territories are scarcely mentioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage now. Will it satisfy them if, In the future, we have nothing to do with Invasions and insurrections? We know it win not. We so know because we know we never had anything to do with invasions and insurrections; and yet this tot&l abstaining does not exempt us from the charge and the denunciation. The question recurs, what will satisfy them? Simply this : We must not only let them alone, biife we must, somehow, corlvince them that we do let them alone. This, we know by experience. Is no easy task. We have been so trying to convinde them, from tlie Very beginning of our organization, but with no success. In 'all' our plat- forms and 8f>eeche3 we have constantly prntest^ our pur- pose to let them alone ; but this has had no tefidency to convince them. Alike unavailing to convince them is the fact that they have never dtteeted a man of a in any attempt to distui'b them. Uhese natural, and apparently adequate means all fall ing, what will convince them ? This, and this onlyr cease to call Slavery tor&nfft and join them in calling it HffM. And this must be done thoroughly— done in acU as well as in words. Silence wHl not be tolerated — >*« must place ourselves avowedly with them. Douglas's new sedition law must be enacted and enforced, suppress- ing all declarations that Slavery is wrong, whether made in politics, in presses, in pulpits, or in private. We must arrest andretur'n tfheir fttgliive slaves with greedy pleasure. "We must j^ult down ourVree State constitutions. The whole atmosphere must be disinTected ffom all taint of opposition to Slavery, before they will cease to believe that all their troubles proceed from us. I am quite aware they do not state their case precisely in this Vay. Most of-'them would probably.say to us, " Let us alone, do nothing to us, and say what you please about Slavery." But we do let them alone — have never disturbed them — so that, after aH, it is what we say, which dissatisfies them. They will continue to accuse us of doing, until we cease saying, I ani lAso aware they have not, as yet. In terms, demanded the overthrf^ of our Free State Constitutions. Yet those constitutions declare the wrong of Slavei^, with more solemn emphasis, th-an^ do all other sayings agaiastit; aiid when all these other sayings shall have been silenced, the overthrow of these constitutions will be demand^, and nothing be left to resist the demand. It ts trothing to the contrary, that Ihey do not demand the whol* of this Just now. Demanding wljiat they do, and for the reason they do, they can voluntarily stop nowhere short of this consummation. Holding, as they do, that Slavery is morally right, and socially elevating, they can- not cease to demand a full national recognition of it, as a legal right, and a social blessing. Nor can we jufttlfiably withhold this, on any ground save our conviction that Slavery is wrong. If Slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and constitutions against it, are themselves wrong, and should be silenced, and swept away. If it Is right, we cannot justly object to its nation- ality — its universality ; if it is wrong, they cannot justly insist upon its extension — ^its enlargement. All they ask, we could readily grant, if we thought Slave# right ; all we ask, they could as readily grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinldng It right, and our thinking it wrong. Is the precipe fact upon which -depend;) the wnole controversy. Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to blame for desiring its full recognition, as being right; hut, thinking it wrong, as we do, can we yield to them? Can we cast our votes with their view, and against our own ? In view of our moral, social, and political tespou* sibilltieai can we do this ? Wrong as we think Slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone where it fs, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation ; but can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into th<6 National Territories, and to over^n us here In these ITree Stat«s ? If OUT sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. Let us be diverted 1^ none of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so industriously plied and belabored — contrivances such as groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a man who should be neither a living man nor a dead man — such as a policy of " don't care" on a question about which all true men do care — such as Union appeals beseeching true Union men to yield to Disunlonista, reversing the divine rule, and calling, not the sinners, but the righteous to repent- ances-such as invocations to Washington, imploring men to unsay what Washington said, and undo what Washing- ton did. Neither let us be slandered from our duty by falsa accusatiohs against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faitb that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, ts the end, daiaBU Scott decision, in refei-ence to Territorial Sover- eignty, and the power of Coagreas to protect the property of citizens within the Temtories. I reoeiyed that letter with profound respect, and only .regret it did not come to my hands in tim«, that, I iQ%ht answer It before the election, ^ut yet I am glad that I could i]|ot answer it before that day, for your choice is a sort of indorsement of my soundness upon those questioiis, I confess I was somewhat gratified that the election took place before I had those questions to answer. It was utterly impossi- ble for me to have returned an answer before the time fixed by your law for the election, but, I never intended to fail in this answer. 1 never should have failed. Had it been one who signed it, instead of twenty, the result would have .been pi-ecisely the same. ■ Besides tjbis, it would have been of but little, conse- quence^ be the answer before or aftei^. I belong to that Bchool of politics that believes in iosiructifin^ and when- ever I am not ready to receive the instructions of the State, I stand ready to .give back the tmst confided ill my hands. THE DEED SCOTT DECISION. G-entleraen, I bow to the decision of ffhe Supreme Codrt «f the United States upon every question within its proper jurisdiction, whether it corresponds withmypri- Tate opinion or not ; only, I bow a trifle lower -when it happens to do so, as the d-ecisibn in the Dred Scott case does. I approve it in all its parts as a sound exposition of the law atid constitutional rights of' the Stateis, and eitizens that inhabit them. (Applause.) It may not be improper for me here to add that so great an interest did I take in that decision, and in its principles being sus- tained and understood iti the commonwealth of Ken- focky, that 1 took the trouble, at tii^f own cost, to print Or have pilnted a large edition of that decision to scat- ter it over the State, and unlfess the mails have mjBcar- ried, there is scarcely a member elected to the Legisla- ture ikho has not received a copy with my fi*ank. To approve the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case would seem to settle the whole question of Territorial Sovereignty, as I think will presently ap- pear: but, in order that to one may raisunderatand iay views on that questidn, I will, with your leate, de- tain you with a brief review of What w'as dotie as to the Slavery question up to the time of that decision, refer- ring also to the duties imposed by it. THE MISSOTTRI LINE. I was in the Congrpss of tbe United States when that Missouri line was repealed. I never would have votedfor any blU'organfeing'the Territory of Kansas as long as that ddiouS stigma upon our inatjtutions remained upon the Watute-boOk. t voted ery nor an Anti-Slavery party, but a constitntional party, and I repeat it here to-night. (Ap- plaiise.T I do not believe it is. I do not believe that the PederM ©overnmtsnt was orgaili^ed for either purposfe, but to protect the tJghte a^Udieated by the Courts. AU th^ b'elobg to the States themselves. ''^Tnesft were the declarations that I made, of which some- tliing has been heard in 'all the States. I made th« 160 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. declarations that I am willing to make before my own constituents ; I made the declarations that I am willing to stand here and repeat. (Applause.) TVe had confi- dence in our own view of our own rights. Our northern friends had their views. It was a paradoxical question, and we gave it to the Courts. Wellf the Courts did decide the very question, which had been submitted to them, not upon a case from Kan- sas, but in another case, "(yUhout going into the argu- ment, for time does not pennit of that, let me give you the conclusion. In the 0plnl6ii of the Court in the case of Dred Scott, it is said : " Upon these considerations. It Is the opinion of the Court that the act of Congress which prohibits a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind In the Territory of the United States, north of the line herein mentioned, Is not warranted by the ConaUtution, and is therefore void ; .aEd that neither Dred Scott Umself nor any of Bla family were made free by being carried Into this Territory, even if they had been carried there by the owner, with the intention of becom- ing a permanent residenL" Again: " The powers over person and property of which we speak, are not only not granted to Congress, out are In express terms denied, and they are forbidden to exercise them. And this prohibition is not confined to the States, but the words ar? general, and extend to \he whole territory over which the Constitution gives it power to legislate, including those por- tions of It remaining under Territorial government, as well as that covered by States. It is a total absence of power every- where within the dominion of the United States, and places the citizen of a Territory, so far as those rights are concerned, on the same footing with citizens of the States, and guards them as firmly and plainly against any inroads which the General Government might attempt, under the plea of Implied or Incidental power. And If Congress Itself cannot do this— If it is beyond the powers conferred on the Federal Govem- mentr-it will be adn^tted, we presume, that It could not auihorize a Territorial government to exercise them. It could coofer no power on any local government, established by its authority, to violate the provisions of the Constitution." Thus the highest court in the United States settled the very question referred to It as the disputed point, not leg- islative in its character, on which Congress could not a^ree when the Kansas-Nebraska bill passed. The view that we in the Southern States took of It was sustained, that in the Territories, the co'mmon property of the Union, pending their Territorial condition, Congress itself nor the Territorial Government had the power to confiscate any description of property recognized in the States of ttie Union. The Court drew no distinction be- tween slaves and other property. It is true some foreign philanthropists and some foreign writers do undertake to draw this distinction, but these distinctions have nothing to do with our system of Government. Our Government rests not upon the speculations of philanthropic writers, but upon the plain understanding of a written constitution which determines it, and upon that alone. It is the result of positive law ; therefore we are not to look to the analogy of the supposed law of nations, but to regard the Constitution itself, which Is the written expression of tke respective powers of the Government and the rights of the States. UNFRIENDLY LEGISLATION. Well, that being the case, and It having been authorita- tively determined by the very tribunal to which it was re- ferred that Congress had no power to exclude slave property from the Territory, and judioloasly determined that the Territorial Legislatures, authorities created by Congress, had not the power to exclude or confiscate slave property, I confess that I had not anticipated that the doctrines of unfriendly legislation would be set up. Uence, I need not say to you that I do not believe in the doctrine of unfriendly legislation ; that I do not believe In the authority of Territorial Legislatures to do by indirec- tdpn what they cannot do directly. I repose upon the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, as to the point that neither Congress nor the Territorial Legis- lature has the right to obstruct or confiscate the property of any cltisen, slaves included, pending the territorial condition, /'Applause.) . I do not see any escape ft'om that decision, If you admit that the question was a Judicial one { if you admit the decision of the Supreme Court, and }i you stand by the decision of the highest Court of^tlie country. The Supreme Court .seems to have reoogniied it as the duty— as the duty of the Courts (^f this.Unlon la their pro- per sphere to execute, this constitutional right, thus adjudicated by the Supreme Court, In the following lan- guage. In speaking of the acqiUslUon of tei^rltory, they pronounce it a political question for Congress to deter- mine what territory they acquke and how many. >fow mark the words of the Court; " And whatever the political department of the Government shall recognize as within the limits of the United States, the Judicial Depaptmeot is also bound to recognize, and to ad- ntinlster In It the laws of the United States, so f^r as they apply, and to mahitain in the territory thp authority and rights of the Government, and also the political right and rights of property of individual cMzens as secured by the ConsUtutton. AU we mean to say on this point la. that as there is no express regu- lation in the Constitutfon defining the power which the Genersi Government may exercise over the person or property of a citizen m a territorythus aco aired, the Cdurt must necessarily look to the provisions aad pAnclples of the Constitution and iw distribution of powers, for the rules and principles by whlck its decision must be governed." So that in regard to slave property, as in reg mine that come nearer home— questions that come to oui BRECKnmiBGE ON REPUBLICJAI^nSM- 151 ft^esldea. According to my humble judgment, the doij- dftion of our country was never so ^etilous as it Is at this hour; and if tlfin^ go drifting on as fehey have of 'ate, we shall' have to deterttiihe tJueaUonfl of fit ueaver ■itality than the territorial question. I hope I do not speak in the spirit bf an alarmist or a iemagogu^i but since T have been acquainted with public afi^irs (aiid men older and wISer than mysvlf'say the' same thing) there never was a time when the intereeta of this Union were in bo mucli peril, and when the feelings of our people were so much alienated as at this hour. CiATtainly if the aspect of alRiirs at Washington is In the slightest dpgree iudicative* of the feeling elsewhere, -tiiat reaiarls is iruih. ITS CAirSB. FellowTci^izena, the danger arises, in the opinion of ot(r wisest and best men, from the [Character and purpose and aim of an organiaatioa ia the country called the Re- publican pai'ty* .,,, I do not think we fully revive what are the objects, purposes ^nd aims of the Republican party, what it. iatepda, ^nd what would b& the consequences, tO' ua of their success aijd domiaioain the United States. If you will allow me, theirefoie, I Jiiave gathered together three or four facts— mere expressions — mere, illustrations or example^, from many thousands of kindred oharactjers, for the purpose of allowing what itsi objects are— to show whftt we may expect to follow tbeit' success. HIS VIEWS OF RSPTTBLIGANisM. First is their platform, made thi'ee years ago, but beyond which they have far advanced. Like all aggres- sive organ iaations, the rear rank 'Of the Republican parly marches up and comes upon the ground that the advanced .guard occupied months' before, wiiile the ad- vanced guard is going ahead. The Republicans are fa.r in advance of ttiMiv platform, but we have there enough to put us on our guard. What are ourrights ? Have we not a right to have bur fugitives returned ? If there is a plainer provision than that in the instrument, what is it ? Hav'e we not a right to live in peace in this Union? What was the Gonstitu- tjoh formed for f Whe^ the Constitution was made, was it not made by brethren? Was it. not made that this political organization should be carried, on in peace and harmony ? Have we not a right to demand of our sister States, that we ii^ay live together in peace with our resnectivie State institutions, with our whole domestic policy ? And is it not a gros^s vialAtion of the Oonstdtu- tion not to allow us to live in jpieaoet as to refuse to return our fugitives from labor that li^ve escaped into other States? Do; they intend to d.o it?. No, tliey do not.. They begin by declaring the Declaration of. Independence is a. rule of ouj^ political action. Uere.is the declaration ofUhc Republican platform, . adopted three years ago,- be^ond which they haxe now far advanced : **EeaolDed, That with our Bepublitian£Lth€ra we hold It to beta self-evident truth that all men ate endowed wiUi the in- alienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of bappiness, and, that the primary objectand ulterior design of our Federal Government were to secure these rights to all persons under Its' exclusive jurisdiction j that as our Republican fa^Uiers, when they had abolished Slavery In all our uailoual terri,tory, ordained that no person should be deprived of life, liber Ly and property, without due process of laWj itbecomes oftr duty to nialntala this provision of the ConetlLutlon against all attempts to vloU^e it fbr the purpose of. estatalfehing Slavery In the Ter- ritories of 'the United Sip-tes bjj poslBtve legislation, prohibiting . its existence or extension therein. , This is a.positlve pledge, that as soon as that party obtains power, it wiU recogntee the equality of the negro wlth.the white man. . Its object- ^iil-be to^give him those ri^ts to life^ libertgrv and the pursuit of happiness. To maintain that equality what follows ? iEverybody knows that when they obtain the power in the District of Co- lumbia, they will abolish Slavery there ; when they ob- tain the powopj they will undertake to abolish it in the forts, arsen*ilfl, and. doek-yards of the United States throughout the South ; they will undertake toiabblish the internal slave-trade. Already they declare that not another Slave. Stateahall.be admitted into the Union, and they will ga beyond thatj How can we expect to life in peace and harmony, when declarations of this sort are uttered : "Resolved That thei Constitution confbfs upon Cbngrfess Bovereian power over Che Territories of the United States for the^ eovernment.and Uiat, iuthe exerclse>of this power; it is both Sie right and the imperatlvgdutyofCongresSiU) prohibit in the Territories those twin reUcs of barbarism— polygamy aud Slavery." ^ ,■! Is that in the Spirit of our revolufionai-y ancestors ? Is it in the spirit of our revolutionary aiicfistors for a great and growing party, that now elaitas, and perhaps hjtv^, dominance In the Northern States of thj> Unioss u bay of an iiistitution of their Southern relatives they av» harboring a relic of barbai'L&tnf, That shows you, fellow^ cltlsiens, th^ir indomitable purpose, their deep-aeate< hate. I am sorry that it exists, but it is true. How can you expect a .great political organization that obtains power, to fail to exercise that power when in its opinion thisUnlbliia stained or defiled aS' to one-half, perhaps, of its inhabitants^ by a relic of barbarism, whicdi it class* es with the crime of polygamy. SEWARD QTJOTEIW This is not all. I could have brought here the decla^ ations of its representative and leadinjg men fi'om ad. parts of the Northern States, going infinitely further ^hat is contained there. Allow me, however, to read o.ne or two of the most striking from the most eminent of theic leaders. I beg you, fellow-citizens, though they may bt familiar, not to. weary with a few extracts, for these ut terances are the rallying cry of millions of men. I hoIC in my hand a speech delivered by a Senator of the Statt of New-York, wbo ip to-day the most LofUiential publis man in this tJnion, on whose words millions hang, and by whose direction millions move. Is this the Constitor tion and Union that our fathers founded ? Last year, in- a speech delivered at Rochester, thab gentleman uttered the foUowing language : ." Our country is a theatre wldch exhibits', in full operation, two radically different political systems ; tfhe one resting ov the basis of s,ervile or ^ave labor, the other on the basis o» voluntary liibor o^eemen, *' The two systeiiis are at once perceived to be Intiongruous. Butitheyare more 'than Incon^ubus: They are incompat- ible.] They> never have permanently existed' together in one country, ftnd they never can., i *' Hitherto the two^systemsiiave e:0sted ha different Stales, but aide' 'by side wlthm the Aiherican TJidon. This has hap- pened because the Union is a confederation of States. But on another aspect \he United States constittite only one nation. Increase of population which is filling the States out to their- very bordej-a, together with a new and extended net-work of railroads and other avenues, e^uI an Internal commerce which daily becobies more luUmate, la rapidly bringing the States intio a higher ahd more perfect social unity or consolidation. Thus these antagohistic systems are cohsututionally coming into close contact and collision results." Yes, " collision ensues," and his prophecy was fid- filled in less than twelve months after it was made. " Shalll teli yqu what this collision means? It Is an Irre- pressible conflict liietween opposing and enduring forces ; and ft, means that t^e Utnited States must and will, sooner Or later, become entirely a-s&iveholding nation, or entirely a free-laboi* nation. Blther the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina, and the sugar plantations of Lpuisianajvill ultimately be tilled by fi-e^ labbr, and Charleston and New-Orleans become marts for legitimate merchandise ' alone ; or else the rye-fields and wh^at-fields, of Massachusetts and New-York' must again be sunrendered by their farmers to slave culture, and.to the pro- duction of slaves,' and Boston and New- York bfecome once more markets for trade in the bodies and souls of men. It is tlie failure to apprehend this great truth that induces so qi^ny uusuccessful attempts at final compromise between the Slave and Free States, add it is the existence of Ibis great t&ci that renders all such pretended compromises, when made, vain and ephemeraLV These things would have no eonaeauence if they were the individual opiniona of their author, but they are the oplniona- of a iarge and formidable and gi'owing party in thiS'Union ; of-a party that now claims a majority in the House of EepTesentatives, and which looks, at no very diatant'. day,>to. have a majority in the Senate, I ask youiif that was the Union formed by our fathers ? Did they antacipateisuch a^polltical party would arise to de^' clare that th*ere .^'is an irrepressible conflict between op- posing and' enduring forces^" in the United States? It is not my ipurpose to. ehsiracteriae or stigmatise this doctrine noWi but to set forth what we are to expect and what we are to meet. At a later period^ in the Senate of the United States, that same distingaished S^iatur uttered the following language, (I well 'remember the occasion and the speech :) " A free Republican Gtovernraent like fhi&, noti^ithstanding all its conatltuUonal fehaftks', cahoot long resist and counteract the progress of society." > Theyddn^texpBet the'provisions of the Constitution and itsxhecha topi'event them from taking their onward' progress. 'Indeed; ' they have a facility of construing that instr^iment, *rhlch makes it as dust in the balance. '^hey construe it to authbrize them not to return fugitive slaves; to authorize them to naake a war upon one half of tire nation. There is no ^tfovision of the Constitution' which has stood in their way as to any right of our* that we have claimed upon this great qtieation. Not only did he announce in the Senate of the United States, 152 A POI.ITICAIi TEX1VB00K F©E 1860. that cons^^tutlqnal checks cannot stand for any t,iQi^ against the progress of Northern opinion, but, "Free labor, "'saya Mr. SeWard, *' haa at last apprehended Us rights and lis dcisiiny, and is orgapiMng Itseli lo assume the goVernm^at ot thts KepabaicV. It will' henceforth meet you ijoliUy .aad resolutely hei'6 (Washlrigli>n» It will meet you everywhere, in the 'I'erriiorles and out ijf them, wherever you may go to extend iSlavery. It has driven you hack in Cj^ifor- ma and In Kansas : it will invade you soon, in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri and Texas. It wUlm«etyouin Arizona, i.n Ueniral America, add even in Cuba." Not content with confining It to the territories, he ad^s: " You may, indeed, get a start under or near the tropics, and secoL ^afe for a time, but it MU b^ onlya^fihort tune, even tbere you will found States, only for fi^eujabor to maln- taln and occtipy. The Interest of the white race demands the ultinrate emancipation of all men. Whether, Ueaj, consumma- tion shall be allowed to take elfect, with needml' and wise pre- caution^ against sudden change and diBaGftei:^,'or be hUrrled on by viQlencCj isah that remains for you>todet:Lde.' ^he white man needs this continent.to labor upon. His head is clear, his arm is strong, and his necessaries are fijqed. It is for your- selves .and not for us to decide how long, and through what ful-ther mortihcations and disasters the contest shall pe pjo- triictedi before fi-eedotfl. shall enjoy hfer already assured triumph I You may refuse to yield it now, and mr a short Seriod, but your refusal will only animate the friends of free- om with the courage^aud the resolution, and ^produce the union among them, which alone are ueceeaary.oa their part, to'attain the position Itself, simultaneously with the impending overthrow of the exciting l<'edek-al Administration, and the C^natltution of a new and mo^re independent Congress,"— and they think they have that Congress. I tell you again', feUow-6l£i^ehSj this is^ot the opinion of Mr. Sbwa^ al,one. It is Mr. S&wa^ and, with one or two exceptions, the other Bepublicaa Senators in the £ena,te of the United States, and nine-tenths of the Republican memtoers of the House of Representatives. Could that language have beeii uttered with impunity or been sustained at the epoch of 1779, when the Constitu- tion was formed? Did not the Constitution languish and slop just because there was some question about insert- ing these checks about the institution of the Southern States? Were they not put into the Constitution by the great men who formed it, and ^re not all the citizens of all the States bound to respect the relation^ that exist (between them, and to give the Southern States peace in tliis Union ? How do you receive 'the declaration that there is an iiTepressible con'flict W^agpng — that there shall be no peace? There is no use attempting to turf over U)e volcano, there is np use crying peace when there is no peace. It is the avdwed purpose of the Republican party to agitate, agitate ; to overturn the Constitution itself, until they succeed not . only in drawing a cordon around you, and shutting you within your present limits, but to pui you in a position where you were about, for peace sake, to emstncipate your slaves. Well might we say, as was once said in France, '* Oh, ConsUtution ! what crimes Are committed in thy sacied name I" helper's crisis. But, gentlemen, I hold in my hand lanother book, which is of no consequence as the opinions of its indivi- dual author, but is of consequence as indorsed by the distinguished gentleman from whose productions' 1 b'ave read, and as indorsed also by sixty-eight or nine Repub- licans of the Hoiiwe of Representatives, who repi^ent a constituency of .seven millions of people. This,'then, may be considered as the declaration of near seven millioias of men. What is it? It is a book called the 'Umpending Crisis of the South," by a person called Helper, who professes to be a North Carolinian. Whether be is or not I am unable to say; (I will read very little, gentlemen.) In this book, thus indorsed by nearly seventy members of the House of Representatives, representing nearly seven millions of the people, this sentiment is declared : The slaveholding ohgarchy say we cannot abolish Slavery without infringing on the right of property. Again we bell them we do not recognize property in men. But the Constitution do0s ; the bond of our Union does, and the Supreme Court of the United Statra has decided that it does. Our fathei's so considered it. It has been so admitted all the time, until th^ apostles of the new doctrine spok£. At another point he says : , . ; j'or the services of the, blacks from the 20th* of August, . 1620, up to the 4th of July, lSti9— an interval of pi-eciaeiy two hundred and fovty-elght yeai-s, ten months and fourteen days-:— their masters, if unwilling, ought, in gur judgcnenb, to be compelled to grant them their freedom, and to p»y each and every one of them at least sixty dollars cash in hand. He goes on to remark that) it would only tahe two crops of cotton,.£i'n4 a trifle oyer, to do it. That was indoraed, I' tell you' again, by sixty-eight or slxty-nina, members Cf the House cf Representatives, and the veiy. gentleman who (.hey are running for Speaker of that body indorsed It. It is true, his frlentu say that he indo^ed it without having read it. Admit, th^t to be trUe^ he has, agaih and again, when.called upoii, refused to 4ijs%v6w those B^nti^enta, hence the excuse is paltry, HAHFER'S 7ERKT. That 19 the condition ot affairs, and that Is the con- dition of tb€} j^publieaia opgsaization of thte country, if ,^ny r^Uapo^ is ,tp lofi placed ixi their record, in their declarktions, m their public attitude, In the attitude ^Mch they defiantly assume before the country. Their purpose is to make war, eternal war,, upon the institu- tib&s'ofone half of the St&tes of the Unions G-radually we approach the crisis until at last is not the legitimate result of the irrepr^sible conflict of which they speiak, of the crime of wliich they say we are guilty, to piit down these relics of barbaviSiSt? The ignorant and fafnatieal' throw off the obligations of the Constitution and invade by violence the Sbuthei'n States of the Union, and although I am far from h61dihg'the Repub- lican party of the NorWh, or any large poftion of them, responsible for the late atroetou^ proceedings in Vir- ginia, I do say that that ^roceeiMiig was the cairryihg out of the logical result of their teachings — carrying it into execution.- How did they receive it? Why gentle- men, the conservative portion of the North abhors it; but, in the S^nsite and Hous^, in the great bodyof their public press, yrh&t do th&y say of it ? That they regret it — they deplore it-r-they even condemn it— they say, because it v^ against law, and they stand for law. These are the honeyed and qualified phrases with which l^,ey characterize the moat ittrocious act of treasoo, rapine, and murder combined, that was ever known in the Republic, and then, a@ though afi-aidof what they have said, they immediately go on to eulpgizathemaa and his motives, much as they n^ret the adi.' - A TOLLEY OF COMPLAIMINaS. Gentlemen^ have we no complaidte in other respects ? Are laws passed for the pm'pose of punishing those ^ho make inroads into the border States and rob us of our property ? Suppose a KentucMan should go Into the State of Ohio and rob a citizen of that State, does any one doubt that we would pd^ a law to punish him and to prevent the recurrence *f the outrage ? So far from this being their course, they are encouraged, and we are subject to constant secret predatory incursions by which we lose abnually hundreds of thousands of dollars, these people availing themselves of the bond of amity between us, to perpetrate the outrage!. That is nob all! About one half of the Northerb States have passed laws and made it a criminal and penal offence for their citizens to |^ve any a3sistd.nce in the rendition qf fugitive slaves. Massachusetts ha» passed laws closing her' j'alls to us, and making it a penal ofl'enceto aid in the enforcement of the Ku^iPe Stave law, or to appear- as council to try such a case, thus nullifying the laws of Congress, and of the United States, distinctly, and seme seven or eight States have passed similar laws refusing all remedy and making it penal in their citizens to abey tke behests of the ConsU- tution. I have not uttered these things for the purpose of arousing any spirit of disloyftlty to the Constitution and the Union. I hope I love them as reverently as any man within the sourtd^sf my'Toteejbiiit let us tookand see the facts as they are. What may be set down as the un- questioned pt^pose of this oi^na^&tion ? It is avowed that it is to exclude all and any Slave States from t^ Union hereafter, ilt is to give us no fugitive slave law, declaring that the States under the Constitution must provide for that, and then to give no remedy in t^s States ; it is to pa^ no kvws for the purpose of prevent* ing the robbery of ^ our property bub, on the contrary. In many States to make it penal to enforce tlio law ; It is to abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia; to aboUshthe internal slave-trade and t^ecoaflbwlse slave trade, and then to agitate and agitate^ #ving us A# peace, as long as W9 retain this ^rdlic of barbai'ifflik'*^ and crime, as they call it. This is the pur^se. Are you ready for it? Are you ready to say we will make no stand in any form for your Constitutional rights? I think you are not 1 Yet that is the present eondtliodi of affoirs— but what ore we to do? ' PRACTICAL REMEDIES. I know they will cpusider the consequences, and care- fully consider the consequences of any serious oollisioaa THE PERIL ANB ^EM REMEDY. n^ In tbla lJn.qn. I Jsaow we dulyappieclate the, position of our own State, not only a border State, but an in- tenor border State, tjaving no ocean outlet. I know that jve have read history to some pui-poae, and that we have seen what have been the consequences of the disruption of amicable relations betweeij those who have banded themselves together as a confederation of States. We | need but go back and see the consequence upon the Greeks when they parried on the Peloponnesian war, until at l^st exhausted, ftiey fell into the lap of des- potisiu The same fi^te might meet us. "What would be our QondiUon? War! War, I Inevitable war, in all human piobability, would be our position, and then in time we might be driven into degradUig alliances with fo.-ej^n powers— the most degrading position for Ameri- can cUizens. Then the spec^cle would be presented of America fall- ing back under the control of £urope, and American lib- erty sinking down under European despotism. Sesides tliia, could we ever hope that a fairer state of things would arise ? Oould we ever hope that Providence itself would ever exercise its omnipotent .power to create a State, or Union of States, under more favorable auspices than in these ? Would it not be worse than impiety itself, to pre- sume that the Almighty would ever attempt to sustain a confederation of Free States under circumstances more bright or favorable than in our system ? I know that the State of Kentucky is devoted to the Union, nfllTonly be- cause of her interests, but from that feeling of affection and of loyalty, and that sentiment of love that have always marked her people from the earliest period of her history. I do not believeifih^H j^ ft mUn under the sound of my voice who would^ not ivieW ^s the last, the greatest of all evils, the wreck of the Union. I do not believe there is the man in the State that would compete to enjoy the highest honora within the State, purchased at such a price. "WHAT IS TO BE DONE. At the same time steps must be taken, something mu^t be done. I do not believe that if ttie Constitution is al- lowed to remain permanently violated in its, important pro- visions, we can have hope under, it. None whatever ! Broken in one particular, it will soon fall to pieces in all. I reQollect when I was a boy, to have read that :great speech of Demosthenes, for the ci-own, where the real question at issue was the charge that he was the author of the pubUc misfortunes, because he had advised the G-reeks to make a last stand for their oountry^ against Philip of Macedon. He was arraigned, and on trial and in his great defence, he says : *^ What, though we did fail? "We did our luty... -We fe^onded in the temp A and char^- acter of our forefathers." The result 19 such as Gtod gives to each ; and even those degenerate Greeks acquitted him, and crowned the world's great orator a» a benefac- tor ; debased as they were in national character, they did this, and from that day have never known or read of the success of him wiho would be deterred from the assertion of fundamental rights for fear of offence^ Gentlemen, the condition ol affairs existing bene, and existing generally, I am happy to say, throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky, ia not a fair indication of the fueling in many parts of the Union, I have seen the evi- dsnpe growing within a few years, and culminating during the last few weekSj. of a determined purpose in the South to attain and maintain the complete power in Union, and I have seen, upon the other hand, in the representatives of the lower Southern States, a most resolute and deter- mined spu'lt of vesls^tance. The representatives from Q-eorgia — from Alabama — ^from South Carolina— from Mis- sissippi, not to speak of other Southern States, say tha/t they represent their constituenta — nay, say that they do not go so far as their constituents, and they declare that they are ready at any moment for a separate organization. QfOd focbid that such a thing should take place. God forbid the overt act should *ver be done ; 'but we know enough of our political kistitutions, that when once done the subject becomes involved in inexplicable distress. M one were to fall upon Washington and see the state of feeling there, he would think that the President of your country was the Executive of two hostile countries. The feeling of alienation seems to be almost complete from the expression of the puhtic -press and public men. (£ mean not your inflammatory, furious speakers, but men of thought and reflection.) They are alarmed, other men are alarmed, we all are alarmed. It is not a craven fear, but it is theeonobled fear that' patviota feel for an imperilled country. Suppose this should oocur^do you not remem- ber, in 1S82 when South Carolina arrayed herself against the FeJtjral Government, upon a mere question of policy conireoted with the collection of taxes, that it did shake the Union to its centre. Such is the nature of our system, Uiat it did shake the Ufeion to the very centre. What were l^e ei^cvwoatatiqes then? AndreWi^Ael£«f>Q ^^ PreBidenft oi the United States, and he was a native of 'South Garo' lina; ,the question was a mere question of policy ; few of the other States sympathized with the movement of that littie State. Ilenry pfay was alive, andCalhoun was ready to give tjhe bene&t of Ids influence to peace and harmony, and yet that little question, when JaoksoUf a native son oz that State, was President, and Clay and Calhoun were la the Senate, brought on a struggle that shook this Union ttt its centre, and imperUled it in tiie estimation of the wisesi apd best of men. Look at it as it may be, with disaffection. spread all over the South, with a very different state of JfeeUngs m the fJorth to what existed then, with CUy dead» aiid, Calhoun dead, and none to take their places, with Bud^ a man as Seward, not on\r not native, but hostile to the South, in the Chair of State* Cannot a child read the xeault? Cannot we see that one State falling away, our Union will be like an arch wil'h two or three stones dropped out, the wdiole fabrie way tail in pieces. These are facts which it ibecpmes^the people of Ken- tucky, with all their lo^lty to. the Umoa, to obsei^ve, to know, to see, to think of,- audi then to act upon, with tine dignity and moderation whioh marks and so well becomes them. But, gentlemen, what U the mode that occurs to any man —because no man, I take it, in Kentucky, will back on this subject, except as a friend of the Union of the States — ^What^ the mode? I see none, except it be the union of all the conservative elements of the country. North and South. The South must first be united, and I am sure she will, for I take it there is not a citizen of Kentucky that ' w&ald &sd(^!i(& himself with an organization whose march to triumph wduld be over the ruins of our rights. MEND OUR MANNERS DOWN SOUTH. Ought we not first to put ourselves right in Court ? Some little there is to complain of us. 1 say to you, in my opinion, those who appeal to the Constitution and the laws should obey the Constitution and the laws. I would have the South; if I mi^t venture, as one of her humblest but truest sons, to advise her to obey the laws of our country, (Applause.) I would have the South first obey the It-ws of the Union which prohibit the for- eign slave-trade. (Applause.) Tiiat is the law of die ianiA--, it rests not with ua to complain of J^he violation of law by others, when in a portion of our Stipes the citi- zens violate the laws themselves. Let us ft own down any attempt to violate those laws upon the part of our States. Let us do more. Let us do more, by preventing the fitting out of filibustering expeditions upon our shores, to invade feeble, sister countries. That is the law, and we liv^ by the Constitution and the law, and let us obey it, and whatever expansion of territory we make, let us make it in a manner becoming the dignity of this glorious Confederacy under our own flag. Then let us call to our aid the pure elements of conservatism and tru,th that we can find in the northern States. What are they ? I did not intend to introduce any party questioni to-night, b.ut the largest organization I see is the Demo- cratic l^ty of the North. As a historical fact, it is un- disputed -f as a current i'act of the day, it is undisputed, that you do not find these >deelaratiqnd of hostility issu- ing from the Northei:n Democracy ; you do hot find these attempts to overturn the laws coming fiom Democratic sources ; you do not find these denunciations of you and your institutions coming from Demo eratic lips and Demo- Guat^ Presses. On the contrary, you find; them lat home,, and in most eases in the minority, sustaining with unfaltering courage your rights and institutions, at odds and risks that you little think of. I want them all. . We need them all. We need every Southern State, and every honest man everywheVe not willing to enter into the crusade against. ud. There is another element North, not large but noble and true. They are the Scattered and wandering cohorts of the old Whig party, who have refused to alloy tliem- selves with the itepublicans of the Nortli— men of whum BvBaETT and CHOATiu and others are ^lustrious examples. There are thousands of them in the Northern States. When this great crisia comes upon us, I have confidence that men like these will be found to unite with the Demo- cratic party in maintaining the laws and the Oouatitution. Thffie are the elements upon which we are to rely. When you get them together, let ?is seeif there cannot be a general revolt of tne inteiUgencey^ .virtue, and loyal- ty of the country, agalnsC' these pernieious is»t&, and if not, let us see how fj*r these pernicious isms control so- ciety. Besides these, there are many. thousands of men in thp Jforthern States who, silent, are not heard in the midst of theclamor that surrounds them— men who seldom at^eud the polls. Let us hope tliat that feeling will be in uur favor. ' £«^w-ati2enB, I have uttered these things because I 154 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. believe we are Btan^bnig to-day not ta the presence of spsotres and shadows, but in the presence of terrible reali- ties. There is a mode by which we can have peace— a permanent peace — and that is by' an utter and absolute ■urrender of all our rights upon t^d subjcsct to which I have referred, at the call of this ICbpubllcan Party. If we do ntft make this surrender, we frm hare no peace until the Republican Party is destroyed, *hlch oon only be done by producing a reactiixa upon the public mind of the North. As it is, without bur being aware of It, things are getting worse every day. I had almost intended to say, that we were absolutely diraolving month by month, and year by year, I see no mode — wiser men than I see no mode to avoid this, except to'ptoduce a reaof^n in the public mind, and to bring Up^haiFpfy^ in some form, the question, Can we not, North and South, live in pface with our several State Institutions, after the manner of our fathers? For myselfj I yet believe in, and I have an abounding hope of, the ultuaate destiny of our common coimtry. I believe a reaction will take place ; ai d I believe that oq|; of this com- motion is destined to come for us an era of tranquillity and peace. Of this I am quite certain, that this Common- vealth of Kentucky will piu'sue a course answerable- to her character and history ; she will stand by the union of toe States as long as there is & thread of the Constitution V hold it together. We know that if madness, and foUy, and fanfflticism shall succeed in tearing down the fairest fabid* ever erected to liberty among men— we know that ou*' honored State will conduct herself with so much moderit tion and prudence that ghe aha;!! stand justified for hei acts before men and in the eye of Heaven. ^ . fellow-citizens, I do not propose to detain you by mora extended observations, I have trespassed too far upon youi time already, I think, If you will allow me to say so, that I know something of the temper, and spirit, and inte- rest of this people ; and, as far as my humble abilities ex- tend, I propose, in the sphere to whdch you have devoted mCj to serve you with all tbe fidelity of a grateful heart. At all times, and under all circumstances, I owe my alle- giance to the State, and I am ready, and willing, and anx- ious to devote whatever faculties of mind and body X pos- sess to serve you, and to serve you with the imcalculating devotion of a man who loves the green mountains and smiling plains, the clear running streams and the generous people of the State, and with one who loves all her infirmt ties with the affection of a sou. KANSAS— THE MORMONS-SLAYERY, SPEECH OF SENATOR DOUGLAS. Delivered at SpriTigfield, III,, June 12, 1857. Mr. PrBsident, Ladies and Gentlkmkk: I appear before you to'-night, at the request of the grand jury in attendance upon the TJnited States Court, for the pur- pose of submitting my views upon certain topics upon whieh they nave expressed a desire to hear my opinion. It was not my purpose when I arrived among you, to have engaged in any public or political discussion ; but when called upon by a body of gentlemen so intelligent and respectable, coming from all parts of the State, and connected with the administration of public justice, I do not feel at liberty to withhold a full and ftaitk expres- sion of my opinion upon the subjects to which they have referred, and which now engrosses so large a share of the public attention. Thd points which I am requested to discuss are : 1st. The present condition and prospects of Kansas. ' 2d. The principles affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott case. 8d. The condition of things in Utah, and the appropri- ate remedies for existing evils. KANSAS. Of the Kansas question but little need be said at the presenlt time. You are familiar with' the history of the question, and my connection with it. Subsequent re- flection has strengthened and confirmed my convictions in the. soundness of the principles and the correctness of the course" 1 have felt it my duty to pursue upon that subject. Kansas is about to speak for hei-self through her delegates assembled in Oonvention to form a Consti- tution, preparatory to her admission into the Union on an equal footing with the original States. Peace and prosperity now prevail throughout her borders. The law und^r which hei* delegates ar6 about to be electedj is believed to be just a^d fair in all its objects and pro- visions. There is every reason to hope and believe that the law will be fairly interpreted and impartially exe- cuted, so as to insure to every bona jfids inhabitant the free and quiet exercise of the elective franchise. If any portion of the inhabitants, acting under the advice Of political leaders in distant States, slmll choose to absent, themselves from the polls, and withhold their votes, with a view of leavingthe Free State Democrats in a minority^ aDd thus securing a Pro-Slavery Constitution in opp.oBl» tion to the wishes of a majority of the^people living under it, let' the responsibility rest oH those Who, f&t partisan purposes, will sacrifi<»the ptinuiples-they pro-! feas to cherishAnd promote. Upon them, stnd upon the political party for whose benefit knd uader-tbtdlrtiction: of whose leaders they act, let the blame be visited of fastening upon the people of a new State, Institutions repugnant to their feelings and in violation of their wishes. The organic act secures to the people of JSansas the sole and exclusive right of forming and regulating their domestic institutions to suit themselves, subject to no other limitation than that which the Constitution of the Unitetf States imposes. The Democratic party is determined to see the great fundamental principles of the organic act carried out in good faith. The present election law in Kansas is acknowledged to be fkir and just — the rights of -the voters are dearly defined — and the exercise of those rights will be efficiently and scru- pulously protected. Mence, if the m^)i>ijty of the people of Kansas desire to have it a Free State (and wo are told by the Kepublican party that ntne-tentiifr of the people of that Territory are Free Staite men), there is no obstacle In the way o^ringlng Kansas into the Union as a Free State, by the votes and voice of her own peo- ple, and in conformity with, the principles of the Kaosius- Nebraska act; provided all tlie Free State men will go to the polls, and vote their principles in accordance with their'^rofessions. If such is not the result Ict-the conse-^ quenccs be visited upon the heads of those whose pOIicy it is to produce strife, anarchy, and bloadshed In Kansas, that their party may profit by Slavery agitation in the Northern States of this Union. That the Democrats in Kansas will perform their duty fearlessly and nobly, according to the principle they cherish, I have no doubt, and that the result of the struggle will be such as will gladden the heart and strengthen the hopes of every Mend of the Union, I have entire confidence. The Kansas question being settled peacefully and satis- factorily, in accordance with, the wishes of her own people Slavery agitation should be banished from the halls of Congress, and cease to be an exciting element in our political struggles. Give fair play to. tliat . principle of self-government which recognizes the righi of tlie people of each. State and Territory, to form ^nd. reguiate their own domestic institutions, and sectional strife will be forced to give place to that fraternal fueling which animated the fathers of the Uevolution, and made every citizen of every State of this glorious confederacy a mem- ber >of a common brotherhood. That we are steadily and rapidly approaching that re- sult, I cannot dpubt, for tlie Slavei-y issue has already dwindled down to tlie narrow limits covered by the (lecifiions of the Supreme Court.of ilie United States ill tha Dred .Scott case. The moment that deci^on was pro- TME, IXRED Sgp:?! DECJglpiiir. 15fi sounced, and befoi^e the opinions of ^^e Court copid be publidhed and read by the people, the newspaper IjireSa In the iutei'est of a powerAil policical' party Id this country, began to pour forth torrents "of abuse and misrepresent}*- ttons, not only upon ihe decision, but upon the ciiaracter and motives of the venerable Chief Justice and his iUu9- -trious associates on the bench. The character of Chief Justice Taney and the associate Judges -vrho concurred with him, require no eulogy— no vindication fi'om me. They are endeared to the people of the United States by ■ their eminent public servicesj— venerated for their great learning, wisdo'rn and experience — and beloVed for the spotless purity cf their characters and their exemplary Uvea. ' The poisonous shafts of partisan malice will fall harmless at their feet, while their judicial decisions will stand in alt future time, a proud monument to their great- ness, the adtniration of the good and wise, and a rebuke to the partisans of faction and lawless violence. If, unfortunately, any considerable portion of the people of the United States -shall so far forget their obligations to society as to siUow partisan leaders to array them in Tiolent resistance to the final decision of the highest judicial tribunal on earth, it will become the duty of all the friends of order and constitutional government, with- out reference to past political differences, to organize themselves and mai'shal their forces under the glorfous banner of the Union, In vindication of the Constitution and the supremacy of the laws over the advocates of faction and the champions of violence. To preserve the Constitution inviolate, and vindicate the supremacy of the laws, is the fii*st and highest duty of every citizen of a free Republic. The peculiar merit of our form of govern- ment over ail others, consists in the f^ct that the laiv, instead of the arbitrary will of a hereditary prince, pre- scribes, defines and protects all our rights. In this country the law is the will of the people^ embodied and expressed according to the forms of the Constitution. The Courts are the tribunals prescribed by the Constitu- tion, and created by the authority of the people to deter- mine, expound and enforce the law. Hence^ Whoever resists the final decision of the highest judicial tribunal, .aims a deadly blow to our whole republican system of -government — a blow which, if successful, would place all our rights and liberties at the mercy of jpassion, anarchy and violence, I repeat, therefore, that if resistance to tlie decisions of the Supreme Court* of the United States, In a matter like the points decided in the Dred Scott case, clearly within their jurisdiction as defined by the Con- Btitution^ shall be forced upon the country as a political Issue, it will become a distinct and naked issue between the friends and the enemies of tiie Constitution— the friends and the enemies of the suprema<;y of thjilaws. THE DRED SCOTT DECISION. The case of Dred Scott waa an action of trespass, vi et armis^ in the Circuit Court of the United States for the piBtrict of Missouri, for the purpose of establishing his claim to be a free man, and was taken by writ of error »n the appKcation of Scott to the Supreme Court of the United Slates, where the final decision was pronounced by Chief Justice Taney. The facta of the case were agreed upon and admitted to be true by both parties, and were in substance, that Dred Scott was a negro slave in Missouri, that he went with his master, who was an officer in the army, to Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, and thence to Fort Soelling on the west bank of the Mis- sissippi River, and within the country covered by the act of Congress known as the Missouri Compromise : and then he reaccompanied his master to the State of Missouri, where he has since remained a slave. Upon this state- ment of facts two important and material questions arose, besides several incidental and minor ones, which it was incumbent upon the Court to take notice of and decide. The Court did not attempt to avoid responsitulity by dis- posing of the case upon technical points without touch- fag the merits, nor did they go out of their way to decide questions not properly before them and directly present- ed by the record. Like honest and conscientious judges, as they are, they met and decided each point as it arose, and faithfully performed their whole duty and nothing but their duty to the counti-y by determining all the questions in the case, and nothing but what was essen- tial to the decision of the case upon iU merits. The State Courts of Missouri had decided against Dred Scott^ and tIecUred him and hia chUdren slaves, and the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Missouri had decided the same thing in this very case whi(di had thus been removed to the Supreme Court of Jhe United States by Scott, with the hope bf reversing the decision of th« Circuit Court and securing his freedom. If the Supreme Court had disntissed the writ of error for want of jurisdiction, without first examining into and deciding the merits, of the cane,*as Ihey are ^ow dcQouaced am3 abused'for'not having don, ^, Ihe result would have been to remand Dred Scott and his children to perpetual Slavery under the decisions which had already been pronounced by the Supreme Court of Missouri, as well as by the Circuit Court of the United States, wltht ut obtaining a decision on the merits of his case by the Su' preme Court of the United States, Suppose Chief Jus- tice Taney and iiis associates had thus remanded prem Scott and his children back to Slavery on a plea ii abatement or any mere technical point, not touching thn merits, of the question, and without deciding Whetlier undet the Cohstitution and laws ad applied to the facts of the case Dred Scott was a free man or a slave, would they not have been denounced with increased virulence and bitterness on the charge pf having remanded Dred Scott to perpetual Slavery without first examining the hierits of his case and ascertaining whether he was a slave or not ? If the case had been disposed of in that way, who c^n dbubt that such would have been' the .character of the de- nunciations which would have been hurled upon the devoted heads of those illustrious Judges with much more plausibility and shov of fairness than they are now denounced for having decided the case fairly and hon- estly upon its merits? The material and controlling points of the case— those which have been made the subject of unmeasured abuse and denunciation — may be thus stated : 1. The Court decided that under the Constitution of thr United States a negiro descended from slave parent-s is not and cannot be a citizen of the United States. 2. That the act of the 6th of March, 1820, commonly called tlie Missouri Compromise act, was unconstitutional and vMd before it was repealed by the Nebraska act, and consequently did not and could not have the legal effect of. extinguishing a master's right to his slave in that Territory, ' While the right continues in full force under the guaranty of the Constitution, and cannot'be divested or alieno'ted by an act of Congress, it necessarily remains a baiTen and a worthless riglit, Unless sustained, pro- tected, ^nd enforced by appropriate police regulations and local legislation, prescribiog adequate remedies for its violation. These regulations and remedies must necessa- rily 'depend entirely upon the will and wishes of the people of the Territory, as they can only be' prescribed by ths local tjegislaturea. Hence the ^reat principle of popular sovereignty and self-government is sustained and firmly established by the authprity of this decision. Thus it appears that the only sin involved in tlie passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act consists in the fact of having removed from the statute-book an act of Congress which was unauthorized 'by the Constitution of the United States, and void because passed without constitutional authority, and, constituted in lieu of it the great funda- mental principle of self-government^ which recognizes the rights of the people of such State and Territory to control theit own domestic concerns. I will direct attention to the question involved in the first proposition, to wit : That the negro is not and can- not'be a citizen of the'United States. We are told by a' certain .political organization that that decision is crn^ — is inhuman and infamous, and should neither be respected nor obeyed. What is the objection to that decisiop? Simply that the negro is not a citizen. What is ^e object of making him a citizen ? Of course to give him the rights, privileges and immuni- ties of a citizen, it being the great fundamental law in our CJovernment, that under the law, citizens are equal in their rights and privileges. It is said to bt inhuman-^io be infamous — ^to deprive an African negro of iliese privi- leges of citizenship, which would put him on an equality with the other citizens of the country. Now, let me ask my fellow-citizeijs, are you prepared to resist the constituted authorities of this country, in order to secure citizenship, and, through ciUzenship, equaUty with the white man. (Voices, " No 1 no !"> If you are, you must reverse the whole policy of tMs State — the organic la^ of our own State. In order to cany out ttiat principle of negro citizenstiip and negro equality under the law, you must riot only reverse the organic law in our own State^ but of every other State in tliis Unioiv But you have noi accomplished it then ; you must make furious war upon the slaveholding Stated, to compel them to emancipate and set s^t liberty their three millions of slaves. When that shall be done, before you have secured that great princi- ple of equality to the son of Africa, you must strike out of the Constitution of Illinois that provision wliicb prevents a negro, whether free or slave, from croa»ng the Ohio or the Mississippi, and coming into IlUnois to reside. When you shall have made that change in our organic law, and turned loose idl the Afi-icans that may choose to come &om the slaveholduig States to settle upon our prairies. 16t> A POLITrCA. I^EXT-BOOK FOK 1860. and turn Illinois Into a ne$v(f colony, rather than luto a State of white meuj still youhiive not secured to the negro ^he rights of citizenship on an equality with the ^hlte man, , You mUst then strike the word " white" out" of the consti- tution of our own State, and allow the negro to come to our polls and -vote on an eqii ^ty with yourselves. You must also change the Gonstiti«fiibn In mfLi respect that de- clares, that a negro shall not be e^gib'le to ofi^ce, and de- clare that a negro shall b6 eli^Ie to your Legislature, to the bai', bench, and gubernatorial chair.' And still you have not reached' that point to ifhlch we are told we must go, of placing tiife negrO on an equality witii other citizens. You must admlfhim to the jury-box, and license him by law to marry'a white woman. And then you will have secured nearly all the privileges that the dec^lon of the Supreme Court ha^ denied him. (Applause,) I submit to you, fellow-citizens, whether any man can prondunce the decision inhuman and infamous, without resorting to that great prin^pl& wh^h, cftrlied aut, Ehts the negro on an equaUty with other citizens. But aten to the speeches of any one of thope who sympathize BO much with the poor African that they are not willing to allow him to occupy an inferior position^ and you will find that they all adhere to the position of negro equality. jFor instance, did' ydu' ever hear any oT them m.ake a public speech in which he did not quote the Declaration of Inde- pendence, that " we hold all men are born free and equal," and then appeal tp you to know whether .Slavery could be justified or palliated by any man who believed ^n the Pe- claration of Independence. Do they not argue that 'hy this instrument negroes were declared to be born equal to white men ; ahd hence, any man who is opposed. to carry- ing out that great dear principle of theirs, of negro equaUty with the white man, is opposed to the Declaration hf Independence. s^ Now, my friends, penttit me to reply to thb assumption, that the Declaration of Independence declared the negro to be equal with'white men, by a few historical facts re- corded in'our school-books, and fanuUar to our children. By reference to the History of the United States, you will find that on the Fourth of July, 17J6, when the Declara-: tion of Independence was put forth, the thirteen colonies w6re then, each and all .of them, slavdiold&ig colonies. Bach signer ot the Declaration, without an exception, re- presented a slaveholding constituency. Syery battle of fihe Revolutionary War, from Lexington and Bunker Hill to King's Mountain and Yorktown,'wa8 fough^ in a slave- holding constituency. The treaty' of peace with .Great Britain which acknowledged our independence, was' made on the part of Great Britain on the one side and the thir- teen original slaveholding States on the other. Passing frooi that to the formation of the Constitution of the United States, yOu will find that instrument was framed, and adopted, and put into operation with the immoi-tal Washington at the head, by twelve slaveholding States and one free State, of one State about to becpme free. In view of these facts, I submit to you whether any sane man can assert that the founders of our institutions intended to put the negro and the white man on an equality in the sys- tem of government which they adopted ? If the signers of the Declaration had intended to declare the negro equal to the white man, would not they, on that very day, have abolished Slavery hi every one of the States of tjie Union in order to have conformed to that Declaration ? If ary^'one of these States had thus understood the Declaration of Indepen- dence, would not that State then immediately have abol- ished Slavery, and put the negro on an equality with the white man in conformity with ftiat Declaration ? Did ^hey do so? I have already shown you that ho one of those States abolished Slavery duxing the whole period of the Revolutionary war. I have already stated, and I challenge contradiction, that to this day no bne' of them ha£ put the negro on an equality with the white man in all the laws touching oh the relations of life. "A°d yetj If they. honestly believed the Declaration of Independence meant negroes as well as white men, they were bound to advocate everjr law so as to carry out thplr principle. Their posi- tion on this subject would charge thfe signers of that De- claration with hypocrisy In makmg it to the world, and going on to fight battles on the pi-inciple thus asserted. But no vindication Is needed from me of those immortal men who drafted, and signed, and proclaimed to the world the Declaration bf Independence. They did what they professed. They had reference to the white man, and to him only, when they declared all men were created eqiial, They were in a struggle with Great Britain. The principle they were ass^ting was that a British subject, horn on American soil was equal' to a British subject born in Eng- land—that a British shhject here was fehtitled to all the rights, and privileges',' a'Ud hnmuhltleSjUtfder' the British Oonufcltution, that a British subjitt in Tffingland enjoyed • tbattheir rights wete IntilifenabW, and hende that Parljla- meUt,' Whotie ^ower was ounitpotuut, had u6 power to alienate the;n^ "They did noi mean the negroee and In- dians-rthey did not say we wlute fnen and negioes wei-c born .eqjual ; but thoy were speaking ol the race of peopla who colonized America., who ruled Anierlca, and who were declaring the liberties of' Ainericans, when they proclauned the sej^-evident truth that those men were born free and equal. And if you will examine the journal of t^e Conti- nental Congress you will find this great principle carried out. Ko one of the colonies would then consent to the De- claration of Independence until they had placed on the record the express reservation, that each*colony reserved and retained to itself the sole and exclusive right of regu- lating its own domestic concerns and police regulations. It was made a fundamental condition of the Declaration, that this right should he forever reserved beyond the power of Congress or other Confederation or power on ejirth, except the free will of their own people. The arti- cles of confederation were based upon the same great fiu> damental principle, and the Constitution of the United States was adopted^for the purpose of preserving and car- rying into effect the same grand principle that made us one people for one specified oDjecc, but reserved to each State and each locall^ the sole and exclusive privilege of mana£;ing its own domestic concerns. At that day the negro, was looked upon asa being of an inftjr.or race. All history had proyed that in no part of the world, or of the world's history, bad the negi-o ever sliown himsjelf capable of 6elf-governuien.t, and it was not the inteution of the founders of this Goverj^ment to violate that^reat law of God, which made the4istiactioa between the white and tfaeblackman. Thatdistinctlonis plain and palpable, and ithas been the rule of civilization and of Christianity the world over, ihait whenever any one man, or ^et,of o^en, were incapable of taking care of themselves, ibey should consent to be governed by those who were callable of managing their affairs for them. It is on that principle that your courts of justice appoint guardians to take charge of the idiott the lunatic, the insane,, blind, dumb, the unfortunate, whatever may be lib condition. And if history had proved that the negro race^ as a race, were incapable of self-government, it was not only the right but the duty qf those who weru capable to provide for them. Il^did not necessarily follow that they were to be reduced to Slavery. The U'ue principle is that the inferior race should be allowed to enjoy all their rights, which their nature is capable of exercising and enjoying, consistently with the good of society. I would not advocate that the negro should be treated harshly or unkindly. Far from it. I would extend and secure to him every right,. privilege and immunity he was capable of enjoying consistent with the highest welfare of socieiy. The OonstiLution is founded on that great principle, and leaves to each State, as the artides o^ confederation did to each colony, the right to determine for itself what these principle^ were, and' the extent of them, in order that they might adopt their laws to their actual condition. Under that great provision, Illinois has chosen to say, that the negro shall not come here to reside — that^a negro shah not vole—shall not hold office — shall notserv&in she jury-box— phall not marry white women— and I think Uiat the Constitution of Illinois is wisely framed as to this provision. On the other hand, Kentucky goes further, and deprives the negro of his right over his person. Kentucky,, under the Constitution, bad. a rig^t to make that provision. We have no right tp complain of her, nor can she complain of us. Each has the right to do as it pleases, and each must mind its own business and not interfere with its neighbor's concerns (Applai:^e.) Our fathers, when they framed tUs. Government, had witnessed the sad and melancholy results of the mixture of tl^e races in Mexico, South America and Ceniral America, where the Spanish, from motives of policy, had admitted the negro and other inferior races to ciliienship and, eonsequently, to poUti^al «nd social amalgamation^ The demoralization and degradation which prevailed in the Spanish and French.colonies, where no distinctions on account of color or race were tolerated,, ope rated as a warning to our revolutionary fathers to .preserve the purity of the white race, and to establish their political, social and domestic institutions upon such a basis as would forever exclude the idea of negro citizenship aaA negro equality, (Applause.) They understood that great natural law which declare! that amalgamation between superior and inferior racea brings their posterity down to the lo,wt*r level of the infft- rior, but never elevates them to the high level of the su- perior race. ' I appeal to each ,of thqse gallant,young men before me, who won immortal glory on the bloody fields of Mexico, in vindication of their country's rjgW and honor, whether tlieir Ipfonnation and observ^on in that country does not fully .sustain, U)e truth of the pro- position that amulgamatiun js degrudatioift, demoBali^a- tioh, disease and death? Is It true that the legro is "our MR. DOUCKLAS' BPRmOFIELD SPEECH. 16T •Jual and our brother? The history of the times clearly ttiow that our fathers did not i-egaPd the Afi-ioan face aa any kin to them, and deUerriiined so to lay the foundatfon- of society and government tliat they should never be of kin to their posterity. (Immense applause.) • But, when you confei upon the African race the privi- leges of citizenship-, and J>ut them on an equality with White men at the pWls', in tlt^e iory^box, on the bench, in the Executive chair, and la the covincHs of the nation, upon what principle will yo\i deny their equality at the restive board and in the domesilc circle f TheiSupremte Court of the United States have decided Jhat, under the ConsUtution. a negro Is not and cannot be a cltieen. The Republican Abolition party jjronounce that decision cruel. Inhuman and infamous, and appeal to the Ameri- CHU people to disregard and refuse to obey it. Let ns Join issue w^ith them, and put ourselves upon the couutrv for trial. (Cheers and applause.) CONDITION OF AFFAIRS IN UTAH, AND THE REMEDY, Mr. President, I will now respond to the call which has been made upon me for my opinions of the condition of things in Utah, and the appropriate remedies for existing evils. The Territory of Utah was organised under one of the acts known as the Gompromlse Measures of 1850, on the supposition that the inhabitants \rere American citizens, owing and at;knV>wledgittg allegiance to the United States, and consequently entitled to the benefits of self-govern- ■ ment while a Territory, atid to admission in the Union on an equal footing with the original States, as soon as they should number the requisite population. It was conceded on all hands, and l^ ^11 parties, that the pecu- liarities of their religious faith and ceremonies interposed DO vaUd and constitutional olajection to their reception tnto the Union, tn conformity with the Federal Constitu- tion, so long as they were in all other respects entitled to admission. Hence, the great political parties of the country indorsed and approved the Compromise Mea- sures of fSSO, includingthe act'for theorganizstionofthe Territory of Utah, with the hope and in the eonfidenee that the inhabitants would conform to the Gonstitution and laws, and provethemselves worthy, respectable and fecw-abiding citizens. If we are permitted to place cte- dence in the rumors and reports from that country (and ft must -be admitted that they have increased and llttrengthened and assumed consistency asod plausibility by each successive mail), seven years' experience has dis- etosted a state of facts entirely difi'erent from that which was supposed to exist when Utah was organized. These rumora and reportswould seem to justify the belief that the following facts are susceptible of proof. 1. That nine-tenths of the inhabitants are aliens by birth, who have refilsed to become naturalized, or to t^e the oath of allegiance', or to do any other act recog- nizing the G-overnment of the United States as the para- . mount authority in that Territory. , f 2. That all the Inhabitants, whether native or alien born, known as Mormons, (and they constitute the whole people of the Territory), are bound by hornd'oaths^and' terrible penalties, to recognize and maintain the autho- rity of Brigha^ Toj^^a and the, government of , wly^ he 4^ the head, as f^ramouDt to tliat of the United ^ntt^^, in civil as well as in religibus affairs ; and that they will, In due time, and under the direction of their ieadei^^^ use all means in their power to subvert the government of the United States, and resist its authority. 3. That the Mormon governm^nltt wlt^Bi-fghaini YoHQg at its head, is now forming alliance with Indian tribes tn Utah and adjoining territories— rstimulating .thq In- dians to acts of hostility— and organizing bands of his own followers under the name of "Danites, or Destroy- ing Angels,** to prosecute a system of robbery and ihui-ders upon American citizens, who support the authority of the United States, and denounce the in- famous and disgusting practices and institutaoos of the Mormon G-overnment. ■If^tipon a full investigation, these representations Bhfatl prove true, they -VFiU establish the fact that the Mormon inhabitants of Utah, as a community, are out- laws and alien enemies, unfit to exei'oise the right of oelfr-government under the orgaSdc act,>Mid unworthy to be admitted into the Union as a-State, when thfelr only objeq$ in seejoing admission is to interpose the , sov- ereignty of the State, as an invincible shield tp protect tbemtiin their treason and crime, debauchery and in- famy. (Applause.) Under this view of the subject, I think, it i3.the,,duty of the President, as I have no doubt it is liis fiLxed pur- pose to remove Brigbam Toung and all his fotlnwers from office, and to flu their plaoM with bold, able, and true men, land to cause a Utorough and searching invest tigation into all the crimes and enormities- which are alleged to be perpetrated daily In that Territory, under ^e cdrection of Brigbam Yoting and his confederates and to use all the militaiy force necessary to protect the ofBcers in the discharge of their duties, and to en- force the laws of the Land. (Applause.) When the authentic evidence shall arriTC, if it shall establish the facts which are believed to exist, it will be- come the dut^ of Congress to apply the knife and :iat out this loathsome, disgusting ulcer. (Applause.) No temporizing policy— ^0 halfvay measures will then an- swer. It has beeh supposed by those who have not thought. deeply upc^ the subject, that an act of Coa- gresB prohibiting murder, robbery, polygamy, and other crimes, with -Appropriate penalties for those offences^- would aflford adequate remedies for all the enormities' complained of. Suppose such a law to be on the sta- tute book, and 1 believe 'in the reports we receive from Utah, Oongrese may pass whatever laws it. chooses ; but you can never rely upon the local tribunals and juries to punish crimes xvom^ mitted by Mormons in that Territory. Some other and more effectual remedy must be devised ^nd applied. lu my opinion, the firat step should be the absolute and unconditional repeal of the organic act— blotting the Territorial Government out of existence — upon the ground that they are outlaws, denying their allBgiance and defying the authorities of the Umted States. (Iia- mense applause.) The Territorial Government once abolished, the coun- try would revert to its primitive condition pricr to the actof 1850, ** under the sole, and exclusive jurisdiction of the United State^" and should be placed under the operaftion of tih& act of Congress of the 80th of April, 1790, and the various acts supplemental thereto and amendatory thereof, "providing for the punishment of crimes against the United States within any fort, arsenal dockyard, magazine, or any other place oh district OF CoU^S'CRy, UHDKR THB,SO;.K ANQ, BXCLpSIVB ^'ji^fiCI^ Hon M^!^^ pni^ediSiateBf". AUfOffeDSes' jllgai|)st'tl^ provisions of't&ese acts are required by' law fo be tried ^and^punished by the United States Courts in the States or Territories where the offenders shall be "first apprb- HBiiDED OR BKonoHT FOR TRIAL." Tbus it will be Bceu Hhat under th9 plan pfcposed, Briqham Yodhg and hla "confederates coulcl be " apprehended and brought for trial, '^ to Iowa o^ Missouri, California or Oregon, or to any other adjacent State or Ten1tor^,,whei*e a fair t\-ial could be had, and justice administered impartiaUy— - where the witnesses could be ppo^cted.and thejij^i}^ ment of the, c(^urt .?ould be.carii.c;d into execution, mth- out Violence or ihfimidation. I do not-prCpose to intro- duce any new principles into our juri^rudence, nor to Change uie modes of proceeding or t'he rules of practice in bur Courts. I only propose to place the d^trict of country embraced within the Territory of Utah und^li: the operation of the same laws and rfiles of proceeding, that Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and our Other Tefrt* tories were placed befordlfhey became tfi'ganiebd Terri- tories. The whole country embraced within these Terri- tories was under the operation of .that same systenji of laws, and alt the offences commjltted within the sa^ were p.unlshed in tlie manner now proposed, so long as the'cbuntry'remained " undfiir the sole and excluSve 'jurisdiction of the United States ;"'but the moment thfe conntty" kas organized into Temtorial Governments, with legislative, executive and judicial dcpartulent4, 158 A POLITICAL TEST-JJOOK JFOE J860. SticeaseH' to be under lheBole.-and eiEc1uBhm,juri&GlicMoa) at the United -StateSf within the ipeaning of the act o(i Congi'ess, for the reason that it had passed under.another. aad a different jarisdictlon. Hence, if yre abolish .;the Territorial G-overnment of Utah, preserving a-U existiqg rights, and place the country under the sole and exqluslre jurisdiction of the United States, offenders can be ap- prehended and brought into the adjacent States or Tei-- rltories for punishment, in the eame manner and under the same- rules and regulations which obtained and have been uniformly p):actlced under like elroumstauces since 1790. If the plan proposed shall be found an effective and adequate remedy for the evils complained of in Utah, no one, no matter what bis political creed or partisan associations,- need be appreliensiTe Xhat it wiU ylolate any cbeidshed ;thedry or constitutional right in ^ega;t-d to the government of the Territories. It is a great mistake to suppose that alt the territory or land beloQg- ing to the United States must necessarily be governed by th« same laws and under the same clause Qf the Gonfititution, without reference to thepurpose to which It is dedicated or the use which it is proposed to make of bt ; while all that portion of the countiy which is or shall be set apart to become new States, must necessarily be governed under and consistent with that clause of the Oonstitution which authorizes .Congress to> admit new States, it does, not foUov that other territory, not intended to be organized and admitted into the Union sEs States, must be governed undei- the same clause of the Constitution, with all the rights of self-government jind State equality. Por instance, if we should purchase Vancouver's Island, from Great Britain for the purpose 3€ removing all the Indians from our Pacific territories and locating them on that island aa their permanent home, with guaranties that it should never be occupied or settled with white men, will it be contended that the purchase should be made and the island governed under the power to admit new Stated when it was nx)t acquired for that purpose, nor intended to be applied to that object ? Being acquired for. Jndian purposeS'and applied to Indian purposes, it is not more reasonable to assume that the power to acquire was derived from the Indian clause, and the island must necessarily be governed under and consistent with that clause of the Constitution which relates to Indian affairs. Again, suppose we should deem it expedient to buy a small island in the Mediterranean or the Garrlbean Sea for a naval station, can it be said with any force or plausibility that the purchase should be made or the island governed under the power to admit new states T On the contrary, is it not obvious Ihat the right to acquire and govern in that case is de- rived from the power "to provide and maintain a navy," and mast be exercised consistently with that power. So, if we purchase land for forts, arsenals, or other military purposes, or set apart and dedicate any territory which we now own for a military reservation, it immediately passes under the military power and must be governed in harmony with it. So if the land be purchased for a mint, it must be governed undec the ^ower to coin ; money ; or, if .{MiKP^^ftiBd fori* post-oflSces, it owtt bi, governed under the power to establish poet-oMces and posfr*roads ; or, for a custpra-house, under the power to i^egulatp, commerce ; or for a court-house, under lh« judiciary power. Jn short, the clause in the Constitution under which &t^y land or termtory belonging to tne United States must be governed, is indicated by the objwt for which it was acquired and the purpose for which It is dedicated. Bo lobg, therefore, as the organic act of ;Utah shall remain in for^e, seating apart that country for a new State, and .pledging the faith of the United States to receive it into the Union as soon aa it should have the requisite , population, we are bound to extend to it all the rights of self-government, agreeably to the claiuse in the> Constitution providing for the ad- mission of new States. Hence the necessity of i-epealing the organic act — withdrawing the pledge of admission,, and plaicing It under the sole and exclusive jurisdictioa of the United States, in order that persons and property may be protected, and justice administered, and crimes punished.inider Ifl^e laws prescribed by. Congress in such cases. While the power of Congress to repeal this organic act and abolish the Territorial Government cannot be dt^nied, the question may arise whether we posse.is the moral rjglit of exercising tbe powt:r, after the charter;ha8 been once granted and the local government organized under its provision^^. Thi^ is a grave question— one which should not be decided hastUy, nor under the influence of passion or prtjjudice. I am free t'O say that, in my opiaioa thertsis no moral right to repeal the organic act or a 3er- ritory, and abolish the government organized under ir, unless the inhabitants of that Territory, as a community, have done such acts as amount to a forfeiture of all rights under It— «such as becoming alien enemies, outlaws, dis- avowing their allegiance, or resisting the authority of the United States. These, and kindred acts, which wq hare every reason to believe are dally perpetrated in thai Territory,, would not only give ua the moral right, but make it our imperative duty to abolish the Territorial Government, and place the inhabitants under the sols and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, to the end that justice may be done and the dignity and authoriij of the Government vin In the one instance, the duty of the Government is to repel ; in the othet, the guaranty la that they will protect. In other words, the United States are not permitted to wait until the enemy shall be upon your borders ; until the invading army shall have been organised and drilled and placed in march With a view to the invasion ; but they must pass all laws necessary and proper to insure protection and domestic tranquillity to each State and Territory of this Union against invasion or hostilities from other States and Ter- I'Kories. Then, sir, I hold that it is not only necessary to use the military power when the actual case of invasion shall occur, but to authorize the judicial department of the Gt)Verument to suppress all conspiracies and combina- tions in the several Estates with intent to invade a Stat6, or molester disturb its government, Its peace, Its citizens, Its property or its institutions. You must punish the conspiracy, the combination wltti intent to do the act, and then you will suppress it in advance. There is no principle more familiar to the legal profession than that wherever it is proper to declare an act to be a crime, it is proper to punish a conspiracy or combination with intent to perpetrate the act. Look upon your statute-* books, had I presume you will find an enactment to punish the counterfeiting of the coin of tl^ United, States ; and then another section to punish a man ior having counterfeit coin in his possession toithinteiit to pass U ; and another section to puni-h him for having the molds.prdies or in- strumen.ts for counterfeiting, with mtent to use them. This is a familiar principle in legislative and judicial. pro- ceedings. If the act of invasion is criminal, the con- spiracy to invade should also be made criminal. If it be unlawful and illegal to invade a State, and run oiff Aigii tive slaves, why not make it unlawful to form conspiracies and combinations in the several States with intent to do the act? We have been told that a notorious man who has recently suffered death, for his crimes upon the gal- lows, boasted in Cleveland, Ohio, in a public lecture, a year ago, that he had then a body .of men employed in running away horses from the slaveholders of Missouri, and pointed to a livery stable in Cleveland which was full of the stolen horses at t^at time. , 1 think it is within our com.petency, and consequently our duty, to pass a lawmaking every conspiracy or com- bination in any State or Territory o; this Union to invade another with intent to steal or run awiiy property of any kind, whether it be negroes, or liorses, or property of any other description, into another State, a crime, and pui^isn the conspirators by indictment in the United States courts and confinement in the prisons and penitentiaries of the State or Territory where the consp^acy may be formed and quelled. Sir, I would carry these provisions of law as far as our constitutional powers will reach. / would ma-he it a crime to fortn conepiraciea with, a view of in/oading /States or Territories to control eleciioTM^ to/iei.'ier ihey be tinder ih-e gari> of Emigrant Aid Societies ofNeio JS>tigland or Blue Zaagea of Mis- souri. (Applause in the galleries.) In other words, tliis provision of the Constitutions means more than the mere repelling of an invasion when the invading army shall reach the border of a State. The language is, it shall protect the State against invasion ; the meaning of Vt Inch is, to use the language of the preamble to the, Cop- stitutiou, to Insure to each State domestic IranqwiWity against external violence. Tiiere can be no peace, there can be no prosperity, there can be no safety in any com- munity, unless it is secured against violence from abroad. Why, sir, it has been a question seriously mooted in Europe, whether it was not the duty of jQngland, a power foreign to France, to pass laws to punish conspiracies in England against the Uvea of the princes of France. I shall not argue the question of comity between foreign Stutefl, I predicate my argument upon the Constliutlun by which we are governed, and which we have sworn tv obey, and deuiaud tliat the Constitution be executed in good faith so as to punish and suppress every conibiua* tiffQ, every conspiracy, either to invade a State or ta molest its inhabitants, or to disturb its property, or ta subvert its institutions and its government. I believe tlus can be effectually done by authorizing the Uuited States courts In the several States lo take jurisdiction of the offense, and punish the violation of ihe law with appropriate punishments. It cannot be said that the time has not yet arrived for such legislation. It cannot be said with truth that tlie Il'arper's JTerry case will not be repeated, or is riot in danger of repetition. It is only necessary to inquire into the causes which produced the Harper's Ferry outrage, and ascertain whether those causes are yet in active operation, and then you can determine whether there is any ground for apprehension that that invasion will be repeated. Sir, what were the causes which produced the Harper's Perry outrage ? Witliout stopping to adduce' evidence in detail, I have no hesitation in expressing my firm and dbliberate conviction that ^e £l'a7-j>er'8 JFerry crime was the na^twal^ logical^ i/neroitdble result o/the doctrifiea and teacMngs qf tiie JSepubUcan pa,-t^, aa- eaplained a/nd enforced m their pttx^'orm^ their par* tiean presses, their pamphlets and books, a/tid espe- cially i7i> thh speeches of their leaders i/n and out of Congress. (Applause in the galleries.) . And, sir, inasmuch as the Constitution of the United States confers upon Congress the power coupled with the duty of protecting each State against exteruaU aggression, and inasmuch as that includes the power of suppressing and punishing conspiracies in one State against the institutions, property, people, or govern- inent of every other State,! desire to carry out that power vigorously. Sir, give us such a law as the Con- Btitution contemplates and d^thoriz^s, aud I wilV show the Senator from New York that there'is a constitutional < mode of repressimg %YiQ "irrepressible conflict." Itcill open iheprison doors to allow con»pi.- ators against tite peace of the MepuhUc and the dom- stic ti-anqieillity aj our States to selesit their cells wherein to drag out a miserable lij^ as a punishment for their cri^nes against ihe peace of society Mr. President, the mode of preserving peace is plain. This system of sectional warfare must cease. The Con- stitution has given the power, and all we ask of Cougi-ess is to give the means, and we, by indictments and con- victions in the Federal courts of our several States, will' make such examples of the leaders of these conspiracies as will strike terrok- into the hearts of the others, and there wiU be an end of this crusade. Sir, you must- check it by crushing out the conspii'acy, the combina> ■ tlon, and then there can be safety. [A special committee of the Senate, of which i Mr. Mason, of Va., was chafrman, appointed to- investigate the Harper*s Ferry affair, ascertain, the cause of the raid, and report what laws, if any, were necessary to prevent a repetition, reported near the close of the session, that, the committee were unable to discover that, any persons were either directly or indirectly engaged in the Invasion, other than John. Brown and those who accompanied him to- Harper's Ferry.] WHAT POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY HAS DONE. FromMr, Douglaa"* Speech in theSenate^ May 16, I86O.1. But, we are told that the necessaiy result of this doc^ trine of non-intervention, which, gentlemen, by way of throwing ridicule upon it, call squatter sovereignty. Is. to depi;ivexthe Sonth of all participation in what they^ call the common Ten'itories of the United States. That-, was the gt',ound on which the Senator from Misissippi (M r. Davis), predicated his opposition to the Compromise Measures of 1850. He regarded a refusal to repeal The;- Mexican law as equivalent to the Wilmot Pi'bviso; a re- fusal to recognize by an act of Congress the right to < caiTy Sk slave there as equivalent to the Wilmot Proviso; a refusal to deny to a Territorial Legislature the right to-> exclude Slavery as equivalent to an exclusion. He be- lieved at that time that this doctrine did amrunt to a^ denial of southera rights ; and he told the t eople of 160 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. MifisisBlppi flo ; but they doubted it. Now let us see how far his theory and suppositions hare been verified. I- infer that he told the people of Misaispippl so. for he makes it a charge in his bill of indictment against me, that I am hostile to southern rights because I gave those votes. Now, what has been the result? My views were incorporated into the Oompromise Measures of 1850, and his were rejected. Has the South been excluded from all the teri'Itory acquired fi-om Mexico ? What sa^s the bill from the House of Kepresentatives now on your table^ repealing the slave code la New Mexico, established by the people themselves ? It is pari of the fdatory of the. c and Arizona, , under the principle of noo-iptervention affirmed . M , Charleston ? If it be true t^iat this principie of.nonripter- vention has given tp Siayery 9,U New Mexico, whi^ was surrounded on nearly pyery side by Free Territory, will not the same principle protect you in the northern states of Mexico, when they are aoquifed, since they arenow sur- rounded by Slave Territory ; are sevpral hundred miles . further South ; have many, degrees of greater .beat; and have a climaie and soil adapted to Southern products ? Are you not satisfied with these practical results? Do you desire to appeal ^rom the people of the Ter4tDri^ to the Congress of the United States to settle this ques- tion in the Territories ? When you distrust the peopl» and appeal to Qangreas, with both hpuses largely agains* you on this question, wjiat,80rt of protection will you get ? Whenever you ask a Slave code from ConBresa to protect your institutions in 4 Territory where the people do not want it, you will get that sort of protection which tho wolf gives to the lamb ; you wjll get that sort of friendly hug that the grizzly bear gives to the infant. Appealing to an Anti-Slavery Congress- to pass laws of protactioi^ with a view of fprcing Slavery upoa an unwilling and hostile. people ! Sir, of all the mad schemes that ever could be devised by the South,, pr by the enemjep of tho South, that which recognizes the right of Congress to touch the institution of SlaiVeFy either in States or Terri- tories, beyond the single case provided in the Constitu- tion for the rendition of fugitive Slaves, is the moa taXaX,'-App&Adi» to Congres&ioTial Globe, page 314» THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT. A SPEECH BY WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Delivered' at Rochester^ Monday^ Oct. 25, 1858. Fbllow-citizens : The unmlstakjible outbreaks of seal which occur all arouud me, show that you are earnest men, —and such a man am I. Let us, therefore, at least for a time, pass by all secondary and collateral questions, whether of a personal or of a general nature, and eonsidei; the main subject of the present canvass. The Dem^ocratic party, or, to speak more accurate^, the party wbich ^eara that attractive name, is in possession of the Federal Go- vernment. The Republicans propose to didlodge that party, and dismiss it frpn^ itfl high trust. The main subject, then, Is, whether the Democractic party deserves tc retain the confidence of the American people^ In attempting to prove it unworthy, I think that. I am not actuated by preoudice^ against that party, or by prepossessions in favor of its^adveraary ; for I have learned, by some experience, that virtue and patriotism, vice ani selfishness, are found in all pas-tiesvand that they <^er less ia then: motives than In the policies til^y pursue. Our couiitry is a theatre, which' exhibltja in fVill opera- tion, two radically different political systems ; the one resting on the basl& of servile or slave labor, the other on the basis of voluntary labor of A'eemen. The laborers who are enslaved are att negroes, or per- sons more or less purely of African derivation. But this Ifl only accidental. The principle of the system is* tUat labor in every society, by whomsoever pei^ormed, ia no- cessarily unintellectual, groveling, and base ; and that the laborer^ -equally for his own gpod and for the ^elf?ye of the State, ought to be enslaved'. The white laboring man, whether native or foreigner, is not enslaved, only bet;&use he cannot, as yet, be reduced to bondage. You need not be told now that the slave system is the older of the two, and that once it was universal. The emancipation of our own ancestors, GaucaShins and Europeans as they were, hardly dates beyond a period of five hundred years. The great melioration of human society which modem times exhibit. Is mainly due to the incomplete substitution of the system Df voluntary labor for the old one of servile labor, Which 1 as already taken place. This A&ican slave system Is one Vrhtch, in its origin and in its growth, has been altogether foreign fi-om tlie habits of the races which colonized these States, ■» established ciTilkation here. It was Introduced on this new continent as an engine of conquest, and for tb« establishment of monarchleal power, by tlie Fortugueae and the Spaniards, and was rapidly extended by them all over South America, Central Ame^ea, Louisiana, and Mexico. Its legititnate fruits are seen in the poverty, imbecility, and anardiy, which now pervade aH Portuguese and Spanish America. The free-labor system iff of Uerman extratlion, and it was established In ohr country by emigrants fifom Sweden, Holhmd, Q-ermany, Great Britiiin, and Irelalid. We justly ascribe to its' iafluences the strength, wealth, greatness, intelligence, and freedom which the whole American people now enjoy. One of the chief elements of the value of human life ia freedom in the pursuit of happi* neSs. The slave system i^ not only intolerant, unjust, and inhuman toward the laborer, whom, only because he Is a ' laborer, it loads down with chains and converts into mer- chandise, but is scarcely less severe upon the fi*eeman, to whom, only because he is a laborer from necessity, it de- nies faclUties for emplftyment^ and Whom it expels from the community because it cannot enslave and convert him into merchandise also. It is necessarily improvident and ruinous, because, as a general truth, communities prosper and flonrlah or droop and decline in just the degr^ that tjiey practice or neglect to practice the primary duties of justice and hiimauity. The IVee-labor system conforms to the divine law of equality, which is written in the hearts and consciences of men, and therefore Is always and every- where beneficent. The slave system Is one of constant danger, distrust, suspicion, and watchfulnees. It debases those whos9 toil alone can produce wealth and resourcfts for defense, to the lowest degree of which human nature is capable, to guard dgaibst mutiny ahd' Insurrection, and thus wastes energies which otherwise might be employed in national development and aggrandizement. The free-labor system educates all alike, and by open- ing all the fields of industrial employment, and all th* departments of authority, to the unchecked ^nd equbl rivalry of all classes of men, tx once secures universal contentment, and brings into the highest possible acti- vity all the physical, moral, and social ener^es of the whole State. In Stated Wl^ere the slave system, prevails* the maateys", directly or InOirectly, secure all polltfisal MR. SEWARD'S IREEPRESSIBLE OONTMCT. 161 power, ana conatitute a ruling aiistooracy. In States where the free-labor system prevails, universal suffrage necessarily obtains, and the State inevitably becomes, eooner or later, s republic or democracy. Russia yet maintains Slavery, and is a despotism. Most of the other European States have abolished Blaveiy, and adopted the system of free labor. It was the antagonistic political tendencies of the two systems which the first Napoleon was contemplating when he predicted that Europe would ultimately be either all Oossaok or all Republican. Never did human sagacity utter a more pregnant truth. The two systems are at once perceived to be Incongruous. But they are more than incongruous— they are incompatible. They never have permanently existed together in one country, and they never can. It would be easy to demonstrate this impossibility, from the irreconcilable contrast between their great principles and characteristics. But the expe- rience of mankind has conclusively established it. Slavery, as I have already intimated, existed in every state in Europe. Free labor has supplanted it every- where except in Russia and Turkey. State necessities developed in modern times, are now obliging even those two nations to encourage and emplcy free labor ; and already, despotic as they are, we find them engaged in abolishing Slavery. In the United States, Slavery came Inio collision with free labor at the close of the last cen- tury, and fell before it in New-England, New-York, New- Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but triumphed over it effec- tually, aud excluded it for a period yet undetermined, from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Iftdeed, so incompatible are the two systems, thabevctty new State which is organized within our ever-extending domain makes its first political act a choice of the one and an exclusion of the other, even at the cost of civil war, if necessary. The Slave States, without ^aw, at the Ismt national election, successfully forbade, within their own limits, even the casting of votes for a candidate for Presi- dent of the United States supposed to be favorable to the establishment of the free-labor system in new States. Hitherto, the two systems have existed in different States, but side by side within the American Union. This has happened because the Union is a confederation of States. But in another aspect the United States con- stitute only one nation. Increase of pdpulation, Which Is filling the States out to their very borders, together •with a new and extended netrwork of railroads and other avenues, and an internal commerce which daily becomes more intimate, is rapidly bringing the States into a higher and more perfect social unity or con- solidation. Thus, these antagonistic systems are con- tinually coming into closer contact, and collision results. Shall I tell you what this collision means f They who think that it is accidental, unnecessary, the work of in- terested or ftoatical agitators, and therefore ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible con- flict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slaveholding nation, or entirely a free-lajbor nation. Either the cotton and rice fields of South Garen and women are reared as cattle,' and bought and sold as merchandise. When that evil day Bhall come, and aU further etfort at resistance shall be Impossible, I then, If there shall be no better hope for redemption than 1 can now foresee, I shall say with Franklin, while looking abroad over the whole earth for a new and more congenial home, " Where literty dwells, there is my country." You will tell me that these fears are extravagant and chimerical. I answer, they are so ; but they are so only because ih& designs of the slaveholderN must and can be defeated. But it is only the possibility of defeat that ren- ders them so. They cannot be defeated by inactivity. There is no escape from them, compatible with non-resist- ance. How, then, and in what way, shall the necessary resistance be made ? There is only one way. The Demo- cratic party must be peraianently dislodged from the Gov- ernment. The reason is, that the Democratic party is in- extricably committed to the designs of the slaveholders, which I have described. Let me be well understood. I do not charge that the Democratic candidates forpublic office now before the people are pledged to, much less that the Democratic masses who support them really adopt, those atrocious and dangerous designs. Candidates may, and generally do, mean to act justly, wisely, and patriotically, when they shall be elected; but they become the ministers and servants, not the dictators, of the power which elects them. The policy which a party shall pursue at a future period is only gradually developed, depending' on the oc- currence of events never fully foreknown. The motives of men, whether acting as electors, or in any other capa- city, are generally pure. Nevertheless, it ia not more true that '■*■ Hell is paved with good intentions," than it is that earth is covered with wrecks resulting from innocent and amiable motives. The very constitution of the Democratic party commits It to execute all the designs of the slaveholders, whatever they may be. It is not a party of the whole Urdon, of all the Free States and of all the Slave States ; nor yet is it a party of the Free States in the North and in the Northwest ; but it is a sectional and local party, having practically its seat within the Slave States, and counting ite constituency chiefly and almost exclusively there. Of all its represen- tatives in Congress and in the Electoral College, two-thirds uniformly come from these States. Its great element of strength lies in the vote of the slaveholders, augmented by the representation of three-fifths of the slaves. Deprive the Democratic party of this strength, and it would be a helpless and hopeless minority, incapable of continued or- ganization. The Democratic party, being thus local and eectional, acquires new strength from the admission of every new Slave State, and loses relatively by the admis- sion of every new Free State into the Union. A party is, in one sense, a jolnt'Stock association, in which those who contribute most direct the action and management of the concern. The slaveholders contribut- ing in an overwhehnning proportion to the capital strength of the Democratic party, bhey necessarily dictate and pre- scribe its policy. The inevitable caucus system enables them to do so with a show of fairness and justice. If it were pos- sible to conceive for a moment that the Democratic party should disobey the behests of the slaveholders, we should then see a withdrawal of the slaveholders, which would leave the party to peiibh. The portion of the party which Is found in the Free States is a mere appendage, conve- nient to modify its sectional character, without impairing its sectional constitution, and is less effective in regulating its movement than the nebulous tail of the comet is in de- termining the appointed though apparently eccentric course of the fiery sphere from which it emanates. To expect the Democratic party to resist Slavery and favor Freedom, is as unreasonable as to look for Protestant missionaries to the Catholic Propaganda of Rome. The history of the Democratic party commits it to the policy of Slavery. It has been the Democratic party, and no other agency, which has caiTied that policy up to its pre- sent alarming culmination. Without stopping to ascertain, critically, the origin of the present Democratic party, we may concede its claim to date from the era of good feeling which occurred under the Administration of President Monroe. At that time, in this State, and about that time in many others of the Free States, the Democratic party deliberately disfranchised the free colored, or African citi- zen, and it has pertinaciously continued this disfranchise- ment ever since. This was an effective aid to Slavery ; for while the slaveholder votes for his slaves against Free- dom, the freed slave In the Free States is prombited from voting against Slavery. In 1S24, the Democracy resisted the election of John Quincy Adams—himself before that time an acceptable Democrat— and in 1828, it expelled him from the Presi- dency, and put a slaveholder in bis place, although the office had been filled by slaveholders thirty-two cut of forty years. In 1886, Martin Van Buren— the first non-slaveholdmg citizen of a Free State to whose election the Democratic party ever consented— signalized his inauguration into the Presidency, by a gratuitous aimouncement, that imder no circumstances would he ever approve a bill for the aboli- tion of Slavery in the District of Columbia. From 1888 to 1844, the subject of abolishing Slavery in the District of Goliunbia and in the national dock-yards and arsenals, was brought before Congress by repeated popular appeals. The Democratic party thereupon promptly denied the right of petition, and effectually suppressed the freedom of speech in Congress, so far as the institution of Slavery was concerned. From 1840 to 1843, good and wise men counselled t^at Texas should remain outside of the Union uutll she should consent to relinquish her self-instituted slavery ; but the Democratic party precipitated her admission into the Union, not only without that condition, but even with a covenant that the State might be divided and reorganized so as to constitute four Slave States instead of one. In 1846, when the United States became involved in a war with Mexico, and it was apparent that the struggle would end in the diumcmbei'ment of that republic, which was a non-slaveholding power, the Democratic paity rejected a declaration that Slavery should not be estab* lished within the territory to be acquired. When, la 1850, governments were to be instituted in the Territo- ries of California and New-Mexico the fmits of that war, the Democi-atic party refused to admit New-Mexico as a Free State, and only consented to admit California as a Free State on the condition, as it has since expl^ned the transaction, of leaving all of New-Mexico and Utah open to Slavery, to which was also added the concession •! perpetual Slavery in the District of Columbia, and the passage of an unconstitutional, cruel, and humiUating law, for the recapture of fugitive slaves, with a further stipulation that the subject of Slavery should never again be agitated in either chamber of Congress. When, in 1854, the slaveholders were contentedly reposing on these great advantages, then so recently won, the Democratic party, unnecessarily, officiously, and with superservicea- ble Uberality, awakened them from their slumber, to offer and force on t^eir acceptance the abrogation of the law which declared that neither Slavery nor involuntary ser- vitude should ever exist within that part of the ancient territory of Louisiana which lay outside of the Siate of Missouri, and north of the parallel of 36 deg. 30 min. of north latitude — a law which, with the exception of oue other, was the only statute of Fieedom then remaning in the Federal code. In 1856, when the people of Kansas had organized a new State within the region thus abandoned to Slavery, and applied to be admitted as a Free State into the Union, the Democratic party contemptuously rejected their pe- tition and drove them, with menaces and intimidatioos, from the halls of Congress, and armed the President with military power to enforce their submission to a slave code, eetahlished over them by fraud and usurpation. At every subsequent stage of the long contest which has since raged m Kansas, the Democratic party has lent ita sympathies, its aid, and all the powers of the Government which it controlled, to enforce Slavery upon that unwil- ling and injured people. And now, even at this day, while it mocks us with the assurance that Kansas is free, the Democratic party keeps the State excluded from her just and proper place in the Union, under the hope that she may be dragooned into the acceptance of Slavery. The Democratic part-j, finally, has piocured fiom a Supreme Judiciary, fijced in its interest, a decree that Slavery exists by force of the Constitution in every Tei-ri- tory of the United States, paramount to all legislative auUiority either within the Territory, or residing in Con- gress. Such is the Democratic party. It has no policy. State or Federal, for finance or trade, or manufacture, or com- merce, or education, or internal improvements, or for the protection or even the security of civil or religious lib- erty. It is positive and uncompromiBing in tbe interest of Slnvery — ^negative, compromising and vacillating, in regard to everything else. It boasts its love of equality and wastes its strength, and even its life, in fortifying the only aristocracy known in the land. It professes fi'ater*- nlty, and, so often as Slavery requires, allies itself with proscription. It magnifies itself for conquests in foreign lands, but it sends the national eagle forth always with chains, and not the olive branch, in his fangs. This dark record shows you, fellow citizens, what I was unwilling to announce at an earlier stage of ttkli argument, that of the whole nefarious schedule of slav*" I holding designs which I have subodtted to you, the Demo THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR SLAVERY. 163 eratic party has left only one yet to be consummated— the abrogation of the law which forbids the African slave trade. Now, I know veuy well that the Democratic party has, »t every stage of .these proceedings, disavowed the motive Ind the pohcy of fortifying and extending Slavery, and ^as excused them on entirely different and more plausi- ble grounds. But the Inconsistency and frivoUty of Ihese pleas prove atill more conclusively the guilt I charge upon that party. It must, indeed, try to excuse such guilt before mankind, and even to the consciences of its own adherents. There is an instinctive abhorrence of Slavery, and an inborn and inhering love of ITreedom in the human heart, which renders palliation of such gross misconduct indispensable. It disfranchised the fiee African on the ground of a fear that, if left to enjoy the right of suffrage; he m^ht seduce the free white citi- zen into amalgamation with his wronged and despised race. The Democratic party condemned and deposed John Quincy Adams, because he expended $12,000,000 a year, while it justifies his favored successor in spending $70,000,000,. $80^000,000, and even $100,000,000, a year. It denies emancipation in the District of Columbia, even with compensation to masters and the consent of the people, on the ground of an implied constitutional inhi- bition, .although the Constitution expressly confers upon Congress sovereign legislative power in that District, and although the Democratic party is tenacious of the prin- ciple of strict construction. It violated the express pi-o- visioDs of the Constitution in suppressing petition and debate on the subject of Slavery, through fear of dis- turbance of the public harmooy, although lb claims that the electors have a right to instruct their represeut-atives, and even demand their resignation in cases of contu- macy. It extended Slavery over Tex:as,and connived at the attempt to spread it across the Mexican territories, even to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, under a plea ot enlarging the area of Freedom. It abrogated the Mexi- can slave taw and the Missouri Compromise prohibition of Slavery in Kansas, not to open the new Territorias to Slavery, b^t to try therein the new and fasciuatiug theories o£ Kon-intervention and Popular Sovereignty; and, finally, it overthrew both these new and elegant systems by the English Iiecompton bill and the Dred 8c')tt decision, on the ground that the Tree States ought not to enter the Union without a population equal to the representative basis of one member of Congress, although Slave States might come in without inspection as to their numbers. Will any member of the Democratic party now here claim that the authorities chosen by the suffrages of the party transcended tbeh- partisan platforms, and so misre- presented the party in the various transactions I have recited? Then I ask him to name one Democratic statesman or legislator, from Van Buren to Walker, who either timidly or cautiously Uke'them, or boldly or defiantly like Douglas, ever refused to execute a behest of the slaveholders, and was nob therefor, and for no other cause, immediately denounced, and de- posed from his trust, and repudiated by the Democratic party tor that contumacy. I think, fellow-citizens, that I have shown you that it is high time for the friends of Freedom to rush to the rescue of the Constitution, and that their very first duty is to dismiss the JDemocratic party from the administra- tion of the Government. Why shall it not be done? All agree that it ought to be done. What, then, shall prevent Its being done? Nothing but timidity or division of the opponents of the Democratic party. Some of these opponents start one objection, and some another. Let us notice these objections briefly. One class say that they cannot trust the Republican party ; that it has not avowed its hostility to Slavery boldly enough, or its affection for Freedom earnestly enough. I ask in reply, is there any other party which can be more safely trusted ? Every one knows that it is the Republican party or none, that shall displace the Democratic party. But I answer further, that the character and fidghty of 'iny party are determined, necessarily, not by its pledges, programmes, and platforms, but by the public exigencies, and the temper of the people when they call U into activity. Subserviency to Slavery is a law writ- ten not only on the forehead of the Democratic party, but also in its very soul— so resistance to Slavery, and devotion to Freedom, the popular elements now ac- tively working for the Republican party among the peo- ple must and will be^he resources for its ever-renewing Strength and constant invigoration. Others cannot support the Republican party, because it It has not sufaciently exposed its platform, and deter- mined what it will do, and what it will not do, when triumphant. It may prove too progressive for some, and too conservative for others. As if any party ever foresaw so clearly the course of future events as to plan a univer- sal scheme for future action, adapted to all possible emergencies. Who would ever have joined even the Whig party of the Revolution, if it had been obliged to answer, in 1775, whether it would declare for Independence in 1776, and for this noble Federal Constitution of outs in 1TS7, a^d not a year earlier or later ? The people of the United States Will be as wise next year, and the year afterward, and even ten years hence, as we are now. They will oblige the Republican party to act as the public welfare and the interests of justice and humanity shall require, through all the stages of its career, whether of trial or triumph. Others will not venture an effort, because they fear t|bat -the Unioi^ would not endure tjie change. ^VUl such objectors tell me how long a Constitution can bear a strain directly along the fibres of whidi it is com- posed ? This is a Constitution of Freedom. It is being convei'ted Into a Constitution of Slavery. It is a repub- lican Constityition. It is being made an aristocratic one. Others wish to wait until. some collateral questions cou' cerning temperance, or the exercise of the elective fran- chise are properly settled. Let me ask all such peisons, .whether time enough has not been wasted on these points already, without gaining any other than this single advantage, namely, the discovery that only one thing can be effectually done at one time, and that the one thing which must and will be done at any one time is just that thing which is most urgent, and will no longer admit of postponement or, delay. PinaUy, te are told, by faint-hearted men that they despond; tne Democratic party, they say, is unconquerable, and the donllnion of Slavery is consequently inevitable. I reply to them, that the complete and universal dominion of Slavery would be intolerable enough when it should have come after the last possible effort to escape should have been made. There would, in that case, be left to us the consoling reflection of fidelity to duty. But I reply, further, that I know — few, I think, know better than I— the resource and energies of the Demo- cratic party, which is identical with the Slave Power. I do ample prestige to its traditional popularity. I know further— few, I think, know better than I — the diffi- culties and disadvantages of organizing a new political force like the Republican party, and the obstacles it must encounter in laboring without prestige and without patronage. But, notwithstanding all this, I know that the Democratic party must go down, and that tlie Re- publican party must rise into its place. The Demo- catic party derived its strength, originally, from its adoption of the principles of equal and exact justice to all men. So long as it praoticed this principle faith- fully, it was invulnerable. It became vulnerable when it renounced the principle, and since that time it has maintained itself, not by virtue of its own strength, or even of its traditional merits, but because there as yet had appeared in tbe political field no other party that had the conscience and the courage to take up, and avow, and practice the life-inspiring principles which the Democratic party had surrendered. At last, tlie Republican party has appeared. It avows now, an the Republican party of 1800 did, in one word, its faith and its works, *' Equal and exact justice to all men," Even when it first entered the field, only half organized, it struck a blow which only just failed to secure complete and triumphant victory. In this, its second campaign, it has already won advantages which render that tri- umph now both easy and certain. The secret of its assured success lies in that very char- acteristic which, in the mouth of scoffers, constitutes its great and lasting imbecility and reproach. It lies in the fact that it is a party of one idea ; but that idea is a noble one — an idea tjiat fills and expands all generous souls ; the idea of equality— the equality of all men be- fore human tribunals and human law^, as they all are equal before the Divine tribunal and Divine laws. I know, and you know, that a revolution has begun. I know, and all the world knows, that retolutions never go backward. Twenty Senators and a hundred Repre- sentatives proclaim boldly in Congi-ess to-day sentiments and opiplous and principles of Freedom which hardly bo many men, even in this free State, dared to utter in their . own homes twenty j ears ago. While the Government of *he United States, under- the conduct of the Demo- , eratic party, has been all that time surrendering one plain and castle after another to Slavery, the people of the United States have been no less steadily and peiso- veringly gathering together the forces with which to re- cover back again all the fields and all the castles which have been lost, and to confound and overthrow; bj one decisive blow, the betrayers of the Cousiitution and Freedom forever. ta X POLITICAL SKXT-BOOK FOR 1860. (( NEGRO SLAVERY NOT UNJUST.' A SPKEOH BY CHARLES 0*CONOR, At the Union Meeting at the Academy of Music, ^ew York City, Dec, 19, 1859. Mr. Mayor ahd Gbntlbmbn: I cannot express to you the delight which I experience Jn beholding in this great city so vast an assembly of my fellow citizens, convened fur the purpose stated in your resolutions. I am delight- ed beyond measure to behold at this time so vast an assembly responding to the call of a body so respectable as tlie twenty thousand New Yorkers who have convened t his meeting. If anything can give assurance to those who doubt, and conAdence to those who may have had mis- givinga as to the permanency of our institutions, and the solidity of the support which the people of the North are Srepared to give them, it is that in the queen city of the ew World, in the capital of North America, there is assembled a meeting so large, so respectable, and so unanimous as this meeting has shown itself to be in re- ceiving sentiments which, if observed, must protect our Union from destruction, and even from danger, (Ap- plause.) G-entiemen, is it not a suhject of astonishmbnt that the idea of danger, and the still more dreadful idea of dissolution, should be heard from the lips of an Ameri- can citizen, at this day, in reference to, or in connection with, the sacred name of this most sacred Union? (Applause.) Why gentlemen, what is our Union ? What are its antecedents 7 What is its present condition ? If we wai'd off the evils which threaten it, what its future hope Tor us and for the great family of mankind ? Why gwntleraen, it may well be said of this Union as a goveru- uient, that as it is the last offspring, so is it Time's most glorious and beneficent production. Gentlemen, we are created by an Omniscient Being. We are created by a Being not only All-S^ing, but All-Powerful and All- Wise. And in the benignity and the farseeing wisdom of His power, He permitted the great family of mankind to live on, to advance, to improve, step by step, and yetiiermit- ted five thousand years and upward to .elapse ere Ue laid the foundation of a truly free, a truly happy, and a truly independent empire. It was not, gentlemen, until that great length of time had elapsed, that the earth was deemed mature for laying the foundations of this mighty and prosperous State. It was then that He inspired the noble-minded and chivalrous Genoese to set forth upon the trackless ocean and discover the empire that we now enjoy. But a few years, comparatively, had elapsed when there was raised up in this blessed laud a set of men whose like had never before existed upon the face of this earth. Men unequalled in their perceptions of the true principles of justice, in their comprehensive benevolence, in their capacity to lay safely, justly, soundly, and with all the qualities which should insure permanency, the foundations of an empire. It was in 1776, and in this country, that there assembled the first, the very first, assembly of rational men who ever proclaimed, in clear and undeniable form, the immutable principles of liberty, and consecrated, to all time I trust, in the face of tyrante, and in opposition to their power, the rights of nations and the rights of men. (Applause.) These patriots, as soon as the storm of war iSad passed away, sat down and framed that instrument upon which our Union rests, the Constitution of the United States of Ameripa, (Applause.) And the question now before us is neither more nor less tluui this : whether tliat Oonstitution, consecrated by the bloodshed la that glorious Revolution, consecrated hy tlie signature of the most illustrious msi,n who ever lived, George Washington (applause) — whether that instrument, accepted by the wisest and by the bestM that day, and accepted fn convention, one by one, in each and every State of this Union— that instrument from which so many biesaings have flown — whether that instrument was con- ceived in crime, is a chapter of abominations (cries of '*No, no,") ib a violation of justice, Is a league oetween etrong-handed but wicked-hearted white men to oppress, and impoverish, and plunder their fellow- creatures, con- trary to rectitude, honor and justice. (Applause.) TJiis is the question, neither more nor less. We are toll from pulpits, we are told from the political rostrum, re are told in the legislative assemblies of our Northern States, not merely by speakers, but by distinct resolutions of the whole body — we are told by gentlemen occupying seats in the Congress of the Union through the votes of Northern people — that the Constitution seeks to enshrine, to protect, to defend a monstrous Crime against justice and humanity, and that it is om: duty to defeat its provisions, to outwit them , if we cannot otherwise get rid of th^r effect, and to trample upon the rights which It has declared shall be pro- tected and insured to our brethren of the South. (Ap- plause.) That is now the*doctrine advocated. And I ask whether that doctrine, necessarily involving the destruc- tion of our Union, shall be permitted to prevail as It has hitherto prevailed ? Genllemen, I trust you will excuse me for deliberately coming up to and meeting this question- not seeking to captivate your fancies by a trick of words — not seeking to exalt yotu- imaginations by declamation or by any effort at eloquence — but meeting this question gravely, sedately, and soberly, and asking you what is to be our course in relation to it ? Gentlemen, the Constitu- tion guarantees to the peopae of the Southern States the protection of their slStve "property. In that respect it is a solemn compact between the North and the South. As a solemn compact are we at tiberty to violate it ? (Cries of " No, no !") Are we at liberty to seek or take any mean, Ijetty advantage of it? (Cries of " No, no !") Are we at liberty to con over its particular words, and to restrict and to limit its operation, so as to acquire, under such narrow construction, a pretence of right by hostile and adverse legislation ? (" No, no !") — ^to interfere with the interests, wound the feelings, and trample on the political rights of our Southern fellow-citizens ? ("No, po, no !") No, gentle- men. If it be a compact,and has anything sacred in it,we are bound to observe it in good faith, honestly and honorably, not merely to the letter, bUt fully to the spirit, and not m any mincing, half-way, unfair, or illiberal construction, seeking to satisfy the letter, to ^ve as little as we can, and thereby to defeat the spirit. (Applause.) That may be the way that some men keep a contract about the sale of a house or of a chattel, but it Is not the way honest men observe con- tracts, even in relation to the most trivial things. (" True," and applause.) What has been done, having a tendency to disturb harmony under this Constitution, and to break down and destroy the union now existing between these States? Why, gentlemen, at an early period the subject of Slaverjr, as a mere philosopMcal question, was discussed by many, and its justice or injustice made the subject of argument leading to various opinions. It mattered little how long this discussion should last, while it was confined within such limits. If it had only led to the formation of societies like the Shakers, who do not believe in matri- mony; societies like the people of Utah, destined to a short career, who believe in too much of it (laughter) ; or societies of people like the strong-minded women of our country, who believe that women are much better quali- fled than men to perform the functions and offices usually Serformed by men (laughter) — and who probably would, they had their way, simply change the order of proceed- ings, and transfer the husband to the kitchen, and them- selves to the fi.eld or the cabinet. (Laughter ^nd a{»- plause.) So long, I say, as this sentimentality touching Slavery confined itself to the formation of parties and so- cieties of this description, it certainly could do no great harm, and we might Satisfy ourselves with the maxim that " Error can do little harm as long as truth is left free to com- bat it." But unfortunately gentlemen, this sentimentaUty has found its way out of the meeting-houses— from among pious people, assemblies of speculative philosophers, and societies formed to benefit the inhabitants of BariobOola- gha — ^it has found Its way into the heart of the selfish poli- tician ; it has been made the war-ciy of party ; it has been made the instrument whereby to elevate not merely tP personal distinction and social rank, but to political power Thi'oughout the non-slareholdhig States of this Union, men. have been thus elevated who advocate a coui-ae of con* CHARLES O'COXOR JUSTIFYING SLAVERY. 165 ^ct neceasaMly exasperating ithe South, and the natural t»tfiKV^^^^ teachings renders the Southern people inse- ^^i„S*"*®'^u^''PP®'''y*°'****^^^^e8, mating it a matter Of doubt each night whether they can safely retire to their slumbers without sentries and guards to protect S agamst incursions from the North. I say the effect has been to elevate, on the strength of this sentiment, such Sfn J° ?*VJ?'\ ^^'^S** ^ ^^^ reault^the condition of th^gs at thisday? Why^i gentlemen, tiie occasion that S?it^?v?^-^-''K*° *?* occurrence i)f a raid upon the fh«! i ^fgiiiia by a few miaguided-fanatics-followertf of these doctrmes, with arms in tiielr hands, and bent'upon capme and murder. I ciHIed them followera, but. they should be deemed leaders. Theywerethebest.tKe bravest; and the moat virtuous of aU the aboUtion party, f Ap- plause.) On ttie Lord's day. at the hour of stiU repose, they armed the bondman with pikes brought from the Noith, that he might slay his master, his master's wife, toid Ws master's Uttle chUdren. And immediately succeedllig to [t— at this very instant^what is the political questloti pend- ing before Congress ? - . '^' A book substantially encoura^g the same course of provocation toward the South which has been long pur- sued, is openly recommended to circulation by sixty-eiffht members of yout Congress. (Cries of " Shame, on them ' ' artiplause, and hisses.)— Recommended to circulation by Bixty-eight members of your Congress, all elected in North- ern States (hisses and applause)— every one, I say, elected from non-slaveholding States. And with the assistance of their associates, some of Tvhom hold their offices by your votes, there is great danger tliit they will elect to the highest office in that body, where he will sit as a repre- sentative of the whole North, a man who united in causing that book to be distributed through the South, carrymg poison and death in its polluted leaves. ("Hang him!" and applause.) Is it not fair to say that this great and gorious Union is menaced when such a state of things is found to exist? when such an aofr Is attempted? Is it reasonable to expect that our brethren of the South will calmly sit down ("No") ahd submit quietly to such an outrage? (Cries of " No, no.") Why, gentlemen, we gi'eatly exceed them In numbers. The rion-slav€^holding States^ are by far the more populous ; they are increasing daily In numbers and in population, and we may soon overwhelm the Southern vote. If we continue to fill the halls of le^slation with abolitionists, and permit to occupy the executive chair men who declare themselves to be en- listed in a crusade against Slavety, and against the pro- visions' of the Constitution which secure that species of property, what can we reasonably expect from the people of the South but that they wS^ pronounce the Constitution, with all its gloriom associations, with all its sacred memo- ries — ^this Union, with Its manifold present and promised blessings — an unendurable evil, threatening to crush and to destroy their most vttdl' interests — to make their coun- try a wilderness. Why should we expect them to submit to such a line of conduct on our part, and recognize us as brethren, or unite with us in perpetuating the Union ? For my part I do not see anything un^t or unreason- able in the declaration often made by Southern members on this subject. They tell us : " If you will thus assail us with incendiary pamphlets, if you will thus create a spirit in your country which leads to violence and blood- shed among us, if you will assail the institution upon which the prosperity of our country depend^, and^ill ele- vate to office over us men who ar6 pledjged to aid in such transactions, and to oppress us by hostile leglslatioh, we cannot — much as we revere the Constitution, greatly as Tre estimate the blessings which would flow from its l&ithfal enforcement— we cannot longer depend on your dompliance with its injunctions, or adhef e to the Union." For my part, gentlemen, if the North continues to con- duct itself in the selection of representatives to the Congress of the United States a^, Arom, perhaps a certain degree of negligence and inattention, it has heretofore conducted itself, the South is not to be censured if it Withdraws A'om the Union. (Hisses and applause. A voice—** that's so." Three cheers fot the Fugitive Slave Law.) We are not, gentlemen, to hold a meeting to say that "We love this Union; we delight in it; we are proud of it ; it blesses us, and we enjoy it ; biit we shall fill all its offices with men of our own choosing, and, our brethren of the South, you shall ,^njoy its glorious past ; yoa shall enjoy its mighty recollections ; bat it shall Irample your ins^tutions in the dust." Wje have no right to say it. We have no right to exact so much • ftnd an opposite and entirely dm^ent coui-se, fellow- citizens, must be ours — must be the course of the great North, if we would preserve this Union. (Applause, And cries of " Gbod.") And, gentlemen, what is this glorious Union? What must we sacrifice if we exasperate our bretbren of the ^utb, and compel them, by injustice and breach of compact, to separate ft-om us and to dissolve it ? Why gentlemen, the greatness and glory of the American name will then be a thing of yesterday. The glorious Rev*^ lutioh of the thireeen States will be a llevolutlo&Mot acMeved by us, but by a nation that has ceased Wexlst. The name of Washington will be, to us at lea^t at the North (Cheers), but as the name of Julius Q^^ar, or of some othei: great) bero who has lived in tin^s gone by, whose nation has perished add exists^^ more. The Declaration of Independence, what wSin that be? Why, the deeiaration of a State that-iib loQgei- has placo among the nations. All thes^15right and glorious recol- lections of the past mupt cease to be our property, and become mere memorial»^f a by-gone race and pebple. A line must divide th^ North from the South. What will be the consequences? Will this mighty city— g:owing as it how is, with wealth pouring into it from every por- tion of this ihighty empire — will it continue to flourish as It has done ? (€rieS of " No, no !") Will your marble palac^ that l!^e Broadway, and* raise their proud tops toward the sky, continue to i,ncrease, until, as !s now promised under the Union, H^^Shalt present the most glorious picture of wealth, prosperity, and happiness, that the world has et'erseen? (Applause.) N6 ! gen- tlemen, 00 ! duch fhing^ cannot.be. I do not say that we will starve, that we will perish, as a people, if we Separate from the South. I admit, that if the Une be di-awn between us, they will have their measure of pros- perity, and we will have ours ; but meagre, small in the extreme, compared with what is existing and promised Upder our Union, will be the prosperity of each. Truly has it been said Hei'e to-night, that we were made for each other ; separate us, and although you may not destroy us, you reduce each to so low a scale that well might humanity deplore the evil courses that brought about the result. True, gentlemen, we would have left, to boast of, our share of the glories of the Revo- lution. The Noi'thei-n States sent forth to the conflict their bands of heroes, and shed their blood as fVeely as those of the South. But the dividing line would take away f I'om us the grave of Washington. It is in his own beloved Tirgirifa. (Applause and cheers.) It is in the State and near the spot where this treason that has been growing up in the North, sb lately culminated in violence and bloodshed. We would lose the grave— we would lose all connection with the name of Washington. But our philanthropic and pious friends who fain would lead us to this result, would, of course, comfort us with the consoling reflection that we had the glorious memory of John Brbwn in its place. (GtreOt laughter and cheers.) Are you, gentlemen, prepared to make the .exchange ? (Cries of "No, no.'*) Shall the tomb of Washington, that rises upon tl^e bank of the Potomac, i-ec^Iving its tribute from every nation of the earth- shall that becyme the j)roper'ty of a foreign State— a State hostile to us in its feelings, and we to it in ours ? Shall we eref^ a monu- ment among the arid hills at North Klba, and deem thd privilege of making pilgrimages thither a recompense fbr the loss of ev^rj glorious recollection tff the parit, and for our severance from th^ name of Washin'gton ? He who is recoguized ^ the f ather o!f his Country? (Cries of "1^0, no,'*' and cheers.) No," gentlemen, we afe not. prepared, I trust, for this sad exchange, this fatal severance. We are not.prepafed, I tnist, either to part with our glorious past or to give up the advantages of OUr present happy coa(tlt!on. ^e are not prepared to relinquish out- affection for the South, nor to involve our section in the looses, the deprivation of blussiogs alnd advantages necessarily resulting to each from dis union. Gentlemen, we never would have! attaihed the wealth and prosperity as a nation which is now oui's, but foi^ our connection with these very much revjled and injured ^aVeholders 6f the Sonthern States^ Aud, gen- tletneii, if dissolution is to take place, we must part ^ith the trade of the South, and thereby Surrender our parti- cipation m the Wealth of the Soiith. Nay, more — we are toid fi'Om good authoilty that we must not only part with tiie slaveholding States, but that our younger sister with the golden crown— rich, teeming California, she w^o added the 4nal requisite to our greatness as a nation — wiU ndb come with us. She will remain with the South. (reotlemen, if We allow this course of injustice toward the South to continue, these are to be the i.-onai!quenL-t::j^ eWJ to us, evil also to them. Much of all that we are most proud Of; much of aJl that contributes to oiir pros- perity and greatness as a nation, must pa:^ away from us. Th^ question is — should we permit it to be continued, and submit to all these evils? Id there any reason lo jus^fy^sucha course? Thert. is a reason preached to us lor permitting it. We are told that Slavery is uujust ; we are told that it is a matter of conscience tu put ii duwu; 136 A POLITICAL TEST-BOOK FOE 1860. and that whatever treaties or compacta, or laws, or coni- Btitutiona, tiave been made to saaction and uphold it, Lt 4^ aiiil unholy, and that we are bound to trample upon ti'toUes, compacts, lawa, aud constitutions, and to stand wy wh#.t these, men arrogantly teU us. ja the lawQfClod and a rapdamencal prinuipLe of naturaljustlce. Indeed, genttemeA), these two things are not digtingiiifihable. Xbe lavr of God^nd natural justice, as between man and man, are one and tts due. In words far more direct and empbiatlc, in^fiiprds of the most perfect compreli&nsiveness, the Saviouifof the world gave us the same rule in one short sentent* — " Love thy neighbor as thyself." (Applause.) Now, speaking between us, people of the KTorth and our brethren of the South, I aak you to act upon this maxim — the maxim of the heathen — the command of the living God : " Reader to every man his due," "Love thy neighbor as thyself." (Applause,) Thus we should act and feel toward the South. Upon that maxim which came from Him of Nazareth we should act toward the South, but without putting upon it any new- fangle'd, modern interpretation. We should neither say nor r,taink that any G-ospel minister of this day is wiser than God himself—than He who gave us the Gospel. These maxims should govern between us and our brethren of the South. But, gentlemen, the question is this: Do these maximsjustify the assertion of those who seek to invade the rights ot the South, by proclaiming negro Slavery anjust ? That is the point to which this great argument, nvolving the fate of our Union, mast now come. Is mgro Slavery unjust 7 If It be unjust, it violates the ir:it rule of human conduct, *' Render to every man his due." If it be unjust, it violates the law of God, which says, " Love thy neighbor as thyself," for that law requires that we should perpetrate no injustice. Gentlemen, if it sonld be maintained that negro Slavery Is unjust, is thus In conflict with the law of nature and the law of God, perhaps I might be prepared — perhaps we all ought to be prepared to go with tliat distinguished man to whom allusion is frequently made, and say, there is a " higher law " which compels us to trample beneath our feet, as a wicked and unholy compact, the Constitution established by our fathers, with ail the blessings Jt secures to their children. But I Insist— and that is tne argument which we must meet, and on which we must come to a conclusion that shall govern our action In the future selection of re- presentatives in the Congress of the United States—/ insist thai negro Sla/oery is not w0ust. (Long con* tinned applause.) Itianotii^ust; it isjustjioise, and bene^eerU.' (Hisses, followed by applause, and cries of " Put him out.") Let him stay, gentlemen. Frbsident, — Let him stay there. Order. Mb. O'Conob. — Serpents may hiss, bub good men will bear. (Cries again of " Put him out j" calls to order ; confusion for a time.) • i The Phbsidbnt,— If anybody hisses here, remember that every one has his own peculiar way of expressing him- self, and as some birds only understand hissing, they must hiss. (Applause.) Ma. O'CoNOB. — GentlemRn, there Is an animal upon this earth that has no faculty of making its sentiments known in any other way than by a hiss. I am for equal rights. (Three cheers were here given for Mr. O*0onor, three for Gov, Wise, and three groans for John Brown.) I beg of you, gentlemen, all of you who are of my mind at least, to preserve silence, and leave the hissing animal in the full enjoyment of his natural privileges. (Cries of " Good, good," laughter and applause.) Th6 first of our race that offended was taught to do so by that hissing animal (Laughter and applause.) The first human society that was ever broken up through sin and discoM, had its happy union dissolved by the entrance of that animal. (Applause.) Therefore I say it is his privilege to hiss. Let him hiss on. (Cries of " Good, good," laughter and applause^) Gentlemen, I will not detain you much longer. (Cries of " Go on, go on.") I maintain tliat negro Slavery is not UDjust--(a'Toic6--"No, sir," ap- plause,) that It is benign in Its influence upon the white man and upon the black, (Voices — ^*' That's so, that's so," applause.) I maintain that It is ordained Dy na- ture ; that it is a necessity of both races ; that, in cli- mates where the black race can live and prosper, nature herself enjoins correlative duties on the black man and on tlie white, which cannot be performed except by the preservation, and, if the hissing gentleman please, the perpetuation of negro Slavery. I am fortified In this opkiion by the highest tribunal in our country, that venerable exponent of our institutions, and of the principles of justice—the Supreme Court of the United States. That court has held, on this subject, what wise men will ever pronounce to be sound and just doc- trine. There are some pito(4pies well known, well undeiv stood, universally recognized' and universally acknow lodged among men, that are not 'to be found written in con- stitutions or Oi-Iaws. The people of the United States, n/f the formation of our Government, were^ as they still are, in some sense, peouliairly and radtcally distinguishable from other nations. We were white men, of— what Is commonly called, by way of distinction^the Caucasian race. We were a monogamoxis people ; that is to say, we were not Mohammedans, or followers of Joe Smith — with half a do- zen wives apiece. (Laughter.) It was a fundamental principle of our civilizaUon that no State could exist or be tolerated in this Union, which should not, in that respect^ resemble all the other States of the Union. Some other distinctive features might be stated which serve to mark us as a people distmct from others, and incapable of asso- ciating on terms of perfect political equaUty, or social equality, as friends and fellow-citizens, with some kinds of people that are to be found upon the face of the earth. As a white nation, we made our Constitution and our laws, vesting all political rights in that race. They, and they, alone, oonsbitnted^ in every poUtical sense, the American peopw. (Applause.) As to the negro, why, we allowed him to live under the shadow and protection of our laws. We gave him, as we were bound to ^ve him, protection against wrong and outrage ; but we denied to him political rights, or the power to govern. We left him, for so long a period as the community in which he dwelt should so order, in the condition of a bondsman. (Applause.) Now, gen- tlemen, to that condition the negro is assigned by natiu'e. (Cries of "Bravo," and "That's so," and applause.) Ex- perience shows that this race CAunot prosper — that they become extinct in any cold, held them in bondage, our Federal Union might be pre served ; but if so holding them in bondage be a thing for bidden by God and Natupfe, we cannot lawfully so hoK. them, and the Union must perish. Tbu is the inevitable result of that conflict which has now reached its climax. Among us at the north, the sole question for reflection, study, and friendly interchange of thought ahoiild be— Is negro Slavery unjust? The rational and dispassionate Inquirer will find no difSpUlty in arriving at my conclu- sion. It is fit and ;proper} it is, in its own nature, as an institution, beneficial to bptU races ; and the effect of this assertion is not dtmidahed by oUr admitting that many fxalta are practised under it. Is not such the fact in re- spect to all human laws and institutions ? I am, gentlemen, with great respect, yours truly, CHJUSLfS O'CONQB. To Messrs. Leltch, Burnet &€&. ; Geo. W. & Jeblfd Bead; BrufT, Brother & Seaver ; G. B. Hatch & Co. ; Davis, Noble & Go. i Wesson & Cox ; Cronln, Hurxthal & Sears ; Atwater, Mulfovd &Co. HERSCHEL V. JOHNSON ON SLAVERY IN THE TERRITOEIE8. On the 7th of July, 1848, while the bill to establish the Territorial Government of Oregon was under consideration in the United States Senate, the Hon, Herschel V. Johnson, then a member ot the Senate, from Georgia, and now a candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with Mr. Douglas, made a lengthy speech from which we extract the following ; It remains now to consider the questioa iiivblved in the amendment proposed by the Senator from Missia- sippi (Mr. Davis). That question is, whether it is the duty of Congress to guarantee to the slaveholder, who shall remove with his salves into the territory of the United States, the undisputed enjoyment of his property In them, so I'ong -as it continues to be a Territory. Or,' in other words, whether the inhabitants of a Territory, during their Territorial condition, have the right to pro- hibit Slavery therein. For the purpose of this question, it matters not where the power of legislating for the Territory resides — whether exclusively in Congress, or jointly in Congress and the inhabitants, or exclusively in the inhabitants of the Territory; the power is preciady the same — no greater in the hands of one than the-other. In no event, can the slaveholder of the South be excluded from settling in such Territory with his property of every description. If the right of exclusive le^lation for the Territories belongs to Congress, then I have shown that they have no Constitutional po,wer^ either expressed or implied, to prohibit Slavery therein. But supj^ose that Congress have the right to establish a Territorial Gov- ernment only, and that then, all further governmental control ceases ; can the Territorial Legislature pass an act prohibiting Slavery?, Surely nob. Fpr the mo- ment you admit the right io organize a Territorial Gov- ernment to exist in Congress, you admit, necessarily he subordination of the people of the Territory— =-their iependence on this Government for an organic law to give them political existence. Hence all their legisla- tion must be in conformity with the organic law ; they can pass no act in violation of it — none but such as per- mits. Since, therefore, Congress h^ no power, as I have shown, to prohibit Slavery, they cannot delegate such a power to the inhabitants of the Ter'ritory ; they cannot authorize the Territorial Le^slature to do that wllich they have no power to do. The stream cannot rise higher than its source. Thb is aa true in goverh- ments as in physics. It is idle, however, to discuss this question in this form. For if Congress possess the power to organize temporary governments, it must then possess tlie power to legUlate fbr the Territories. If they may perform the greater, they may the less; the major includes the minor proposition. Hence Congress has, In all cases since the foundatikm of our goveriiment, reseiTed a veto upon t^e legislation of the territorial governments ; U is absolutely nee^sary^ in order to restrain them from violations of the Constitu- tion and infiingements of the ri^ts of the States, 9» joint owners of the pubUc lands. Ifj therefore, the act of the Territorial Governmeitf , prohibiting ^very, shouldbe sent up to Congress for approval, the;^ would be bound to with- hold it, upon the ground of Its being an act which Congresft themselves could not pass. But suppose the right of legislation for the Terrltcny be in its inhabitants, can they proMbit Slavery ? Su>p^y not ; and for reasons similar to those wMch show ^at Congress cannot. The Territories are not independent of, but subordinate to, the United States ; and therefore their le^lation must be subordinate. Let us 1.90k at some of the ^mitatl^ which this conation impose. Under the Constitution,. "No title of nobility ehalt be granted by the United States ;" " Congress shall make no law respecting the es- tablishment of religion, or pertaining to the free exerdse thereof; no religious test shall be required as a qualifica- tion to any oflBce or public trvat under the United States," etc. It is true, these restrictions do not apply in terms to the Territories ; but will it be contended for a moment thatnia. Then, 1 say, if a fellow-clti- zen of the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Mangum) were to remove with his slaves into New-Mexico, his right to their use and service is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States,. and no po^er on earth can deprive him of them, , ,. Itisamlsappllcatiouof termstospeak of prohibiting Siavei-y in the territory of the United Staf^es. It already exists in contemplation of law, and the legisla- tion proposed (prolubition) amounts t« abolition. . . . But suppose, Mr. President, you have the right to pro- hibit Slavery in the Ten-itories of the United States, what high political consideration requires you to exercise it? All must see, tiiat it cannot be effected without producing a popular con/vulsion wMeh will probably dissolve this VtUon. " CAPITAL SHOULD OWN LABOR." Mr. Herschel Y. Johnson made a speecb at a Democratic meeting in Philadelphia on the ITtb of September, 1856, in which the newspapers report him as having said, among other things : " We believe that capital should own labor ; is there any doubt that there must be a laboring class everyr where ? In all countries and under every form of social organization there must be ,a laboring ciass' — a class of men who get their living by the sweat of their brow ; and then there must be another class that controls and di- rects the capital of the country." MR. Johnson's views on popular soteseignty. After the adjournment of the Democratic National Convention from Charleston to Balti- more a Democratic State Convention met at Milledgeville, Ga., on the 4th of June, to take action in regard to the secession of most of the Georgia delegates at Charleston. It seems that a Business Committee of 24 was appointed, of which Herschel V. Johnson was one. This Committee disagreed as to the propriety of ap- pointing new delegates to Baltimore, the friends of the Seceders opposing a»d a few who pre- ferred to see Douglas elected to a dissolution of the party, favoring that step ; and the conse- ouence was, that two reports were presented — a majority one by twenty members of the Committee, and a minority one by four mem- bers, which latter division included Herschel v. Johnson who, ^s Qhairmap, introduced the minotrily report. ' . , The two reports were discussed by varigus persons, Mr. Johnson defending his, and Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, acting as pacifi- eatQr. The latter gentlemp stated that th«>e was "no difference in the principles enunciated in both the majority and minority reports. There were only two minor differences ; one was, that the majority . report indorsed the seoes^on from the Charleston Convention — while the piinority neither indorsed nor com- mended the action of the Georgia delegates there." The result was, that the majority report was adopted by a vote of 299 to 41, when the minority, under the lead of Mr. Johnson, se- ceded, organized another Convention and ap- pointed a full delegation to Baltimore, who, after demanding their seats, withdrew their claims, and retired from the contest before the Convention had decided the question. The following is the report presented to the re- gular Milledg£viUe Convention by Mr. Johnson : MINORITY EEPOBT. Jiesohed, That we reaffirm the Oincinnati Platform, with the following additional propositions: 1st. That the citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with thmr pro^eri/y of'cmyki^id,i\i the organized Territories of the United States, and that under the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Dred Scott, which we recognize as the correct exposition of the Constitution in this partiQUlar, slave property Stands upon ike sa/me /ooivng as all other desoriptioTis o^pr&perty^anA that neither the dl&ieral GoverTianen^^ nob ant Terbiigrul GovsRNUfiST, can destroy or impair the right to sla/ee property in tbe common Territories, any more than the right to an/y other desGTvpti&A of property; that property of aU kinds, slaves as well as any other spBoies of property, in the Territories, stand upon the same equal and broad Clmsti- tutional basis, and subject to like principles of recognition arid protection in the Isbgisl^tive^ judicial and execu' five aepartments of the Government. 2d. That we will support any man who may be nomi- nated by the Baltimore Conventipn, for the Presidency, who holds the principles set forth in the foregoing pro- position, and "who will give them his indorsement, and that we will not hold ourselves bound to support any man, who may be the nominee, who entertains principles i»- eon^teni with those set forth in the above proposition, or who denies that slwoe property in the Territories does stand on am equaHJboiing, and on Idie savb& OonsH- ttMonal basis of other descriptions of property. In view of the fact tliat a large majoilty of the delegates from Georgia felt it to be their duty to wibhdi'aw from the late Democratic Convention at Charleston, thereby de- priving this State of her vote therein, according to the de(^oa of said Convention. BesoVoed, That this Convention will appoint twenty delegates — four from the. State at large, and two from each Congressional District — to represent the Democratic party of Georgia, in the adjourned Convention at Balti- more, on the 18th lost., and that said delegates be and they are hereby instructed to present Hie foregoing pro- positions, and ask their adaption by the Jfational j)&mocraUe Convention, If brsciibl V. Johxson, Thob. p. Safjold, H. K. McCat, A, COLVABS. m A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. TREASOi^ AND DISUNION AVOWED. In 1856, as uow, many of the leading States- men and editors of the Democratic party in the Southerii States uttered predictions of Disunion, made arguments for Disunion and Very solemn threats of Disunion in case they should be beaten in the Presidential Election. Mr. Slidell, Senator from Louisiana, and the particular friend and champion of Mr. Buchanan, declared In 1856 that " if Fremont should be elected, the Union would be dissolved." Mr. Toombs, of Georgia, said ** that in such an event the Union would be dissolved, and ought to be dis- Bolved." Mr. Butler, of S. C, a leading mem- ber of the U. iS. Senate and chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 1856, said: When Fremont is elected, we must rely upon what we have — a good State Government. Every Governor of the South should ' call the Legislature of his State to- gether, and have meMures of the South decided upon. If they Sid not^ cmcL subTrUt to the degradation^ they would deserve ^lefate of alavea. I should advise m.y Legislature to go at the tap of the drum. Mr. Keitt, of S. C, made a fiery speech at Lynchbi4gh, Va., in 1856 and in view of the apprehended election of Col. Fremont, ex- claimed : I tell younow, thati^Premontls elected, a^Aersjica to the Uni^n is treason to Uberii/. (Loud cheers.) I tell you now, that the southern man who will submit to his election is a traitor aaid a coward, (Enthusiastic cheers.) This speech was indorsed as " sound doc- trine " by the Hon. John B. Floyd, of Va., now Mr. Buchanan's Secretary of War, Mr, Preston S. Brooks was complimented for his attempted (and nearly successful) assassi- nation of Senator Sumner, by an ovation at the hands of his constituents at which Senators But- ler, S. 0., and Toombs, of Georgia, assisted, The hero of the day, Mr. Brooks, made a speech on the occasion from which the following is an extract ; We have the issue upon us nbw ; and how are we to meet it? I tell you, fellow-citizens, from the bottom of my heart, that the only mode which I think arailable for meeting it iajust to tear the ConstitiUion of the United States, tra/ntple it wnder foot, ar^dj^rm a Southern Confederacy &io&ry State of which will he a slavehold- ing State. (JJoud and prolonged cheers.) I believe it, as I stand in the face of my Maker ; I believe it on my responsibility to you as your honored representative, gether^ and take our separate position in the family of nations. These are my opinions. They have always been ray Opinions. / have been a disurUonist fr&m the time I could think. . . . Now, fellow-citizens, I have tdld you very frankly and undisguisedly, that I believe the only hope of the South is in dissolovng tfie bonds which coTvnect iwt with the Qovernm&nt—in separating the living body from, the dead carcass. If I was the commander of an army, I never would post a sentinel who would not swear that Slavery is right." . . . I speak on my individual responsibility : If Fremont he elected President of the United States^ lam for tfie O'le in their -majesty rising above the law and ers, taki/ng the power into their own hand^, going bu concert or not by concert^ and laying the sirotig arm of sou^em freemen v^on the Treasury and or- chives of the Government. (Applause.) The Charleston "Merqury*" the recognized organ of the South Carolina Democracy, in a recent article says : Upon the poUcy of dissolving the Urdon, of s¶^ ing the South from her northern enemies, ana estab- lishing a southern Confederacy, parties, presses, poli^ ticians, and people, are a unit. There is not a single public man in Tier limits, not one of her present repre- sentativea or senators in Congress who is not pledged to the lips infavor of disunion. Indeed, we well remem- ber that one of the most prominent leaders of the cobpe- ration party, when taunted with submission, rebuked the thought by saying, " that in opposing secession, lie only took a step backward to strike a blow m^re deadly against the Union." In the autumn of 1856, Henry A. Wise, then Governor of "Virginia, told the people of that State that — The South could not, without degradation, submit to the election, of a Black Republican President. To tell me we should submit to the election of a Black Republi- can, under circumstances like these, is to teU me that Virc^nia and the fourteen Slave States are already subju- gated and degraded, [cheers ;] that the southern people are without apiiit, and without pui*pose to defend the rights they know ajxd dare not maintain. [Cheers] If you submit to the election of Fremont, you will prove what Seward and BurUngame said to be true — that the South cannot be kicked out of the Union. During the Presidential campaign of 1856, the Washington correspondent of the "NewOrleana Delta," a journal high in the confidence of the Pierce administration, wrote : It is already arranged, in the event of Fremont^s election, or a failure to elect by the people, to call the Le^Iatures of Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia 'to concert measures to withdraw from the Union before Fremont can get possessioa of the Army and navy and the purse-strings of government. GoverTwr Wise is ac- Uvelyat work already in the matter. Ihe Soutli can rely on ^e President in the emergency contemplated. The question now is, whetherthe people of the South will sustain their leaders. At a Union meeting recently held at Knox- vlUe, Tenn., Judge Daily, forraerly of Georgia, made a violent southern speech, in the course of which he said : During the Presidential contest, Governor Wise had ad- dressed letters to all the southern governors, and that tJie one to the Crovernor of Florida had been shown him, in loMoh Gov. W-ise said ^e had an army in read' inesB to prment Fremontfrom taking his seat if elect- ed, and asking the cooperation of those to whom he wrote : Charles J. Faulkner, formerly a Representa- tive in Congress from Virginia, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Committee, in 1858, and now Minister to France, at a recent Demo- cratic meeting held in Virginia, over which he presided, said: When that noble and gallant son of Virginia, Henry A. Wise, declared, as was said he did in October, 1856, that if Fremont should be elected, he would seize thb na- TIQ.VAL ARSENAL AT HARPER'S FBKRT, hoW feW WOUld, at thattime, have justifiedso bold and decided a measure? It is ihe fortune of some great and gifted minds to see far in advanceof their contemporaries. Should Wil- liam H. Seward be elected in lfl60, where is the man now in our midst, who •joiild not oallfor Via im.peachm6nt qf a Governor of Virginia wfio would silently sujp&r DJSDNIQN AVOWED AT THE SOUTH. ni $fuit armory to pass wider the control of eueh an Ea^ 4cuti/t>6?uctaf The Richmond Enquirer^ long one of the leading exponents of the Southern Democracy, in commenting on the murderous assault on Senator Sumner, said : Sumner, and Sumner's friends, must be punished and si- tenced. Bather such wretches must be hung or put in the penitentiary, or the South should prepare at once to quit bhe. Union. If Jremont Is elected, the Union will not last an hour after Mr. Pierce's term expires. If Fremont is elected, it, will be the duty of the South to dissolve the Union and form a Southern Confederacy. Let the South present a compact and undivided front. Let her, if possible, detach Pennsylvania and southern Ohio, southern Indiana, and southern Illinois, from the North, and make the highlands between the Ohio and the lakes the dividing line. Let the South treat with Catifor- nia ; and, if necessary, ally herself with Russia, with CiAa, and Brazil. Senator Iverson, of Georgia, in a speech made to his constituents previous to the assembling of the second session of the 36th Congress, said : Slavery mvet he maintained— in ^e Union, %f pos- sible: out of it, ifneoeaaary; peaceably, if we »/iay, /broioly if we rmust. . In a confederated government of their own, the South- em States would eigoy sources of wealth, prosperity, and power, imsurpassed by any nation on earth. No neutra- lity laws would restraia our adventurous sons. Our ex- panding policy would stretch far beyond present limits. Central. America would join her destiny to ours, and so would Cuba, now withheld from us by the voibe and votes pT Abolition enemies. During the late memorable contest for Speaker, ■ the same Senator remarked, as follows : ) Sir, I will tell you what I would do, if I had the control ^ of the southern members of this House and the other, when you elect John Sherman. If I had.control of the public sentiment, the very moment you elect John Sherman, thus giving to the South the example of insult as well as iiyury, I would walk, every one of us, out of the Halls of this Capitol, and consult our constituents; and I would never enter again until I was bade to do so by those who had the right to control me. Sir, I go further than that. I would counsel my constituents instantly to dissolve all political ties with a party and a people who thus trample on our rights. That is what I would do. In an elaborate speech delirered later in the session by the same Senator, he said : Sir, there is but one path of safety to the South; but one mode of preserving her institution of domestic Slavery ; and that is a confederacy of States having no incongruous and opposing elements — a confederacy of Slave States alone, with homogeneous language, laws, interests, and in- stitutions. Under such a confederated Republic, with a Constitution which should shut out the approach and en- trance of all incongruous and conflicting elements, which should protect the institution from change, and keep the whole nation ever bound to its preservation,, by an un- changeable fundamental law, the fifteen Slave States, with their power of expansion, would present to the world the most li-ee, prosperous, and happy nation on the face of the wide earth. . , .. ^ , ..• v v Sir, with these views, and with the firm conviction which I have entertained for many years, and which recent events have only seemed to confirm, that the *' irrepressible con- flict " between the two sections must and will go on, and with accumulated speed, and must end, in the Uilion, with the total extinction of African Slavery hi the southern States that I have announced my determmation to ap- prove and urge the southern States to dissolve the Umon upon the election of a Black Republican to the Presidency •f the United States, by a sectional northern party, and upon a platform of opposition and hostility to southern Slavery. Senator Brown, of Mississippi, ia a recent epeech to his constituents, said : I want Cuba; I want Tamaulipas, Potosi, and one or two other Mexican States; aad J want them all forme aame reaeon-fbr the plnnHng and spreading of Sla- verv And a footing in Central America will powerfully aid us in acquiring those other States. Yes; I want these eo>uMri£sfop the spread qf jSlaoery, I would spread the blessings of Slavery, like the religion of our Dimnt Mast&r^ to the ntiermost ends of the earth; and, rebel* lious and wicked as the Yankees have been, I would even extend it to them "Whether we can obtain the Territory while the Union lasts, Ido not know; I fearwe cannot. ButI would make an honest effort, and if we failed, I would go out of tha Union, and try it there. I speak plainly— I would make a refusal to acquire territory, because It was to be slave ter ritory, a cause for disunion, just as I would make the refu- sal to admit a new State, because it was to be a Slave Stat«, a cause for disnaioq. , . . .' The election of Mr. Seward, or any other man of his party. Is not, ^6rW, Justifiable ground for cUssolving the Union. But the act of putting the Government in the hands of men who mean to use it for our subjugation, ought to be r^istQd, even to the disruption of every tie that binds us to the Union. Jefferson Davis, XT. S. Senator from Missis- sippi, in an address to the people of his State, July 6, 1859, said: For myself, I say, as I said on a former occasion, in the contingency of the election of a President on the platform of Mr. Seward's Rochester speech, let the Union be dissolved. Let the "great, but not the greatest of evils," come. Mr. Clay, of Alabama, in a recent speech in the Senate, contemplating the possible defeat of his party in the coming Presidential contest, said : I make no predictions, no promise for my State; but,'in c6nx;lugion, will only say, that if she is faithful to the pledges she has made and principles she has pro- fessed — if she is true to her own interest and her own honor — if she )s not recreant to all that State pride, in- tegrity and duty demand — she will never submit to your authoi-ity. I will add, that unless she and all the southern States of this tjnlon, with perhaps but two, or, at most, three exceptions, are not faithless to the pledges they have given, they wilt never submit to the govern- ment of a J^resident professing yo"r political faith a/ihd elected t'y your sectional majority. When Mr. Clay had taken his seat, Mr. Gwin, of California, made a speech in which he de- clared it as *' the inevitable result that the South would prepare for resistance in the event of the election of a Republican Prpsident." On the 24th of January, 1860, the Hon. Robert Toombs, of Georgia, made a violent speech in the Senate, on Mr. Douglas' Resolu- tion directing the Judiciary Committee to re- port a bill for the protection of each State and Territory against invasion from any other State or Territory- Mr. Toombs commenced his speech by the announcement that the country was in the midst of civil war, adding, "I feel and know that a large body of these Senators are enemies of my country." Mr. Toombs pro ceeded in an elaborate and vituperative speech to prove that the people of the North had vio- lated the Constitution, by refusing to capture and return fugitive slaves to their masters in the South. Sir, I have but little more to add — nothing for myselt I feel that I have no need to pledge my poor services to tMB great cause — to my country. My State has spoken for herself. Nine years ago a convention of her people met and declared that her connection with tliis govern- ment depended upon the faithful execution of this Aigitive slave law, and her full enjoyment of equal rights in tlie common Territories. I have shown that the one contin- genoy has already arrived ; the other waits only the suc- cess of the Republican party in the apprpachicg Presiden* tial election. I was a member of that conventioh, and stood then and now pledged to its action. I have faith' fully labored to avert ^hese calamities, t will yet labor until this last contingency happens, faithfully, honestly, and to the best of my poor abilities. "When that time comes, freemen of Georgia redeem j'our pledge ; I am ready to redeem mine. Your honor ia involved — your faith is plighted. I know y op feel a stain as a wound; your peace, your social system, your firesides are Id- 17J A POLITICAL Tl^T-BOOK FOK I860. volved. J^ever permit this F^derfjd QoverTWient to pass mto the troMoroua lumda of the Bla<^- Repv^Uoan party. It haa already declared war agaiuBtyou and your Hiatitutiont). It every day commits acts of war against YQM : it ha,s already compelled you to arm for your de- tense. Listen to "no vain babbliAgs," to no treacherous jargon about " overt acts ;" they have already been com- mitted. Defend yourselves; the enemy is at your door; wait not to meet liim at the hearthstone— meet him at the door-sill, and drive him from the tecxple of liberty, or pull down its pillars and involve him in a common ruin. Senator CUngi^aii, of North Carolina, in a re- cent speech, says that *' there are hundreds of disunionista in the South now, where there was not one ten years ago," and that in some of the States the men who would willingly see the Union dissolved are in the majority. In con- sidering the proper cause for disunion, Mr. Clingman continues : In my judgment, the' election of the Presidential can- didate of the Black Republican party will furnish that cause. ... No other " overt act " can so imperatively demand re- sistance on our part as the simple election of their candi- date. Their organization is one 0f avowed hostility, and they come against ua as enemiea. . . . ' The objections are not personal merely to. this Senator (Mr. Seward), but apply equally to aiiy niember ot the party elected by it. It has, in fact, been suggested that, as a matter of prudence, for the first electioa they should choose a southern free-soiler. Would the Colonies have submitted more willingly to Benedict Arnold than to Lord CornwalUs 7 Mr. Curry, of Alabama, a member of the House of Kepresentatives, in a. recent speech, says: However distasteful it may be to my friend from New York (Mr. Clark), however much it may revolt the public sentiment or conscience of this country, I am not ashamed or afraid publicly to avow that the election of Willi|lm H. Seward or Salmon P. Ohasti, ot any such representative of the Republican party, upon a sectional platform, ought to be resisted to t^e disruption of every tie that bindb this Confederacy together, (Applause on the Democratic side of the House.) Mr. Pugh, of the same State, made a speech in the House, in which he said : If, with the character of the Government well defined, and the rights and privileges of the parties to the compact clearly asserted by the Democratic party, the Black Re- publicans get possession of the Governmeat, then the question is fully presented, wheth&r the Southern States will remain in the Union, as subjeqt and degraded colo- nies, or will they withdraw and establish a Southern Cdo^ federacy of coequal homogeneous sovereigns ? In my judgment, the latter is ttie only course compati- ble with the honor, equality, and safety of the South ; and the sooner it is known and acted upon the better for all pai-ties to the i6ompd,ct. The truest conservatism and wisest statesmanship de- mand a speedy termination of all association with sucb confederates, and the formation of another U'nion of States, homogeneous in population, institutions, Interests, and pursuits. ^ Mr. Moore, of the same State, said: I do not concur with the declaration made yesterday by the gentleman from Tennessee, that the election of a Black Republican to the Presidency was not cause for a dissolution of the Union. Whenever a President is elected by a fanatical majority at the North, those whom I repre- sent, as I believe, and the gallant State which I in part represent, are ready, let the consequences be what they may, to fall back oa their reserved rights, and say, *' As to tms Union, we have no longer any lot or part in it." Mr. Bonham, a member of the House from South Carolina, said : As to disunion, upon the election of a Black Republl- cau, I can speak for no one but myself and those I have here the honor to represent ; and I say, without hesitation, Uiat, upon the election of Mr. Seward, or any. other man who indorses and proclaims the doctrines held by hkn and his party — call him by what name you. please— I am in favor of an immediate dissolution of the Union. And, sir. I think I speak tbe sentiments of my own constituenia an^ the State of South Carolina, when I say so. Mr. Crawford, of Georgia, said : .Now, in regard to the election of a Black Republicaa President, I have this to say, and I speak the sentiment of every Democrat on this floor from the State of Georgia *. we will never submit to the inauguration of a Black Re- publicaa President. (Applause from the Democratic benches, and hisses from tbe Republicans.) I repeat itj sir — and I have authority to say so— that no Democratic representative from Georgia on this floor will ever subdait to the inauguration of a Black Republican President. (Renewed applatise and hisses.) . . . The most con- fiding of them aJ are, rfr, for " equality in the Union or independence out of It;" having lost all hope in the former, I am for " independencb how and ikdependescb FORBVER 1" Mr, Gartrellj of the same State, said : Just so sure as the Republican party succeeds In elect* ing a sectional man, upon their sectional, Anti-Slavery - platform, breathing destructioa and death to the rights of my people, just so sure, in my judgment, the time will have come when the South must and will take an unmis* takable and decided action, and that then, "he who dallies is a dastard, and he who doubts is damned." I need not tell what I, as a Southern man, will do — I think I may safely speak for the masses of the people of Georgia —that when that event happens, th«y, in my judgment, will consider it an overt act, a declaration of war, and meet immediately In convention, to take into considera- tion the mode and measure of redress. That is my posi- tion ; and if that l>e treason to the Government, make the most of it. Mr. McRae, formerly Governor of Mississippi, now a member of the House of KepreaeutativeSj recently spoke in that body as follows: I said to my conatituentSf and to the people at the capital of my State, on my way here, that if such an event did occur while it would be their duty to determine the course which the State would pursue, it would be my privilege to counsel wltli thera aS to wliat I believed to bo the proper course ; and I said to them, what I say now, and will always say in such an event, that my couosel would be to take independence out of the Union in pre- ference to the loss of constitutional rights, and conse- quent degradation and dishonor in it. That is my posi> tion, and It is the position which I know the Democratic party of the State of Mississippi will maintain. Mr. De Jarnette, a member of the House from Virginia, says : Thus William H. Seward stands before the country a perjured traitor; and yet that man, with bands stained wiih the blood of our citieena, we are asked to elect Pre- sident of the United States. You may elect him Pi-esidenl. of the North, but of the South never. Whatever the event may be, others may differ; but Virginia, in view of her ancient renown, in view of her illustrious dead, and in view of her He semper ^frtmn/ia^ will resist his authority. I have done. Mr. Leake, also of Virginia, declares : Virginia has the right, when she pleases, to withdraw frc«n the Confederacy. (Applause from the Democratic benches.) . . . That is her doctrine. We will not fight in the Union, but quit it the instant we think proper to do so. Mr. Sifligleton, of Jtlississippi, says ; You ask me when will the time (for disunion) come: when will the South be nnited ? It will be when you elect a Black Republican— Hale, Seward, or Chase— Pre- sident of the United States. Whenever you undertake to place such a man to preside over the destinies of the South, you may expect to Bee us undivided and Indivisi*- ble friends, and to see all parties of the South arrayed to I'esist his inauguration. We can never quietly sUnd by and permit the control of the army and navy to go into the bauds of a Black Republican President. Gov. Letcher^ of Virginia, in his recent mes- sage to the Legislature of his State, avows the rankest disunion and revolutionary sentimenta, In this document, he declares that if a Repub- lican Presiden: is elected in 1860, It Is useless- to attempt to conceal thB ftict that, in the , present temper of the Southern people, it oannot be and GAKRISONIAK VIEW OF DISUNION. 178 VfiU not la. auhmittid to. The " irrepressible coniSict" doctrine, announced and advocated by the ablest and nioat distinguished leader of the Republican party, is an .open declaration of war against the insUtution of African Slavery, wherever it exists; and I would be disloyal to Virginia and the South if I did not declare that the election of such a. man, entertaining such sentiments, and advocatmg ^pch doctrines. (m(^t to. he .rea-ieted by. Vte 8lave7ioZ position is morally inde- fensible ; it rests upon & sandy foundation ; Its testimonieB are powerless, and its exaj:Qple fatal to the cause of lib- erty : hence we cannot, give it any supi^oilii 4. Resolved^ That " better a thousand timea that alt North America should he oblit^ated by a concurrence of the Atlantic and.Baoifiuc Oceans, as a dead, revenging eea over buried Cities^ than that we, after all our light ^d Liberty, should live only by removing the truth that gave us being, or should set the example to a terrified and struggling world of a Nation claiming and daring to exist only by sustitined and sapctified oppression." lU A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOE 1860 THE POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT. In view of the Dred Scott dicta and other en- croachments upon the Liberties of the People and the rights of the States, that may well be apprehended from future decisions of a Federal partisan Judiciary, the opinions of the leaders of the old Jelfersoaian Republican party on the powers and duties of the Supreme Court become matter of public interest. OPINIONS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. In £t letter to John Adams, dated Sept. 11, 1804, Ml". Jefferson says : Tou seemed to tbink that It devolved on the Judges to decide on the vatidity of the Sedition Law. But nothing in the Constitution has given them a right to decide for tlie Executive, more than the Executive to decide for them. Both ma^trates are equally independent in the sphere of action assighed to them. ' The Judges, believing the law constitutional, had a right to pass a sentence of fine and imprisonment, because the power was placed in their hands by the Constitution, But the Executive, believing the law to be unconstitutional, were bound to remit the execution Of it, because that power had been confided to them by the Constitution." Again, in a letter to Judge Eoane, dated Poplar Forest, Sept. 6, 1819, Mr. Jefferson re- marks: In denying the right they usurp In excludvely ex- plaining the Conatitumon, I go further than you do, if I understand rightly your quotation from the ^ederoMst^ of an opinion that " The Judiciary is the last resort in re- lation to the other departments of the Government, but not in relation to the rights of the parties to the compact undei' which the Judiciary is derived." If this opinion be Bound, then indeed ia our Constitution a complete /^t!« ib., page 73. , Mr. Cocke, of Tennessee, on the same sub- ject, said: ,' We have been told that the nation is to look up tO/ these lnimacu,late judges to protect theh* liberties; to protect the people against thfimse.ves. — lb., page 75. In the House, Robert "Williams, of North Carolina, said : It. this doctrine Is to extend to the length gentlemen contend, then Is the sovereignty pf the Government to be swallowed up in the vortex of the Judiciary. Whatever the other departments of the Governt6ent' may do, tlnsy can undo. You may pass a law, but they can annulet. Will not the people be astonished to he^r.tha^t their lawa depend upon the will of the judges, who arethemselves independent of all law ?—/&., pages 531, 532. John Randolph, of Roanoke, said : But, sir, if you pass the law, the judges are to put.their veto upon it by declaring it unconstitutional. Here is a new power, of a dangerous and uncontrollable nature, contended fbr. The decision of a constitutional questiooi must rest somewhere. Shall it be confided to men im- mediately responsible to the people, or to those who arja irresponsible ? for the r&pbnsibiUty byimpeachment isi little less than .a name. Fi'om whom is a corrupt decisiom most to be feared ? To me it appears that the power- ' which has the right of passing, without appeal, on the; validity of your laws, is your sovereignr . . . J^ut,, sir, are we not as deeply interested in the true exposition. of the Constitution as the judges can be ? With all due deference to their talents, is not Congress as capable otr forming a correct opinion as they are ? Are not ita> members acting under a responsibility to public opinion., which can and will chfeck their aberrations fiom duty r Let a case, not an ima^nary c^e, be stated: Congresr violates the Constitution by fettering the press; the judi- cial corrective is applied. to; far from protecting the liberty of the citizen, or the letter of the Constitution you find them outdoing the legislature in zeal; pressing the common law of England to their service where the sedition law did not apply. Suppos^ your reliance had been altogether on this brokeh staff, andndt on the elec- tive principle ? Your pi ess plight have been enchainud till doomsday, your citizens i;jcancerated for life, and where is your remedy ? But if the coustruction of the Constitution is left withjis, there are no longer limits to our power ; and this woul4 be,true,^ if an appeal did not lie through the elections, from us to the nation, to whom alone, and not a few privileged individuals, it belongs to decide, in the last resort, on the Constitution In their inquisitorial capacity,, the Supreme Court, re- lieved^ from th^ tedious labor of ipyestigating jufticial points by the law 6rthe last session, may easily direct the Kxecutlve, by mandamus, in what mode it is . their pleasure that we shojuld execute his functions. ,They will i also have more leisure to attend to thp legislature, and-> \ forestall, by inflammatory,pamphlets, their decisions on ali important questions ; whilst^ for the amusement of the* pubUc, we -shall retain the right of debating, but not of:f vo\^g.-^b.t pages 661, 662. Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina, said : / Tfe have heard much about the judges, and the neces-- sity'of theit independence. X-wUl state one fact, to show? that they hayei.pbwei' as well as independence. Soon- after the establishment of the Federal Courts, they-issuedv. a writ— not being a professional man, I shall not under- - talce to- give its name — to the Supreme Court of North.. Carolina, directing a case tiien depending in the State:. Court to be brought into the Federal Court. The iitii.i& Judges refused to obey the summons, and laid thti whole proceedings before the legislature, who appioved itiiiu\ conduct, and, as -well as. I remember, uniinimously ;, and this in that day was not called disorganizing.— i^. page 711. - v John Bacon, of Massachusetts, said : The Judiciary have no more right to prescribe, di;'ectj^. ar control the acts of the other departments of the lrov> 176 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. ernment, than the other departments of the G-overn- ment have to prescribe or direct those of the Judiciary, — jn?^t page 988. THE SEDITION LAW, When the case of Matthew Lyon was before the United States Senate in 1818, on petition asking indemnity for a fine imposed upon him under the Sedititon Law, John J. Crittend'en, of Kentucky, said : The judiciary is a valuable part of the Governmeht, and ought to be highly respected, but is not infallible. -The Coi&iitaeion.is ourguide-TOur supreme Ian*. Bhnd homage can never be rendered by freemen to any jpover. In all cases of alleged violations of the Constitution, it was for Congress to make a just discrimination. — Benton's A^j^dgment, vol. 6, paffe 184 Kathaniel Hacon, of North Carolina, on the same day said : , According to some gentlemen, we were to regard the Ju^ciarymore than the law, and both more than the Coii'- stltution. It was a misfortune the ^dges were not equal in infallibility to the God who made them. The truth was, if the judge was a party-man out of power, he would be a party-man in. The office would not change human nature. He had no doubt that the Sedition Law, and the proceedings under it, had more effect In revolutionizmg the Government than all its other acts. ' He well remem- bered the language of the times — ^pay your taxes, but don't^eak against government. — Ihid.ypage 187. Hon. James Barbour, of Virginia,, made a re- port on the subject of the petition, of which the following is an extract : The first question that naturally presents Itself in the investigation is, was the law constitutional? The com- mittee have no hesitation in pronouncing, in their opin- ions, it was not. . . . The committee are aware that, In oppoEdtion to this view of the subject, the decision of some of the judges of the Supreme Court, sustaining the conaUtutionallty of the law, has been frequently referred to, as sovereign and conclusive of the question. The committee entertain a high respect for the ,p^tj ;Uid intelligence of the Judiciary. But it is a rational re* . ^ect, limited by a knowledge of the frailty of human na- ture, and the theory of the ConsUtutlon, which declares, cot only that Judges may err in opinion, but a^o may out tho construction of them, there ig no common umpire but tha people, who Should adjust the affair by making amend- ments in the conBtitutitfnal way, or suflFer from the d^eot In such a oase, the Constitution of the United States Si federal ; it is a league or treaty made by the individual States as one party, and all the States as another party. When two nations drCTer about the meaning of any clause, sentence, or word, in a treaty, neither has an exclusive right to decide it ; they endeavor to adjust the matter by negotiation ; but if it cannot be thus accomplished, each has a right to 'retain its own interpretation, until a refer- ence be had to the mediation of other nations, and arbi- tration, or the fate of war. There is no provision m tlie Constitution that in such a case the judges of the Supreme Coort of the United States shall coutrolandbe conclusive; neither can the Cpngresa by a law confer that power.*— Ue^py^Uca v. 'Ooo^eU^ 8 JOallae'.s Jieports, page 4T5. VIRGINIA. The Court of Appeals of Virginia, in 1814, in the case of Hunter v. Martin, devisee of Fair- fax, entered the following unanimous opinion, after full argument : The court is unanimotisly of opinion that the appellat« power of the Supreme Court of the_^United States does not extend to this court, under a sound construction of the Constitution of the United States ; that so much of the twenty-tifth section of the act of Congress to' establish the jiiilicial courts of the United States as extends the appel- late jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to this court is ^ot in pursuance of the Constitution of tiie United Slates; that the Avrlt of error -in this case was iinpro^'idehtiy al* POWER OP THE SUPREME COURT OONSIDERED. in, Y lowed 'lUnder the authority of that act ; that the proceed- 1 tfie Queen of Scots, the judges were Instructed to c«b- Ings ther^jon in the Supreme Court were corcM»- mow. I demn her, and by their sentence slje cameto the iiRfck. fwdiee in relation to this court ; and that obedience to its 1 This horrid deed was covei'ed by the oloalc of jubJcial siaadate be declined by this coui't. ^ ])roceedings. .When Charles I., determined to change In times of violent party excitement, agitating the whole nation, to expect that judges will be entirely ex- empt from its influence, argues a profound ignorance of mankind. Althongh clothed with the ermine, they are Btiil men, and carry into the judgment seat the passions and motives common to their kind. Theii* decisions on party questions reflect their individual opinions, which Itequently betray them unconsciously into en'or.i-To balance the judgment of a whole peopl^ by that of two or tlu-ee menv.no matter what may be their ofiBcial elevation, is to exalt the creature of the Constitution above its creator, and to assail the foundation of our political fabric ; which is, that the decision of the people is infal- lible, from which there is no appeal but to Heaven. — iSee Bmion's AhridgmeTCt, vol. 6, pages 660, 661. Mahlon Dickerson, of' New-Jersey, said : But I must beg leave to differ from the honorable gen- tleman (IVIr, Walker, of Georgia) when he informs us that our independent Judiciary is the bulwark of the liberties of the people. By which he must mean, defenders of the people affainst the oppressions of the Government. From what I witnessed in the years 1798, 1799, and 1660, 1 never »hall, I never can,^coBSider our Judiciary as the bulwark of the liberties of the people; The people must look out for other bulwarks for their liberties. — See ib.,page 701. RICHARD M. JOHNSON, OF KENTUCKY. Mr. Johnson, who was elected Vice-President (jf the United States by the Democratic party, represented Kentucky in the United States Senate in 1822. I find in Benton's Abridg- nient of the Debates of Congress, vol. 7, page 145, an elaborate speech of Mr. Johnson upon a resolution offered by him, proposing an amend- ment of the Constitution. His proposition was to amend the Constitution by referring all cases in which a State may be a party to the final adjudication of the Senate. In the course of his remarks, he says : At this time there is, unfortunately, a want of confi- dence in the Ftderal Judiciary, in oases that involve political power; and this distrust my be canied to other cases, such as the iawyei'S pac£ between the States, he uses language exactly ap- plicable to the old Confederation. He speaks as if he were in Gongi'ess before 1789. He describes fully that old state of things then existing, Tb« Confederation was, in strictness, a compact; the States, as States, were par- ties to it. We had no other general government. But that was found insufficient, and inadequate to the public exigencies. The people were not satisfied with it, and undertook to establish a better. They undertook to form a General Government, which should stand on a new basis ; not a confederacy, not a league, not a compact between States^, but a ContsUiuMon ; a popular govern- ment, founded in popular election, directly responsible to the people themselves, and divided into branches with prescribed limits of power, and prescribed duties. They ordained such a government, they gave 7* the name of a ConsUtfution, and therein established a distrihuiion of power between this, their General Governmeut, and their several State governments. When they shall become dis- satisfied with tliia distribution, they can alter it. Their own power over their own instrument remains. Bilt un- til they shall alter it, it must stand las their will, and is equally binding on the General Government and on the States. The gentleman, sir, finds analogy where I see none. He likens it to the case of a ther'e. As you request it, how- ever, I shall briefly give them. / I think, then, tl^at no peace should be granted to Mex- ico, till a reasonable indemnity is obtained for the inju- ries which she has done us. The territorial extent of this indemnity is, in the first instance, a subject of Execu- tive conside* ion. There the Constitution has placed it, and there I am willing to leave it ; not only because I (avefull confidence in its judicious e^cercise, but because, fi the ever-vai-ylog circumstances of a war, it would be ^discreet, by a public declaration, to commit the coun- Iry to any line of indemnity, which might otherwise be enlarged, as the obstinate injustice of the enemy pro- longs the contest wUh its loss of blood and treasure. It appears to me, that the kind of metaphysical mag- nanimity which 'woal<^ r€y ect all indemnity at the close of a bloody and expensive war, brought on by a direct attack upon our troop6 by the enemy, and j^receded by a suc- cession of unjust ac^ for a series of-^ears, is as unwor- thy of the age in which we live, as it is revolting to the common sense and practice of loankind. It would con- duce but Uetle to our future security,' or, indeed to our present reputation, to declare that w,e repudiate all expectation of compensation from the Mexican Govern- ment, and are fighting, not for any practical result, but for some vague, perhaps philanthropic object, which escapes my penetration, and must be defined by those who assume this new principle of national intercommu- nication. All wars are to be deprecated, as well by the Statesman as by the philanthropist. They are great evils ; but there are greater evils than these, and submis- sion to itgustice is among them. The nation which should refuse to defend its rights and. its honor when assailed, would soon have neither to defend ; ^and, whfen driven to war, it is not by professions, of' disinterestedness and declarations of magnanimity that its rational objects can be best obtained, or other nations taught a lesson of for- bearance-rtlie strongest security for permanent peace. We are at war with Mexico, and its vigorous prosecution is the surest means of its speedy termination, and ample indemnity the surest guaranty against the recurrence of such injustice as provoked it. The Wilmot Proviso has been before the country some time. It has been repeatedly discussed in Congress and by the public press. I am strongly impressed with the opinion, that a great change has been going on in the public mind upon this subject, in my own as well as oth- ers : and that doubts are resolving themselves into con- victions, that the principle it involves should be kept out of the National Legislature, and left to the people of the confederacy in their respective local governments. The whole subject is a comprehensive one, and fruitful of important consequences. It would be ill-timed to dis- cuss it here. I shall not assume that responsible task, but shall confine myself to such general views ' as are neces- sary to the fair exhibition of my opinion. We may well regret the existence of Slavery in the Southern States, and wish they had been saved from its introduction, But there it is, not by the act of the present generation ; and we must deal with it as a great practical question involving the most momentous consequences. We hive neither the right nor the power to touch it where it exists • and if we had both, their exercise, by any means heretofore suggested, might lead to results which no wise man would willingly encounter, and which no good man could contemplate without anxiety. The theory of our Government presupposes that Its va- rious members have reserved to themselves the regulation of all subjects relathig to what may be termed their mter- nal police. They are sovereign withm their boundaries, except in those cases where they have surrendered to the General Government a portion of then- rights, in order to rive effect to the objects of the Union, whether these con- cern foreign nationfa or the several States themselves. Lo- cal institutions, if I may so speak, whether they have re- ference to Slavery or to any other relations, domestic or pubUc, are left to local authority, either original or deriva- tive. Congress has no right to say there shall be Slavery in New-York, or that there shall be no Slavery in Georgia ; nor is there ' any other human power, but the people of those States, respectively, which can change the relations existmg therein ; and they can say. if they will, we will have Slavery in the former, and we will abolish it in the latter. In various respects, the Territories differ from the States. Some 0^ their rights are inchoate^ and they do not pos^ss the peculiar attributes of sovereignty. Their relation to the General Government is very imperfeptly defined by the Constitution ; and it will be foUnd, upoh eSiaminatlon, that in that instrument the only grant of power cohcern- ing them b conveyed in the phrase, "Congress shall have the power to dispose of and make all needfiil rules and re- gulations respecting the territory jind other property be- longing to tfhe United States." Certainly this phraseology is very loose, if it were designed to include in the grant the whole power of legislation over persons, as well as things. The expression, the "territory and other pro- perty," fau'ly construed, relates to the* public lands, as such ; to arsenals, dockyards, forts, ships, and all the va- rious kinds of property which the United States may and mU&t possess. But surely the simple authority to ddspose of and regu- late these does not extend to the unlimited power of legis- lation; to the passage of all lama, in the most general acceptation of the word, which, by the by,' is carefully ex- cluded fi'om the sentence. And, indeed, if this were so, it 'would render unnecessary anotiier provision of the Con- stitution, which gi'ants to Congress the power to legislat>e, with the consent of the States, respectively,, over all places purchased for the " erection efforts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards," etc. TheEfe being the '■^property" of the United States, if the power to make "needful rules and regulations concerning " them includos the -general power of legislation, then the grant of authority to regulate " the territory and other property of the United States " is un- limited, wherever subjects are found for its operation, and its exercise needed no auxiliary provision. If, on the other hand, it does not include such power of legislation over the " other property" of the United States, then it does riot include it over then* " territory;*^ for the same terms which grant the one grant the other. " Territory " is here classed with property, and treated as such; and the object wafi evidently to enable the General Govern- ment, as a property-holder — which, from'necessity,,it must be — to manage, preserve and " dispose of" such property as it might possess, and which authority is essential almost to its being. But the lives and persons of our citizens, with the vast variety of objects connected with them, can- not be controlled by an authority which is merely called into existence for the purpose of making T^les arid regti- lattona'for the dieposiUon and management of pro- Such, it. appears to me, would-be the construction put upon this provkion of th» Constitution, were this question now first 'presented for considerati<^n, and not controlled by imperious circumstances. The ' original ordinance of the Congress of the Confederation, passed in 1787, and which was the only act upon this subject in force at the adoption of the Constitution, provided a complete frame of government for the couhtry north of the Ohio, while la a territorial condition, and for its eventual admission in separate States ihto the Union. And the persuasion that this ordinance contained within itself all the necessary means of execution, probably prevented any direct refer- ence to the subject in the Constitution, further than vest- Ag in Confess the right to admit the States formed under it into the Unioh. However, circumstances arose, which required legislation, as well over the territory north of the Ohio, as aver other territory, both within and without the origmal Union, ceded to the General Government, and, at various times, a more enlarged power has been exercised over the T^ritories — meaning thereby the different Territorial Governments — than is conveyed by the limited grant referred to. How far an existing; necessity may have operated in producing this legisla- tion,, and thus extending, by rather a violent unplic*'' tion, powers not directly given, I know not. But cei^ tain it is that the principle of interference should not bt wo A POLITICAL TEXT BOOK FOE 1860.] carried beyond the necessaiy implication, which producra it. It should be limiied to the creatioa of pr,oper governments for new countries, acqufred or settled, and to the necessary provisions for their eventual admission into the Union ; leaving, ki the meantime, to the people inhabiting them, to regulate their internal concerns in ths|r own way. They are just as capable of doing so as the people of the Ststtea ; and they can do so, at any rate as soon as their political independence is recognized by admission into tlie Union. During. this temporary Gondii tion, it is hardly expedient to call into exercise a doubt- ful and invidious authority which questions' the intelli- gence of a respectable portion of our citiaens, and whose limitation, whatever it may be, will be rapidly approach- ing its termination. — an authority which would give to Congress despotic power, uncontrolled by the Constitu- tion, oyer most important sections of our comoion country, Por, if Ihe relation of master and servant may be regulated or annihilated by its legislation, so may the regulation of husband and wife, of parent and chll^, and of any other condition which our institutions ^and, the htiblts of our society recognize. What would be thought if Congress should undertake to prescribe the terms of marriage in New- York, or to regulate the authority of parents over their children i» Pennsylvania ? And yet it would be as vain to.seeK one justifying the inter- ference of the natibnallegislature in the cases referred to in the original States of the Union, I speak here of the inherent power of Congress, and do not touch the ques- tion of such contracts as may be fonned with new States when admitted into the confederacy. Of all the questions which can agitate us, those which are merely sectional in their character are the most dangerous, and the most^to be deprecated. The warning vOice of him who from his character and services and virtue had the best right to warn us, proclaimed to his countrymen, in his Farewell Address — thafe monument of wisdom for him, aa I hope it will be of safety for them-— how much we had to apprehend from measures peculiarly affecting geographical sections of our country. The grave circumstances in which we are now placed make tiieae words words of safety ; for I am satisfied, from -^ I have seen and heard here, that a successful attempt to ingraft the principles of the Wilmot Proviso upon the le- islation of this Government, and to apply them to new territory, should new territory be acquired, would seri- ously affect our tranquilUty. I do not suffer myself to foresee or foretell the consequences that would ensue ; for I trust and believe there is good sense and good feel- ing enough in the country to avoid them, by avoiding all occasions which might lead to them. Briefly, then, 1 am opposed ta the exercise of any jurisdiction by Congress over this- matter; and I am in favor of leaving to the people of any Territory, whiclM toay be hereafter acquired, the right to regulattf it for themselves, under the general principles of the Consti- tution. Because — ' 1. I do not see in the Constitution any grant of the requisite power to Congress ; and I am not disposed to extend a doubtful precedent beyond its neoeamty — the establishment of Territorial Governments when needed —leaving to the inhabitants all the lights compatible with the relations they bear to the confederation. 2. Because I believe this measure, if adopted, would Weaken, if not impair, the Union of the States ; and trould_ sow the seeds of future discord, which would grow lip and ripen into an abundant harvest of cala- mity. 3. Because I believe a general conviction that such a proposition would succeed, would lead to an immediate withholding of the supplies, and thus to a dishonorable termination of the war. I think no dispassionate ob- server at the seat of Government can doubt this re- sult. 4. If, however, in this I am under a misapprehension, I am under none/in the practical operaiion of this re- striction, if adopted by Congress, upon a treaty of peace, inaklng any acquisition of Mexican Territory. Such a treaty would be rejected as certainly as presented to the Senate. More than one-third of that bO(^ would voteagaiust it, viewing such a priritiple as an exclu- Kion of the citizens of the slavehalding States from a pa.ticiijation in the benefits acquired by the treasure and exertions of all, and which should be common to all. I am repeating— neither advancing nor defending these views. That branch of the subject does not lie in- my way, and I shall not turn aside to seek it. In thi!s aspect of the matter, the people of the United States must choqse between this restriction and the ex- tension of their territoiaal limiis. They cannot have both ; and which they will surrender must depend upon their representatives first, and then, if these fail them, upon themselves. 5. But after all, it seemTto be generally conoedirdthat this restriction^ if carried into effect co61d, not operate upon any State to be formed from newly-acquired terri- tory. The well-known attributes of Sovereignty, recog- nized by us as, belonging to the State Governments, would sweep before them any such barrier, and would leave the people to express and ea^eit their will at plea- sure. Is the object, then, of temporary exclusion for so short a period as the duration of the Territorial Governments, worth the pi^q^^ at which it would We purchased ? — worth the discord it would engender, the trial to which it would expose our Union, and the evils thatwouldbe the certain consequence, let the Mai re- suit as it might ? As to the course, which has been inti- mated, ratherthan proposed, of ihgrf^ing such a restric- tion upon any treaty of acquisition, I persuade myself it • would find but little favor in any portion of this country. Such an arrangement would render Mexico a jparty, having a right to interfere in our internal instUuiti^ns in' qu^tlonsleft by the Constitution to the State Govern- ments, and would inflict a serious blow upon our funda- mental principles, few, indeed, I trust, there are among xia who would- thus grant to a forei^ power the right to inquire into the constitution and conduct of the Bover> eign States of this Union ; and if there are any, I am nof, among them, nor never shall be. To the people of this country, under Goc^ now and hereafter, ai-e its, destinies Committed ; and we want no foreign power to interro gate us, treaty in hand, and to say. Why have you done this, or why have you left that undone ? Our own dig nity and the principles of national independence unite to repelsuch a. proposition. But there is another Important consideration, whict ought not to be lost sight of, in the investigation of this subject. The question that presents itself is not a ques- tion of the increase, but of the diffusion of Slavery. Whether its sphere be stationary or progressive, its amount will be the same. The 'rejection of this restric- tion will not ^dd one to the class of servitude, nor will its adoption give freedom to a single being who is now placed therein. The same numbers will be spread over greater territory ; and, so far as compression, with less abundance of the necessaries of life, is an evil, so far will that evil be mitigated by transporting slaves to a new country, and giving them a larger space to occupy. I say this in the event of the extension of Slavery over any new acquisition. But can it go there ? This may well be doubted. All the desmptions which reach us of the coe- dition-of the Californias and of Kew-Mexico, to the acqui- sition of which our efforts seem to be at present directed^ unite ina-epre^entmg those countries as agricultural regions, similar in theia: products to our Middle States, and gene- rally unfit for the production of the great staples which can alone render slave labor valuable. If we are not gro^ly deceived — and it is difficult to conceive how we can be— the inhabitants of those regions, whether they depend up on their plows or their herds, cannot be slaveholders. ' In voluntary labor, requii-ing the investment of large capital, can only be profitable when employed in the p^oduc^on of a few favored articles confined by nature to special dis- tricts, and paying larger returns than the usual agricultU' ral products spread Oyer more considerable portions qj the earth. '> . In the able letter of Mr. Buchanan upon this subject, not long since given to the public, he presents similar con- siderations with great force. ' " Neither," says the dfetin- guiahed writer, " the soil, the olhnate, nor the productions of California, south of 36" SO", nor indeed of any portion of it, Korth or South, is adapted to slave labor; and be- side every facility would be there afforded for the slave to escape from his master. SUch property would be entirely insecure in any part of California. It is morally impos- sible_, therefore, that a majority of the emigrant to that portion of th6 Tenitory south of 36° 80", which will be chiefly composed of our citizens, will ever reestabl^h Sla- very within its limiis. " In regard to New-Mexico, east of the iRio Grande, the question has already been settled by the admission of Texas into the Union. "Should we acquire territory beyond the Rio Grande and east of the Rocky Mountains, it is still more iitpossi- ble that a majority of the people would consent to rees- tdbUsJi Slavery. They are themselves a colored popula- tion, and among them the negro does not belong socially to a degraded race." With this last remark, Mr. Walker fully coincides in his letter written in 1844, upon the annexation of Texas, and which everywhere product so favorable an impression upon the public mind, as to have conduced very materi- ally to the accomplishment of that great measure. " Be- yond th« Del Norte," says Mr. Walker, " Slavery will not pass ; not only because it is forbidden by law, but be cause the colored race there preponderates in the ratio MR. VAN BUREN ON SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES. 18i »f ten to one over the whites; and holing, as they do, the goverflment and most of the ofiacea in their possession, they will not permit the enslavement of any portion of the colored race, which makes and executes the laws of the country." The question, it will be ttierefore seen on examination, does not regard the exclusion of Slavery from a region where it now exists, but a prohibition against its intro- duction where it doesmot exist, and where, from the feel- ings of the inhabitants and the laws of nature, "it is morally impossible," as Mr. Buchanan saya, that it can ever reestablish itself. It augurs well for the permanence of our confederation that during more than half a century, which has elapsed lince the establishment of this government, many serious questions, and some of the highest' importance, have agitated the public mind, and more than once threaten- ed the gravest consequence^ but that they have all In succession passed away, leaving our institutions Unscathed, and our country advancing in numbers, (tower, and wealth, and in all the other elements of tetional prosperity, with a rapidity unknown in ancient or modem days. In times of political excitement, when difficult and delicate questions present themselves for solution, there is one ark of safety for us ; and that is an honest appeal to the fundauiental principles of our Union, and a stern determination to abide their dictates. This course of proceeding has carried us in safety through many a trouble ; and I trust will carry us safely through many more, should many more be destined to assail us. The Wilmot Proviso seeks to take from its legitimate tri" bunal a question of domestic 'policy, having no relation to the Union, as such, and to transfer it to another^ created by the people for a special purpose, and foreign 'to the subject nuitter involved in this issue. By going back to our true principles, we go back to the road of peace and safety. Leave to the people, who will be ef- fected by this question, to adjust it upon their own re- BponsibiUty, and in their own manner, and we shall render another tribute to the original principles of our (Jovernraent, and furnish- another guaranty of its perma- nence and prosperity. I am, dear sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, Lewis Cass. A. 0. p. Nicholson, Esq., Nashville, Tenn. ilR.VAJS'BUElEN ON SLAYERT IN THE TERRITORIES. The following letter waa addressd to the New York City Delegates to the Utica Free Soil Conventioa, of 1848, in response to a letter • to Martin Van Buren, asking his opiaiou on the eubject herein discussed : ) LlNDENWOLD, c/Wtd 20, 1348. Gentlemen : You desire also my views in regard to the prohibition by Congress of Slavery in territories where It do^s not now exist, aud they shajil be given in a few words, and in a manner which will not, I hope, in- crease, If it does not diminish the existing excitement in the public mind. The illustrious founders of our Governmejit were not Insensible to the appai'ent inconsistency ' between the pei'petuation of Slavery in the United States, and the prjQciples of the Revolution, as delineated in the Declara- tion of Independence; and they were too ingenuous in their dispositions to attempt to conceal the impressions by which .they were embarrassed. But they knew, also, that its speedy ajooUtion in several of the States, was impossible, and its existence in alU withouft fault on the part of the present-generation. They were also too upright and the fraternal feelings which had'carried them through the struggle for independehce were too strong to permit them to deal with such a matter upon any other principles than those of liberality and justice. The policy they adopted was to guarantee to the States in which Slavery existed, an exclusive control over the subject within their respective jurisdictions, but to prevent by united efforts, its extension to territories of the United States in which it did not in fact exist. On all' sides t'ne most expedient means to carry out , this policy were adopted with alacrity and good feeling. Th eir flest step was to intecd.iot the iutroduction of-SIavery into the NorthWestern Territory, now covered by the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. This may justly be regarded, as being in the main, a Southern measure. The subject was first brou^t forward, Sn Congress by Mr. Jeflferson. Virginia made The cession of territory upon which the ordinance was intended to Operate, and the jfeepresentatives from all the slave- holding States gave it a unanimous siipport. Doubts have arisen in the minds of some whether the ordinance of 1787 was authorized by the articles of Confederation. A bill was introdueed in the new Constitution, reqogniaing. and adapting it to the new organization, and it has evei* since been treated and regarded as a valid act. Tills bill received thei Constitutional approbatjon of President ■Washington, whose highest and sworn duty it was to sup- port the Constitution under which it was enacted. Nor was the North backward in doing its part to sustain the policy which had been wisely adopted. They assented to Biejnsertion of provisions in the Constitution necessary and sufficient to protect that interest in the States, and they did more. The trouble apprehended at the comraeocemejnt of the fiovernment from this source, began to show itself as early as the year 1790, in the form of Petitions presented to Congress upon the Subject of Slavery aiai the slave- trade by the Qualcers of Philadelphia and New-York, and by Dr. Franklin as President of a society for the promo- tion of Abolition. These petitions were in the House of Representatives, referred to a Comruittee of seven, all but one of whom.we]:& Northern n^embers, whose report as amended in Committee of tbe Whole, aCQrmed " that Congress have no power to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of the States, it remaining with the several States alone to pro- vide any regulation therein which humanity and true policy might require." The perseverance and good faith with which both branches of policy thus adopted have, until very recently, been recognized and carried out, are highiy honorable to the whole country. The peculiarity of the subject to be converted into aii element of political agitation, as well in the slav^holdUug as in thi^on-slaveholding States, may have led to occasional attei^ts so to employ it, but these efforts have been very successfully fi-uStrated by the good sense and good feeling of Uie people in every quarter of the Union, A detailed account of the numerous acts of the Federal Government, sustaining and carrying into full efifect the policy Of its founders upon the subject of Slavery in the States, and its 'extension to the Territories, and the steps 1bken,,in the nou-slaveholding States, tq suppress or. neutralize undue agitation in regard to it, wOuld be alike instructive and honorabfe to the actors in them. But it will be readily perceived that this could not be given within the necessary limits of a communication like the present.^ It must therefore suf&ce to say that from 1787, the date of the ordinance forthe prevention of Slavery in the Northwestern Territory, down to and in- cluding 183S, at l^ast eleven acts of Congress have been pasBed,\ organizing Territories which. haVe Since become States, in all of which; the Constitutional power of Con- gess to interdict the introduction of Slavery into the Ter- ritories of the United States, is either directly exercisedj orolearly asserted by enactments which, a3' matters of authority, are tfintamount to its exercise ; and tliat at the only period when the peace of the slaveholding States was supposed to be seriously endangered by Aboli ion agita- tion,' there was a spontaneous uprising of the people ^ of the North of both parties, by which agitation was paralyzed, and the South reassured of our fidelity to the ) conipronuaes,of~the Copstitution, In the ]ssf$ for l^e ol^ganization of the Territories, which now constitute the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, ■Wisconsin and Iowa, Slave^ was expressly pro- hibited; ThO' laws' for the orgamzation of the Ten'itories of Mississippi, New Orleans, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida^ oon(aining enaotments. fully equivalent in regard to the extent ,pf power in Congress over, the subject of Slavery in the Territories to the express exercise of it in other cases. These acts were approved by Presidents Washington, the elder Adams, Jefferson, Madison, MonroOi Jackson and myself, ^1 bound by our oaths of otfice to withhold our respective approvals from laws which we believed unconstitutional. If in the passage of these laws during a period of half*^ century, and under the adminis- tration of 30 many Presidents, there was a^thiu^ lilce sectional divisions, or. a gi'aater or less participation in ' their enactment on the part of the Bepresentatives of tha 18^ A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. t'laveholdlng or non-slaveholding Stafies, I am not ap- prised of it. I believe the plan Jeviaed by the founders of the Government, including the Bathers of our Political Church, for the treatment of thle great subject, and which has hitherto been so faithfully sustained, and which has proven so successful in preserving the Union of these States^ to be not only the wisest which the wit of man could have devised ; but the only one consistent with the safety and prosperity of the whple country. I do, there- fore, desire-to see it continued so long as Slavery exists in the United States. The extent to which I hav^ sustained tt in the various public stations I have occupied Is known to the country. I was at the time well aware that I went further in this respect than many of my best friends could approve. But deeply penetrated by the conviction that Slavery was the only subject that could endanger our blessed Union, I was determined that no effort on my part, withip the pale of the Constitution, should be wiant- Ing to sustain its compromises, as they were then under- stood, and it is now a source of consolation to me! that I . pursued the course I then adopted. The doctrine which the late Baltimore Convention has presented for the sanction of the nation, is, in substance, that the laws I referred to were but so many violations of the Constitution — that this instrument confers no power on Congress to exclude SIgivery from the Territories, as taS so often been done witTi the assent of aU. This doctrine Is set forth in the published opinion of the highly respect- able nominee of that Convention, who, it Is well knowa, received that distinction, because he avowed that opinion, aaid who, it is equally certain, would not have received it if he had not done so. It is proposed to g^ve this doctrine the most solemn sanction known to oiir political system, by the election of its declared advocate and supporter to the- Presidency. If It receives the proposed sanction of the People of the United States, the result cannot be doubtful. The policjr in regard to the extension of Slavery to the Territories of the United States into which it has not yet been introduced, which has existed since the commencement of the G-overnment^ and the conse- quences of which have been, so salutary, must, cease, and every act of Congress designed to carry it into effect be defeated by^ the Veto of the Executive. The Territories now owned by the U^ted States, and every acquisition of territory tliat may hereafter be made to the United States, whether obtained by annexation, by ces^on for a valuable consideration, or by conquest, must, as long as this opimon is held, and as far as the action of the National Legislature is concerned, be subject tp the inroads of Slavery. . And this consequence is to be sub- mitted to on the assumption that the ftamers of the Constitution, with their attention directed to the subject, and with a well understood desire to do so, have failed to clothe Congress with the necessary powers to prevent it. I caimot, with my vote, contribute to this sanction. I cannot do so, because I cannot concur in the opinion which we are called upon to sustain. The power, the existence of which Is at this late day de- nied, is, in my opinion, fully granted to Congress by the Con- stitution. Its language, the circumstances under which it was adopted, the recorded explanations which accompanied tte formation — the construction it has received from our highest judicial tribunals, and, the very solemn and re- peated con£lrmatdons it has derived A:om the measures of the Government — leave not the shadow of a doubt in my mind, in regard to the authority of Congress to exercise the powei; in question. This is not a new opinion on my part, nor the first occasion on which it has been avowed. While the candidate of my Meads for the Freddency, t distinctly announced my opinion in fa^or of the power of Congress to abolish Slavery in the District of Columbia, although I was, for reasons which were then, and are still satisfactory to my mind, very decidedly opposed to its exercise there. The question of power is certainly as clear in respect to the Territories as it is in regard to that Di^Crict ; and as to the Territories, my opinion was also made known in a still more solemn form, by giving the Executive approval required by the Constitution to the bill for the organization of the Territorial Government of Iowa, which prohibited the introduction of Slavery into that Territory. The opinion from which we dissent was given in the face of, and directly contrary to, the views expressed, in forms the most solemn and explicit, by all or nearly aU the non-slaveholding States, and we are not at liberty to suspect the sincerjity of, these expressions. Honest and well-meaning men, as we know the masses of our politi- cal friends in those States to be, are incapable of trifling with so grave a subject. Our ancestors signalized the commencement of this glorious Government of ours, by rescuing from subjection to Slavery a Territory which is now covered by five great States, and peopled by more tAn four millions of freemen, in the full enjoyment of every blessing which industry and good institutions can confer. They did this when the opinions and conduct of the worl^ in regard to the insti- tution of Slavery were very different from what they are now. They did so before Great Britain had even commenced those gigantic efforts for the suppression of Slavery by which she has so greatly distinguished herself. After seventy-four years' enjoyment of the sacred and invalu- able right of self-government, obtained for us by the valor and discretion of our ancestors, we, their descendants, are called upon to doom, or if that is too strong a word, to expose to the inroad of Slavery, a territory capable of sustaining an equal number of new States to be added' to our Confederacy— a territory in a great part of which Slavery has never existed in fact, and from the residue of which it has been expressly abolished by the existing Gov- ernment. We are called upon to do this at a period when the minds of nearly all mankind have been penetrate(t by a conviction of the evils of Slavery, and are united in efforts for its suppression — at amoment, too,when the spirit of Preedom(and Reform is evei-y where far more prevalent than it has ever been, and when our Republic stands proudly forth as the great exemplar of tlie world in the science of Free Government. Who can believe that a population like that which in- habits the non-slaveholding States, probably amounting to twelve millions, who by their own acts, or by the fore- sight of others, have been exempted from the evils of Slavery, can at such a moment.be induced, by considera- tions of any description, to make a retrograde movement of a character so extraordinary and so painful ? Such a movement would, in my view of the matter — and I say it with unfeigned deference to the conflicting opinions of others — bring reproach upon the influence of free institu- tions, which would delight the hearts and excite the hopes of the advocates of arbitrary power throughout the world Accept, gentlemen, my warmest acknowledgments for the obliging expressions contained in your letter, and be- lieve me to be Your friend, Mabtim Yah Buben. To Messrs. Nelson J. Waterbury, David Dudley Field, and others, New York. LAND FOR THE LANDLESS. Action of Congress on the Public Lands. The Public Domain of the United States is still immense, notwithstanding the millions upon millions of acres which have been squandered or passed over to the hands of speculators and monopolists, by the action of the National Go- vernment during the past few years. It is estimated by intelligent persons, who have given their attention to the subject, that lying within the States and Territories of this Govern- ment there are now about one thousand millions of acres of public lands still unentered. " What shall be done with this immense domain ?" is a question which has for years occupied the minds of thbughtful men, who have the best interests of society at heart. At length, the great question of the proper disposition of these lands has become one of party, and may be stated as follows : " Shall the Public Domain be open MR. GEOW'S TEN YEARS'. BILL. I8i> to, monopoly by speculators, leading inevitably to a landed aristocracy ? or shall it be reserved for actual occupants in small quantities, at a nominal price, or without price ?" There would be no difficulty whatever in adjusting this question at any time and in the right way, if the Negro question, which, in the National Administration,, absorbs or Overrides all others, were not behind it. Although this is an old question, it had never commanded in Congress, the attention to which it is entitled, previous to the organizatioa of the Republican party ; be- cause, until that time both the great parties into which the country was divided were eitliSr controlled, or their action was modified, by the Slaveholding interest of the country. That interest, which is ever vigilant, understands that Slavery cannot well exist were small free- holds prevail, and hence it opposes, with all its great power, all Preemption and Homestead lawSj knowing well that if our new States- and Territories are to be occupied in quarter-sec- tions, they will beoccupiedby working farmers, and not by speculators and great planters. Since this question has assumed a national importance, a concise record of the proceedings and votes in Congress during the session of 1858-9, and 1859-60, upon the disposition of the Public Domain, will be of interest as a matter of record. On the 20th of January, 1859, (See Congress- ional Globe, p. 492,) a bill relating to preemp- tions, reported from the Committee on Public Lands, was pending before the House. The bill proposed to make some changes in the details of existing preemption laws, but without affect- ing the substance of the present system of dis- posing of the public lands. It was, however, in parliamentary order to propose to amend the bill so as to change the present system, and, to bring the House to a direct vote upo'ii such pro- positions. The friends of such change were prompt to avail themselves of this advantage. Mr. Grov(f,'of Pennsylvania, moved to amend the bill by adding the following as an additional section : ' Be it fv/pfh^ enaated. That from and after the pas- sage of this act, no public land shall be exposed to sale by proclamation of the President, unless the same shall have . been surveyed, and the retm-n of such sm-vey duly filed in the Land Of&ce, for ten years or more before such sale. The force and effect of this amendment would be to give the preemptors ten years the start of the speculators and land monopolists. That is to say : with the addition of Mr. Grow's amendment to the existiag laws and regulations touching the Public Lands, they would be open to preemption ten years before they could come within the grasp of the speculator, thus giving the poor, industrious settler ample time to " clear up " his farm and pay for it from the pro- ceeds of the soil. This was just what the South and the Democracy did not want, as the sequel will show. , ! The opponents of the bill forthwith resorted to parliamentary tactics to avoid a direct issue open Mr. Grow's proposition. Their first movement was a motion to refer the bill and amendment to the. Committee of the Whole, familiarly and aptly styled " the tomb of the Capulets." If that reference had been gar- riedi, the bill never would have been reached, and would never have been heard of afterward. The vote upon the motion tO refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole, wks as follows— the Democrats in Roman, the Republicans in Italics, and the Southern Americans in small CAPITALS : 'Tills, Mahih.— Wood—1. CoNKBCTiooT. — Arnold, Bishop — ^3. Ne»-Yobk.— ^tW™«^A«, Maclay, Russell, Taylor — i, Nbw-Jbrsby. — ^^Wortendyke — 1. , . Pbnjssylvania. — Ahl, Ghapman, Dewart, Montgomery, Morris, SiteMe, White— 7. Maryland. — Karris, Rioaud — 3. ViRQiNlA. — Bocdck, Oaskie, EdmundsoD, Paulkner, Gar- nett, Millson, Powell-rT. i North Carolina.— Cralge, KufBn, Scales, Winslow — i. SoDi'H Carolina. — Kojioe, Branch, Keitt, McQueen, Miles— 5. Geobqia, — Crawford, Oartrell, Jackson, Seward, Ste- phens, Tbippe, Wright— 7.' Florida.— Hawkins— 1. Alabama. — Ourry^ Houston, Mdore, Shorter— 4. MississiPPL — BarksSale, Davis, McRae— S. LoDiaiANA.— EoSTis, Sandidge, Taylor — S. TsxAS.— Bryan, Reagan— 2. TaNNKSSSE. — Atkins, Jones, Mayhard, Rbapy, Savage, Watlcins, ZOLLICOFPER — 7. \ KsNTOOKY.- Burnett, Jewett, Marshall, Peyton, Ste- venson, Talbott, Underwood— 7. MisaooRL — At^DERSON, Oaruthers, John B. Clark, James Craig, Phelps, WOODSON— 6. Ohio. — tfurns, Cookerill, Groesbeck, ITarlan, Law- rence, NicJloU, Pendleton, Vallaijdighara— 8. Indiana. — Davis, English, G-regg, Hughes, "Niblack— 6. Illinois. — Marshall, Morris, Shaw, Sinith— 4. ' Total, 90. NATS. yikmyi.— Foster, Gilma/n,, Morse, I.WasKlyurn — i. . NBw-HAMPSHiRB;,,^^agri?t, Ta^am. — 2. VsBXiQST.^Morrill, Boyoe, WaltonS, Massaohdsetts. — ByMnton, Burli/thgmne, Chaffee, Qo' mins, pawes. Hall, Knapp, Thay&r — 8. Rhode Island. — Bra/yton, Dv/rfee — 2. CoNNECTicDT.— CZcwA, X>ean~*Z: . New-York Andrews, Clark, John Cochrane, liodd, Tenion, Gramger, Hatch, Sbard, Kels^, Matteson, MorgoM, Morse, Murra^^Olm, -Palmer, Foirlcer^SpiM- ner, Thompson — 18. NEw-jEBSB,T.--(?^(MOS(m, Huyler — 2. Pennsylvania.- Cosode, Xdie, Plorcnce,(7)'0'Mj, Jones, Keim,, heidy, JhiTviance, St&uiart~9. Maryland, — Bowie, Stewart— 3. Virginia, — Goode, Hopkins— 3, North Carolina, — Gilmer, Vance — 3, Alabama. — Cobb, Dowdell, Stallworth— 3. Mississippi. — Singleton— 1, Ohio. — Bingham, BHss. JS^ddings, Hall, Zeiier, Mbit, Sherman, Stanton, Tompkins, Wade— 11, IsmiSi..— Colfax, Poley, Mlgore, Fettit, Wilson — 5, ' ■' ' ~' liA.vsoi^.—Farnsrmorth,K6[legg, Love^ay, WasJblmrne, — i. MissoDRi,— .S^ojr- 1; MioiiaiS.—JIoward, Zeaeh, Walbridge, Waldron — 4, Wisconsin. — Pott&r, Wastibwm — 2. IowA.^<7iwMs, Oanyis—i. California. — Scott — 1, Minnesota.— Cavanaugh, Phelps— 9. Total, 92. The motion to refer the bill to the Commii> tee of the Whole having thus failed, the House was brought to a direct vote upon Mr. Grow's amendment, wliich was adopted by the follow- ing votes : "* TEAS. Mutts.— Foster, Oilman, Morse, Wdshburn, ' Wood — 5, New-Hampshire.- Crasrwi., Fike, Tappan—S, Vermont. — Morrill, Boyae, Walton—^, MASSAOHnsKTTS.- ,B«^ Vermont.— Jifi»-r»ii, Boym, W(iltemi~&, MAsisAcaoauTTs — ii»^to», BwHngame, C/tafee, 0omiln«, Daxle, Dawes, Gooeh, Ball, ITnagip, Tliayer Rhode Island, — Sra^ton, Dv/rfee — 2. CoKNRCTicoT.— C?^a?!^, Itean — 2. JAvn -Yam:..— Andrews, beiHMeU,, Swrougha, Clark, C. B. Cochrane, John Cochrane, Dodd, Fewton, Gran- ger, Hatch, Hoard, Eelaeyj Mitteson, Morgam,, Morse Murray, Olim,, Palmer, Parker, firmer, Thompaon New-Jebsey.— CKoiosow, BolMrta—i. Pennsylvania,— Cowdfe Sick,, mie, Grow, K&im, Momis, Purvianoe, Bitc/i4e, Stmoari—9. Maryland,— Da via-^l, OEio.—Bingham,Blisa,Cox,Gidaing»,Ua.n,mirlan, Bortoti, Letter, MlUer, MoU, Sherman,, Stanton. Zbrnj)- kina, Wade—U. Uicmam.— Howard, Leaah, WaltHdge, Waldron .—4. Indiana.- CoJ/Saj, Zilgore, Pettit, WUsonr-i. iLLiNOBi— J'o»«»«Ki«.«A, Seflogg, Zovijoy, Morrli, Wasnburne — 5. Wisconsin.- Po«er, TTasASwvs— 2. Iowa. — CwrUs, L>avis--2^ ■ MiNNESOTA,^ — C^vanaugh?; Phelps — 2. }&issavsL—Blad/r—\. Total— 91. NAYS. Connecticut. — Arnold— 1. New- York. — Coming, Russell, Searing, Taylor — ^ BIew-Jersey, — Huyler.— 1.; Pennsylvania.- Ahl, Chapman, Dewart, Florenca Jones, Leidy, MontgomeiT, Phillips, White— 9. Delaware, — Whiteley — ^1. Maryland.— Bowie, Ricadd, Stewart— 3. Virginia. — Bocock, Caskie, Edmuudson, Garnett, Gftode, Hopkins, MilUon, Powell— S. ^b^ph CabolIIia.- Crai{:e, GiLKBE, Ruffin, Scales, Shaw, Vance, Winslow — 1. South Carolina.— Bonham, Boyce, McQueen— S. Georgia. — Crawford, Gartrel, Jackson, Stepheiu, Tbippe, Wright— 6. Flobida. — Havkibs^l. ALABAHA.-^Cobb, Dowdell, Houston, Moore, Shorter, Stallworth-6. - Mississippi. — ^Barksdale, Davis, McRae, Singleton— 4, Louisiana.— Sandidge, Taylor— 2. Texas. — Bryan, Reagan— 2. Arkansas. — Greenwood — 1. Tennessee,- Atkins, Avery, Jones, Mathabd, Ready, Savage-, Smith, Watldns, Zollicoffeb— 9. Kentucky, — ^Burnett, Clay, Elliott, Jewett, Marshall, Mason, Peyton, Stevenson, Talbott, Undebwood— 10. Ohio. — Burns, Cockerill, Groesbeck, Pendleton, Vai- landigham — 5. Indiana. — ^Davb, Foley, Gregg, Hughes— 4. Illinois, — Marshall, Shaw— 2. MissouBi. — Andkrsoh, Caruthers, Clark, Craig, Phelps, Woodson. Total— 95. The defeat of the bill, in consequence of the incorporation into it of Mr. Grow's amend- ment, shows that a majority of the House was really opppsed to that aniendment, although it had been adopted by a vote of 98 to 81. Cer- tain members, who did not dare to vote directly against the amendment, joined in killing it afterward, by killing the bill, of which it had been made a part by their own votes. Thus Messrs. Stewart, of Maryland, Atkins, Avery, Jones and Savage, of Tennessee, and Jewett, Stephenson, and Talbot, of Kentucky, who had voted for the amendment, voted after ward against the bill. Only one, Mr. Blair, of the nine Southern supporters of the amend- ment, proved true to it in the end, and no other Southern member cabe to its support isi the final vote, saving, only Mr. Davis, of Maryland, who represents the free-labor interest of the city of Baltimore, rather than the interest of the slaveholding and landed aristocracy of the planting States. Afterward, on the same day, when these votes upon Mr. Grow's amendment were given, the representatives fi'om Minnesota, both of them members of the Democra^c party, de- livered speeches, in which tliey made no secret of their chagrm that a measure so vital to their constituency encountered the nearly unanimous opposition of their political friends. Mr. Cava- naugh, one of the members from Minnesota (Crlobe, p. 505), said: With reference to the vote on this bill to-day, with an overwhelming majority of this side of the House voting against my colleague and myself, voting against this bill, I say it frankly, I say it in sorrow, that it was to the Re- publican side of the House to whom we were compelled to look for support of this Just and honorable measure. Gentlemen from the South, gentlemen who have broad acres and wide plantations, aided here to-day by their votes more to malie Republican States in the North than by any vote which has been cast within the last two ytsars, Tliuse ecntlemen come here and ask us to support MR. GROWS HOMESTEAD BILL. 185 the South ; yet they, to a man .almost, vote against the fl'ee, independent labor of tlie North and West. I, sir, have inherited my Deniocraoy ; have been at- tached to the Democratic party from my boyhood ; have believed In the great trutlia as enunciated by the ''■fa- thers of thefaiCli," and have cherished them religiously, knowing that, by their faithful applicatlou. to evei-y department of tliis Groverument, this natiQn> ha? grown up from struggling colonies to prosperous, powerful, and 8t>vereign States. But, sir, when I see Southern gentle- men uotiie up, as I did to-day, and refuse, by their votes, to aid my constituents, refuse to place the actual tiller^f tlie soil, the honest, industrious laborer, beyond the grasp and avarice of the speculator, I tell you, sir, I falter and I hesitate. The amendment of Mr, Grow, forbidding the public sales of lands for at least fen years after their survey,. would secure the great buUc of the lands to preemptors, and would give them a long pay-day, and thus save them from the enormous usury they are now compelled to pay to money-lenders. It would not reduce the revenue derived by the Treasury from the public lands, but would only postpone it; and this postponement would be far less prejudicial , to the Government than it would be beneficial to the settler. The Government can bortrow money at four and a lialf per cept per annum, while the settler frequently pays five per cent, per month for the money to enter his lands, to prevent their sale at public auction. On the first of February, the question of the f ublic Lands was again before the House, the pending bill (House bill No, 72) being a- bill to secure Homesteads to actual settlers, and being in the words following: A BILL TO SECURE HOMESTEADS TO ACTUAL SET- TLEitS OH THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. g 1. Be it enaoteS l>y the Senate and House of Be- presfiTitatvses of the United States of America in Con- gress ass^mbled/^ 'HUata-ny person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at tlie age of twenty-one "yetirs, and is a-citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed Ihs intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be entitled to enter, free of cost, one quarter-section of vacant and unappropriated public lands which may, at the time the application is made, be subject to piivate entry^ at $1 25 per acre, or a quantity equal thereto, to be louat&J in a body, in con- formity with the legal subdivisions of public lands, aad after the same shall have been surveyed. §'2. And be it further enaot^d^ That the person ap- plying for the benefivof tins act shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the ,B*^i^ regis- ter that he or she is the head of a family, oris tweifty-one years or more of age, and that such application la m^de for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and those ape- cially mentioned in this act, and not either directly or indirectly for the use OF benefit of any other pet-son or persons whomsoever ; and upon making the affidavit as above required, and filing the affidavit with the register, he or she shall' thereupon^ be permitted to enter the quantity of land already specified: I^i^ovided^ however^ That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry ; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time thereafter, the person making such entry, or, if he be dead, his widow, or, in case of her death, his heirs or devisee, or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, shall prove by two creditable witnesses that he, she, or they, have con- tinued to reside up4n and cultivate such land, and still lesiile upon the game, and have not alienated the same, me any part thereof, then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall, on pay- ment orteii dollars, be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by fpr law : And provided, fi^ther, In case of the death Of both father and mother,leaving an in- fant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the riaht and the fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant child or children, and the executor, administrator or imardiat m*y, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with th« laws of the State in which such chiidren*for the time' being have their domlcil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States. § 8. And be it further mactedj That the renter of the land office Bball note all such applications on the tract-books and plats of his office, and keep a register of all such entries^ and make a return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been foxmded. §4 AnS be it further enacted. That all lands ac- quired under the provisions of this act shall in no -event become liable to the satisfactioQ of any debt or debts con- tracted prior to the issuhig the patent therefor. § 5. And be itfu^her enacted^ That if, at any tune af- ter the fihng the affidavit, as required in the second sec- tion of this act', and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proven, after due notice to the settler, to the satosfoctifm of the renter of the land' office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her reeidence, or abandoned the said entry for more than six months at any time, then, and in that event, the land so entered shall revert back to the Governments, and be disposed of aa other public lands ai-e now by law, subject- to an appeal to the General Land Office. § 6. And be it further enadedj That no individual shall be pei-mitted to make more than one entry under the provisions of this act ; and that, the Commissioner of the General Land Office ia herebjy required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provi- sions into effeot ; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices ^all be entitled to receive the same compensation for any lands entered under the pro- visions of th» act that they are now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered.with money, one-half to be, paid by tiie person making t*ie applieatson, at the time so doing, and the otlier half on the issue of the certificate by the person to whom it may be Issued : frovidi^d, That nothhig in this act shall be so construed as to impair or interfere in any manner whatever with existing. preemption rights. ^e previous question haviDg been Q_rdered, the House was brought, to a direct vote upoj. this bill, without debate. A motion to lay the bill on the table was log ■Yeas, '7'? ; Nays, 113 ; and tbe bill was thet " Teas, 12G ; Nays, ^76. As these two votes were substantially the same^ we only give the last one, which was upon the passage of the bill, and which was as follows : r ' TEAS. ^MSE.— Abbott, Foster, Gihnan, Morse, Waslbbum -^. New-Hampshibk. — Oragi/n, Pike, Tappan—Z. Verrjokt.— JftwriJ^, Royee, Walton—^. MAgsAGJHtrsBTTs.^^.Bi4^S«,tom.,. Burlingame, Chaffee^ . Comina, Da/vis, Dawes, Gooch, Mall, Knapp, Thayet' —10. Rho->e Island. — Sraytfm, Dvrfee — 2. Connecticut, — Bishop, Gla/rh, Meaatr-B. ■ New-York.— Andrews, Barr, B-wrrougJis, C. B, Oothf rane, John Cochrane, Cbrnihg, Dodd, Fenton, Good/ioin, GiPfmger, Haskin, Hatch, Eowrd, Kels&y, Maclay, Mat- ieson, Morgan, Morse, Murray, OHn, FaVmer, Packer, Fettle, Russell, Spi/nner, Taylor, Ward— 2T. New-Jersey. — Adrian, Cla/wson, Itobbvns, Wortendyke Pennstltania.— CiMJodfl, Dick, Florence,, G'?'OTo, 'BIg^l- m2.n,K&im,Morris, Phillips, i*ifrwia»c6,5leilly, Boberts, Stewart, JSv-nkel^lB. Tbnnesseb. — Jones — 1. !EENTOCRT.sr-*rewetfr— 1'.- ■ Omo.-r^Bi^gham, Bliss,, Bums, Cockerill, Cox, Gid- &inga, Grbesbeck, Hall, Earlan, Morton, Lawrence, Zeiter, 'MiUer, Pendleton, Shermaii, Stcmton^ Tomp- i;*ins, Vallandighami WtDde-^19. Indiana.— Cowe, vol/ai^,. Davis, Foley, Gregg, Kilgor^, Pettit, WilsoTi^-^. Illinois. — Farnsworih, Hodges, Kellogg,^ Lov^oy, Morris, Smith, Washbm^e~T. . Michigan.— //tMoaro^, Zeach;Walbridff6, Waldroni-^ Wisconsin.— ^2Z*fl.ffAws^ Potter, Washburn — 3. Minnesota.- OaVanaugh, Phelps— 2. Iowa. — CitriiSf Davis— 2; 186 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. MissouEi. — Craig— 3 . Calibobsia.— McKibbin, Scott— 2. Total, 120. PEKNSTLVAnrA.— I-eidy— 1.. , DELA.WARE. — Whlteley— 1. , ^~ Mabyland. — Bowie, Davis, Habris, Kunkel, Ricaud, Stewart — 6. ViBoiNiA. — ^Bocock, Caskie, Edmundson, Faulkner, Gar- nett, Qoode, llopkios, Jenkins, Letcher, Millson, Smith North Oarouna. — Branch, Craige, Gilmer, Ru'ffin,' Scales, Shaw, Vance, Winslow — 8. South Carolina. — Sonham, Boyce, Eeitt, McQueen, Miles— 6. GrEORGiA.- Crawford, Gartrell, Hill, Jackaon, Seward, Stephens, Taipfs, Wrightr— 8. Alabama. — Cobb, Curry, Dowdell, Houston, Moore, Shorter, Stallworth— T. MissiEsiPri. — Barksdale, Laikar, McBae, Singleton — i, Louisiana. — Eustis — 1. Texas. — Reaga^ — 1. Arkansas. — Greenwood — 1. TENNESSEE. — Atkins, Avery, Matnard, Ready, Smith, WatklDS, Wright, Zollicopj'er-^. Kentuokt. — Burnett, Marshall, Mason, Peyton,DHDEi!- WOOD— 5. Ohio. — 2^i Feasenden, Foot, Foster, Rale, HamUn, ffarlaiit Johnson of Tennessee, Xing, Pugh, Rice, Seward. Sim- mons, Smith, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade, and Wilson — 2r. - Nats — Messrs. Allen, Bates, Benjamin, Bigler, Brown, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, Fitipatrick, Crreen, Gwin, , Hammond, Hunter, Iversons, Johnson, of Arkansas, I Lane, Mallory, Mason,. Pearce, Beid, Sebastian, Slidell, jloombs. Ward, and Yulee— 26. ' On this vote, an additional Southern Senator, Mr. Bell, of Tennessee, ranged himself on the side of Homesteads. But this was offset by the ratting back to the negative side of Mr. Gwin. The Homestead bill was now again before the Senate, but the question, as stated by the Vice-President, was still upon Mr. Hunter's motion to set it aside, and take up the Consular and Diplomatic Appropriation bill. ' Mr.'Mason, of Virginia, threatened an " ex- tended debate" upon the Homestead bill, if its consideration were insisted upon. He declared, at any rate, for himself that he intended to "go into it pretty largely, because he had not yet knovma bill so fraught with mischief , and mis- chief of the most demoralizing kind." Mr. Wade and Mr. Seward, in brief and ener- getic terms, exhorted the friends of the biltto stand firm. « The vote was then taken upon Mr. Hunter's motion, and resulted as follows : Teas.— Messrs. Alien, Bates, Bayard, Benjamin, Bigler, Brown, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Filch, Fitapatrick, Green, Gwin, Hammond, Hunter, IversoD, Johnson of Arkansas, Kennedy, Lane, Mallory, Majon, Pearoe, Keid, Sebastian, Slidell, Toombs, Ward, and Yulee— 28. -Nats.— Messrs. Bell, Bright, Broderick, Chcmdler, Clavlc, Oollamer, XHmm, DooUttte, Douglas, SwJcee, Fesaendm, Foot, Foster, Sale, BamUn, Barlam, Houston, Johnson of Tennessee, King, Pugh, Bice, Senmaril, Simmons, Smith, Stuart, li-umbiill Wade, and Wtleon-2S. The vote being a tie, the Vice-President, Mr. Breckinridge, voted in the affirmative, and thus, after a long struggle, the Homestead bill was, for that day, overslaughed. Of the twenty-eight votes for oversliaghing it all but five are from the South, and :ne of these five, Mr. Gwin, is only a temporary resi- dent of a Free State. Of the twenty-eight votes in favor of sustain- ing the bill, only three are from the South, and only one of the three (Johnson of Tennessee,) is a Democrat. Two days afterward,, on the 19th of February, Mr. Wade again moved to set aside all prior orders and take up the Homestead bill ; but this motion was negatived by the following vote : Teas. — Messrs. Bro'derick, Oftandler, Clarh,Collam.6r, Diaoiii VooUUle, Ditrkee, Fessenden, Foot, Hale SamMn, Marian, Johnson of Tennessee, Jones, Ki/im, Pngh, Rlcei ^eworii, Shields, Bmrnions, Stuart, yvim- TyuM, Wade, and Wilson—^. Nats. — Messrs. Allen, Bates, Bayard, Benjamin, Bigler, Bright, Brown, Chestnut, Clay, Clingman, Crittenden^ Davis, FAoh, Pitzpatrick, Green, Hammond, Houston, Hunter, Iverson, Kenijedy, Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Polk, Reid, Sebastian, Slidell, Smith, Toombs, Ward, and Yulee— 81. Upon these two days, tjie .l'7th and 19th of February, the question was made between the consideration of the Homestead bill and the con- sideration of the appropriation bills, the neces- snj of passing-which last bills did not fail to be insisted upon by the Democratic managers. At a Subsequent stage of the session, as will be presently seen, the.question was made between considering the Homestead bill and considering the Cuba bill. Upon the 25th day of February, upon the oc- casion of a motion by Mr. SUdell to postpone all prior orders and take up the bill for th^ pur- chase of Cuba, Mr. Doolittle resisted, it, and called upon the friends of Homesteads to vote it down, so that he himself might submit a mo- tion to take, up the Homestead bill. Mr. Doo- Ihtle said : X think it would be better to take up this question ai the Homestead bill and vote upon it, and then the Cuba bill will come up, 1 affk the friend? of the Homestead bill now to Btand'byit and give it the preference. The vote was then taken, and the motion to take up the Cuba bill prevailed, as follows : Teas — Messrs. Allen, Bayard, Bell, Benjamin, Bigleri Brown, Chestnut, 'Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, Fitz- patrick,' Green, Gwin, Hammond, Houston, Hunter, Iver- son, Jones, Lane, Mallory, Mason, Polk, Pugh, Reid, Ride, Sebastian, Shields, Slidell, Smith, ' Stuart, Toombs, Ward, Wright, and Yulee— 88. NATS-^Messrs. Broderick, Cameron, Cliandler, OlarTc, Colkumer, I>ixon, DooUUle, Douglas, D-wrkee, Fessenf dm,. Foot, Foster, Male, Mamlin, Barlcm, Johnson o( Tennessee Kennedy, Kin0, PeArce,jSeward, Simm^ons, TrumbuU, Wade, and Wilson — a±. The Cuba bill was now up, and the discussion upon it protracted the session late into the night, and almdst into the next morning. It was distinctly seen during the progress of this discussion that it would be without practical re- ' suit, and that no vote could be reached before the final adjournment of Congress. Accordingly, at ten o'clock' in the evening, Mr. Doolittle felt it to be his duty to renew the attempt to set aside the Cuba bill, the subject- matter of a manifestly idle debate, so as to take up the Homestead bill. His motion to that effect, and the commencement of the debate upon it, will be found on page 1351 of the Congres- sional Globe. Such extracts are made as will exhibit its general character : Mr. Trumbull.— If there was any assurance that the Homestead bill could be taken up, after the Cuba ques- tion was disposed of, 1 should bewiUing to see it have the go".^f ou the present occasion ; but we hav& soughf 188 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. fepeatedly to bring up the Homestead bill, aud every jnovement that has been made to bring it up has beea oet with a countei* movement, crowding it out of the way with-sometlung else. . . .- . If the senator from Virginia will give us an assurance that we sha,ll have a chance to briog up the Homestead billj and keep it be- fore the Senate until we can get a vote upon it, after the Cuba bill is through, apd that he will not interpose an appropriation bill, I would join with gentlemen in asking my friend from WiBConsin'to withdiaiw the motioii he has madeA Mr. Hunter. — I certainly will press the appropriation Dills. I will give no promise to vote to take up the Homestead bilL Mr. Trumbull. — That is as I expected. We now have notice that we are to be met with an aifpropriatton bill the - moment that the Cuba question is disposed of, and here we are wasting our time at this stage of the session ^ i^ making long speeches, and debating about the acquisi- tion of a, country that does not belong to us, instead of providing for the settlement of the country which we own. There 'can be no hope of getting up the Homestead bill as against an appropriation bill. Mt. Seward. — After nine hours yielding to ihe discussion of the Cuba question, it is time to come back to the great question of the day and the age. The Senate may as well meet face to. face the issue-whidh is before them* It is an issue presented by the competition between these twd questions. One, the Homestead bill^ is « question of homes, of lands for the landless freemen of the United States. The Cuba bill is a questi(A of slaves for the slave- holders of the United States. Mr. Wade. — ^I am very glad that this question has at length come up. I am glad, too, that it has antagonized with tlris nigger question. (Laughter.) ^ have been try- ing here for nearly a jnonth to get a straightforward vote npon this great measure of land for the landless. I glory In that measure. It is the greatest that has ever come before the American Senate, and it has now come so that there is no dodgmgit. The queistion.wdll be,shall we give niggers to the niggerless, or lands to the landless ? I moved some days ago to take up this subject. It was said then that there was an appropriation bill that stood in the way. The senator from Virginia had h^ appropid- ation bills. It was important, then, that they should be settled at once ; there was danger that they would be lost, and the Government would stop in consequence ; and the appeal was made to gentlemen to give this bill the go-by for the time being, at all events, and the appeal was successful. The appropriation bills lie very easy now be- hind this nigger operation. (Laughter.) When you come to niggers for the niggerless, all other questions sink into inslgni&cance, Mr. Doolittle's motion to set aside the Cuba bill for the purpose of taking up the Homestead bill, was lost, by the following vote : Teas— Messrs. Broderick, Cameron, Clark^ Cho/ndlerj CoUumi&r, DooUUle, J^eseenden, Foot, FostvTy Male^ •ffamUn, Marian^ Johnson of Tennessee, King^ Se/voao'd, Simmons, TrwnihiiU, Wade, and TFi^son— 19. Nats — Messrs. Allen, Benjamin, Bayard, Bigler, Brown, Chestnut, Clay, Clingmsn, Douglas, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Oreen, Gwin, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson of Arkansas, Lane, Malloiy, Mason, Polk, Pugh, Reid, Rice, Sebastian, ^elds, Slidell, Toombs, Ward and Wiight— 29. This was the last attempt made to get up the Homestead bill in the Senate. It had first been overslaughed by tbe appropriation bills, and now by the Cuba bill, and no expectation remained of reaching it vduring the few remain- ing days of the session. The Republicans, who had endeavored to get it up in all forms and on all occasions without success, felt it to be th^ir duty to abandon a manifestly hopeless struggle. From this review of the votes in the Senate and House, it will be seen that the two great national parties, the one representing the rights and interests of free labor, and tbe other repre- senting the pretensions of Negro Slavery, have come to a well-defined issue upon this great matter of the disposition of the Public Domain. In the Hou|e of Representatives, on the 6th of March, 1860, Mr. Lovejoy, from, the Com- mittee on Public Lands, reported the following bill (previously introduced by Mr. Grow), which was read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole. A BILL TO SECURE HOMESTEADS TO ACTUAL SETTLERS OS THE PUBLIC DOMAIK. Be it enacted by the Senate am^ Bouse of Re' prea6ntaiives of the Viidted Statee of America in Congress assembledj That any person who is the head of a famll;^, or who hae arrived at the age of twraity-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shal} have filed his indention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, shall, from and after t^e passage of this act, be entitled to enter, frep of cost, one hundred and sixty acres of unappropriated public lands, upon which said person may have filed a preoption 'olahn, or which may, at the time the applica- tion is made, be subject to preemption at one dojllar and twenty-five cents, or less, per acre ; or eighty acres of such unappropriated lands, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre ; ta be located in a body, in conformity to tbe legal BubdiTislons of the pubUc lands^ and afrcr tbe same shall have been, surveyed. § 2.' And be it fwrmer enacted. That the person ap- plying for the benefit of Ihis act shall, upon application to tbe register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age^ and that sudh applica^ tion is made^or his or her exclusive use and benefit, and those specially mentioned in this act, and not either directly or indirect^ for the use or benefit of any other person or peraons whomsoever; and upon filing the affidavitwith the register or receiver, he or she shall there- upon be permitted to enter the quantity of land speajfied : Provid&d, Tayuam&r, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry ; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time wLtliin two years thereafter, the person making such entry — or if he be dead, hte widow ; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee ; or in -case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death — shall prove by two credible wltne^^ that he, she, or they have resided upon and coltivaied tbe same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the a^davit ttforesaid yt^en, in such case, he, she, or they^ if at that time tJ citizen of the United States, ahaU, on payment of ten dollars, be enti- tled to a patent, as in other cases provided for by law: And prodded, further. That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee phall inure to the benefit of said infant child, or children; and the executor, administeitor, or guardian may, at any time witliin two years after the death of the survinng parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such cliildren for the' time being haTe their domicil, sell Bald land for the benefit of said infants, but for no otiier purpose ; and the piu?c&aser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States, on payment of the office fees and sum ^ money herein specified. Sec. 8. And be it fm-ther enacted. That the register of the land office shall note all such applications on the tract-books and plats of his office, aAd keep a register of all Euch-^tries, and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded. Skc. 4. A7bd be itfuerther enaeted. That all lands ac- quired under the provisions of this act shall in no event become liable to> tbe satisfaotion of any debt or debtA contracted prior to the issuing of the patent therefor. Seo. 6, And be it furtker enacted. That if, at anj time after the filing of the affidavit, as required in the second section of Uiis act, and befbre the expiration of the five years aforesaad, it shall be proven, after due no- tice to the settler, to the satisfactien of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her residence, or abandoned the said entry for more than six months at any tnme, then, and in that event, the land so enterecl shall revert to the government. Ssc 6. Arbd be it further enacted. That no individual shall be permitted to make, more than one entry under the provisions of this act; and that the Commissioner of the General Land Office is hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and r^golations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its prov^ THE HOMESTEAB BILL OF 1860. 1S9 Blons Into eBfteetr ; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the same coratensation for any lands entered under the pro- TMions of this act Ihat they are now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with money, one-half to be paid by the person malting the application Si the time of so dohig, and the other half on the issue of the cevllflcate, by the person to whom it may be issued • I'romded, That nothing contained in this act shall be so ^ construed as to impaU- or interfere in any manner what- ever with existuig preemption vl^ls w And provided, fiw-ther. That all persons who may have filed their ap- plications for a preemption right prior .to the passage of this act shall be cAtitled to all privileges of thisact. Subsequently, a motion was made by Mr. Love- joy, to reconsider the vote by wliicli the bill had been referred to the Committee of the Whole. On Monday, March 12, Mr. Lovejoy called up this motion, and under the operation of the previous question, it was agreed to, 106 to 67, as follows : Yeas.— Messrs. Ad rain, Aldrich, Ashley, Babbitt, Bingham, Blake, Bufflnton, Burlingame, Caibpbell, Cavey, Oai-ter, Case, Jolm Coehrane, Colfax, Conkling, Cooper, COrwin, Covode, Coa>, James Oraig, Oa^tis, John Q, Davis, Dawes, Delano, Duell, Dunn, Edgerton, -Elliot, Fenton, Ferry, Florence, Poster, Fmilbe, Frank, French, Gooch, Graham, Grow, Gurley, Hale, Hall, Haskin, Helmlck, Hoard, 6jamette, Edmamdeon, Gar- neit, Jenkins, Leake, Mbert ,S. Martin, Wilson, Pryor, WilliamSmith^lO. JtoRTH Carolina.— .Bj-ancA, Gilmer, Bi^ffln, William N. H. Smith, Vance— 5. South Oiiioi,isi..—Sonham,Keith, McQueen, Miles— 2. Georgia. — Gartrell, Hardeman, Hill, iaakson, JoTies, Love, Underwood— 7. Alabama. — Clapton, Cobb, Gwrry,JIovMon, Suydetb- ham Moore, Pi^gh — 6. M;ississippi — Barksdale, Reuben Dams, La/majr, Mo Bea, Singleton — 5. Louisiana. — Landrum — 1. Arkamas. — Bindman — ^1. TS^As. — Bamiltpn, Reagan — 2. Missouri. — 7%oinasL. Anderson, IToell, Woodson— 8 Tennessee,— 4uery, Ethebidqe, Hatton, Maynabp, Nblson, Stokes, Wrighi—I. Kentucky. —Gre^, Adams, William C. Anderson, Bristow, Burnett, Mallory, Peyton, Simms, Steven- son~S. Total, 65. All from Slave States except Montgomery, Dem., of Pennsylvania. . This bill wassent to the Senate, where it was ■referred to the Committee on Public Lands, and on the 17th of April, Mr. Johnson, of Ten- nessee, the Chairman of that Coipmittee, re- ported a substitute for the HoOse bill, granting Homesteads to actual settlers, at 25 cents per acre, but not including preemptors then occu- pying the Public Lands. When this bill came before the Senate for action, Mr. Wade, of Ohio, moved to amend, by substituting the House bill, which Was lost, 26 to 31, as follows : Teas — Messrs. Anthony, Bingham, Cameron, Chandler, Clark, CoUamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, Durkee, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, King, Rice, rie- waTd,-Simmon3, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Toombs, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wilson— 26. N'ATB — ^Messrs. Bayard, Bigler, Bragg, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Gl'een, GWin, Hammond, Hemphill, Hunter, Iveraon,. * Johnson, of Arkansas, Johnson, of Tennessee, Lane, Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Polk, Powell, Pugh, Sauls- bury, Sebastian, Siidell, Wigfall, and Tulee— 31. Yeas, all Republicans except three, Douglas, Rice, and Toombs. Nays, all Democrats. The Senate finally, on the 10th May, passed Mr. Johnson's bill, 44 to 8, the Nays being Messrs. Bragg, Clingman, Hamlin, Hunter, Mason, Pearce, Powell and Tobmbe. The House refused to concur ; the Senate refused to recedej arid the result was a protracted conference on the part of Committees of the two Houses, which committees finally came to an ag'^'^fflsnt, , 190 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. on the 19th June, by the House accepting tke Senate bill with slight amendments. On that day Mr. Schuyler Colfax reported to the House as follows; Mr. Colfax.— I rise to a question of privilege. I a,min- Btructed by the Committee of Conference on the disagree- . Ing votes of the two Houses on the Homestead biU, to report that, after twelve meetings of the three different Conferences that have heep. appointed, they this morn- ing finally agreed. I hold in my hand the report of the Consniittee, whicti can be read if any gentleman desires It. But perhaps it would render the report clearpr and mote intelligible if I should briefly state its leading fea- tures. The Senate bill all the members of the, House are familiar with. The Conferees upon the part of the House finding, after the most earnest efforts, that it would be utterly impossible for them to induce the Senate to agree to the House bill, have been disciissiug what changes Could be made in the Senate bill, so as to render it accep- table enough for the House to accept, rather than the whole should fail, 'i'hey have rinally agreed upon a report as follows : In the first place, I will say that the bill, as it passed the Senate, provided that the preemptors now Aipon the public lands might remain there two years be- tore they should be required to purchase their lands, but should then pay for them at the rate of $1 25 per acre, thus removing them entirely from within the purview of the benefits which would apply to the settlers hereafter upon the public lands. This point tlie House Conferees refused to accede to, and If persisted in, we should have again reported a disagreement. Finally, however, a compromise was arranged on this point, and to protect the preemptors now on the Government l»^nd, which was to be. advertised thi6 fall for sale, we changed the Senate bill so as to protect them for at least two years from land sales, and to allow theni then to secure their homes at one half th& Government price, namely sixty-two and a-hu.lf cents per acre. I need scarcely add, that, if the Senate could have been induced to give them the benefit of their twenty-five-cent-per-acre provision, we should have insisted on It inflexibly; but what I have stated is the very lowest point that cou|d be obtained. The secocd change we have made in the Senate bill is in relation to the scope of land coming under the operations of the law. The House bill embraced all the Government land, offered or unoffered, except such as was specially re- served. The Senate bill confined its provisions to land subject to private entry, exclusively. As I have explain- ed on a former occasion, the expression " subject to pri- vate entry" means such as are left after the lands have been once regularly brought into market, exposed to public sale, and the speculators have taken such as they see fit to purchase. The difference between these two bills seemed so radical as to be incapable of adjustment; and the scope of farming land covered by the Senate bill was so limited, there Being but little, if any, in Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, California, Oregon, and Washington, that the House conferees declined to accept it. But on this, too, we finally effected a compromise. Uy our re- port, all the land subject to private entry is included, and, in addition^ all ihe odd-numbered sections of the surveyed public lands, which have not been opened to public sale— a most material and beneficent enlargement of the Senate bill. tVe were offered, after this agreement, which-ever half of the unoffered lands we chose, and we took the odd-numbered sections, The reason for this was, that the 16th section of a township, being reserved foi' school purpot)<%& by our land laws, the four a^oinmg sections to it, ou the north, west, east,, and south, are sec- tiqud 9, 15, IT, and 21, all odd-numbered sections, which are thus saved for homestead settlers, who have reserved for them IS out of the 35 disposable sections in each towu- ehip of six miles square. On all these lands, actual settlers, who are heads of families, are allowed, after having occupied the land for five years, to pui'chase at 25 cents per acre, which is about the average cost price of the public lauds tp the Government. We struggled, of course, to include all young men over 21 who are not heads of families, and to adopt the free Homestead principle of the House bill ; but on these points the Senate was inflexible, and we took what we did because it was the very best we could get. The Senate bill originally provided that the Home- Htead settler might acquire title to his land at any time by paying full Government prices ; bub desiring, to pro- mote actudl settlement, we now provide that he cannot do this till after he has been on the land six months. \yhen he sta^Sj br.his family if he deceases, the full five years he obiiaias it at 25 cents per acre. The Senate have also agreed to strike out the eighth section of their Vill, which made it imperative upon the Pi frident to ex- pose all public lands to sale wlthlE two years aft«r thef . shall have been surveyed, which we held wdtild be peculiarly oppressive upon the pioneers who had gontf to the frontier to settle upon the public lands, and to which we could never haire consented. Now, Mr. Speaker, I desire to state, in conclusion, that the com- promise we have made upon the subject is not in accor'd> ance with what I should desire to have passed, if I had the power to frame the bill myself ; but it is the very ut- most we could obtain from the Senate, as now const!* tuted. The Senators who served with us on the Confe- rence have been notified by me, and also by my colleagua (Mr. Windom, of Minnesota,; that we regard this as but a single step in advance toward a la,w which we shall de- mand from the American Congress, epactiing a compre- hensive and liberal Homestead policy. This we have agreed to as merely an (want cowrrA&r, We shall de- ■ mand it at the next session of Congress, and until it is granted ; until all the public lands shall be open to aU the people of the United States ; and I state this publicly, that no one shall regard us as estoppfed hereafter, be- cause we accepted this half-way measure rather than to allow the whole to fall. I should have added that all persons, whether citizens or those who have only declared their intentions, are allowed to go on the lands under this bill ; but are required to perfect their natujallzation before the five years expire, and the patent i^aues. I now demand the previous question on concurring on the re- port of the Committee, and passing the bill as thus amended. Mr. Farnsworth.— I desire to ask the gentleman from Indiana whether this bill confines its benefits to those who are heads of families. Mr. Colfax.— It does, because we failed, despite our utmost efforts, in procuring its extension to all ; but we shall appeal to the young men to demand of those who make and who execute the laws, that the system In- augurated by this bill, shall be widened so as to admit them to its benefits, and I will join them in this demand. Mr. Grow. — I just desire to say that we have taken this bill, not because it is what we want, but on the principle that " half a Loaf is better than no bread."^ The House agreed to the Report of the Com- mittee, 116 to 61, as follows: Yeas.— Messrs. C. F. Adams, Allen, Alley, Aldrlch, KAk-^ ley, Babbitt, Barr, Beale, Bingham, Francis P. BlaSr, Samuel S. Blair, Blake, Brayton, Briggs, Buffinton, Burch, Burlingame, Burnham, Butterfield, Campbell, Carey, Car- ter, Case, H. F. Clark, Cobb, Colfax, Cotwin, Covode, Cox, Curtis, John G. Davis, Dawes, Delano, Duell, Dunn, Edger- ton, Edwards, Elliot, Ely, Ferry, Florence, Foster, Praqk, French, Gooch, Graham, Grow, Gurley, H^le, Hall, Has- km Ilelraick, Hoard, Wm. Howard, Humphrey, Hutchins, Junkin. F. W. Kellogg, Wm. Kellogg, Kenyon^ Killlnger, De Witt C. Leach, Lee, Longneckeri Looinis, Maclay, Marston, McKean, McKnight, McPhei-son, Millward, Moorhead, aion-ill, B. Joy Morris, I. N. Morris, Morse, Nihlack, Nixon, Olin, Palmer, Pendleton, Perry, Pettlt, Phelps, Porter Potter, Rice, Riggs, Chi-istopher Kobinson, . Royce, Sedgwick, Sherman, Somes, Spaulding, Spinner, Stanton, William Stewart, Stout, Tappan, Taylor, Thayer, Theaker, Tompkins, Train, Trimble, Vandever, Van Wyct, Verree, Wade, Walton, 0. 0. Washburn, E. B. Washburae, Israel Washburn, Wells, Windom, and Woodruff— 116. Nays— Messrs. Green Adams, William 0. Anderson, Ashmore, Avery, Barksdale, Bocock, Bonham, Boyce, Brabson, Branch, Burnett, Clopton, Burton Craige, Craw- ford, Curry, De Jarnette, Gilmer, Hardeman, J. Morri- son Harris, John T. Harris, Hatton, Houston, Jenkins, JonsI, Keitt, Landrum, James M. Leach, Leake, Love, Mallory, Maynard, McQueen, Miles, Millson, Sydenham Moore, Nelson, Peyton, Quarlffl, Keagan, Rufilu, Wil- liam Smith, William N. H. Smitl^, Stevenson, Stokes, Thomas, Underwood, Vance, Webster, Winslow, W-ood- son, and Wright— 51, The na-ys are all from the Slave States. The Senate agreed to the report of the Con- ference Committee, 36 to 2 — Messrs. Bragg and Pearce. The following ia the bill as it was finally reported by the Conference Committee an4 passed both Houses : AN" AGTto secure Somesteads to actual seiUert {"* the PitbliG Dom^in^ andforoVier purposes. Be it enaated hy the Senate fmd Jloune qf Represe/ii- U'oeft of the United States qf America in Oongres$ assembled^ That any ptirson who is the head of a family. THE HOMESTEAD BILL— THE VETO. 191 and & citleen of the United States, shall, from and after the passage 9f this act, be entitled to enter one quarter- Bection of vacant and unappropriated public lands, or any less quantity, to be located in a body, in conformity with the legal subdivisions of the pub.ic lands, afxer the same slyiU liave been surveyed, upon the following con- ditions ; that the person applying for'the heneflo of this act shall, upon applicaiion to the register of the land-olBce in which he or she is about to make such entry, malie affidavit before the said register or receiver of said Innd- oflfice that he or she is the head of a family, and is actually Settled on the quarter-section, or other subdivision not, exceeding aqu^arter-seotion, proposed to be entered, and that such application ia made for his or her use and bv'nefit, or for the use and benefit of Uioae specially mintioned in this section, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefi,; of any other person or p>ergons whomsoever, and tliai he or she has never at any previous time, had the benefit of this act; apd upon making the affidavit as above required, and filing the same with the register, he or she shall thereupon be per- mitted to enter the quantity of land already specified : Provided^ however^ That no final certificate shall be given, or patent issued therefor, until the expiration of dye years from tlie date of such entry ; and if, at the ex- piration of such time, the person making such entry, or, It, he be dead, his ividow, or, in case of her death, his child or children, or in case Tf a widow making such entry, hei- cliild or children, in case of her death, shall prove, by two credible witnesses, that he, slie, or they- that is to say, some member or members of the same family — has or have erected a dwelling-house upon said land, and continued to I'eside upon and cultivate ttie eame for the term of five years, and still reside upon the same (and that neitlier the said land or any part thereof has been alienated) ; then, in such case, he, she, or they, upon the payment of 25 cents per acre for the quantity entered, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: A9id provided further, In case of the death of both fatlier and mother,'leaving a minor child or children, the right and the fee shall inure to the benefit of said minor child or children, and the guardian shall be authorized to perfect the entry for the beneficiaries, as if there had been a continued residence of the settler for five years. Fromd&d., That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to embrace or in any way include any quarter- section or fractional quarter-section of land upon which any preemption rigjit has been acquired prior, to the passage of this act. And promdedfu-rther^ That all en- tries made under the provisions of this section, upon lamds Wf'dch havenot been'oj'eredfoi' public sale, shall be con- fined to and ttpon section^ deeiffna ted by odd rmnibera. § 2. And be it fm-ther enactedy That the register of the Land Office shall note all such applications on the tract books and plats of his office,, and keep a register of all Huch- entries, and make return thereof to the General band Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded. § 8. And beUfu/r'tTier enacted^ That no landaequn-ed under the provisions of this act shall in any event, be- come liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts mit^ fcfter the issuing of the patent therefor. S 4. And be itfurtker enacted. That if, at any time % after filing the affidavit, as required in the first section of this act, and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proved, after due notice to the set- tler to the satisfaction of the register of the Land Office, that the pei-son having .filed such affidavit shall have sworn falsely in any particular, or shall have voluntarily abandoned the possession and cultivation of the said land for more than six months at any time, or sold his riaht under the entry, then, and in either of those events, the re^ster shall daucel the entry, and the lanlso entered shall revert to tiie Government, and be disposed of as other public lands are now by law, subject to an appeal to the Secre'ary of the Interior. And m no case shall any land, the entry whereof shall have been can- ceUed again be subject to occupation, or entry, or pur- chase untU the same shall have been reported to the General Land Office, and, by the direction of the Presi- dent of the United States, again advertised and offered ^^if^^Andheitfv^ther enacUd, That if any person, now or hereafter, a resident of any one of the States or ?en-i?m?e% and not a citizen of the United States but wiio at the time of making such apphoatiop for the bene- fit of this act, 8?iall ham filed a decla/raUon of mtan- timv as required by the naturalization 4aWS of the United States, and shall have become a citizen of the same before the issuing of the patent as provided fpr in ti*id act, such person shall be entitled to all the right.3 ^""f^^'Xid^bV'^Mther enacted. That no liidividual shall be permitted to, enter more ttian one quarter-sec- tion or fractional quarter-section, and that in a compact body ; but entries may be made at different times, under the provisions of this act ; and that the Secretary of the Interior is hereby required to prepare and issue, from time to time, such rules and regulations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect ; and that the registers and re- ceivers of the' several land offices shall be entitled to receive, upon the filing of the fii'st affidavit, the sum of 50 cents each and a like sum upon the issuing of the final certificate. But this shall not be construed to en- large the maximum of compensation now prescribed by law for any register or receiver : Provided^ That no- thihg in this act shall be so construed as to impair the existing preemption, donation, or graduation laws, or to embrace lands which have been reserved to be sold or entered at the price of $2 50 per acre ; but no entry ^ under said graduation act, shall he allowed until after proof of actual aeitl&ment and culti/vaUon or oc- cupancy for at least three montlie, as provided for in Sec. 8 of the said act, § 7. And be it fwrthe/r enacted, That each actual set- tler upon lands of the United States, which have not been offered at public sale, upon filing his declaration or claim, as now requh-ed by law, shall be entitled to. two year» from the commeacement of his oecupation or settlement; or, if the lands have upt been surveyed, two years from the receipt of the approved plat of such lands at the Dis- trict Land Office, within which to complete the proofs of "^ his said claim, and to enter and pay for the land so claimed, at minimum price of snch lands ; and where such settlements have already been made in good faith, the- claimant shall be entitled to the said period of two years, from and after the date of, this act ; Provided, That no- claim of preemption shall be allowed for more than 160* acres, or one-quarter section of land, nor shall any suciii claim be admitted under the provisions of this act,TmlesB. there shall have been at least three months of actual andf , continuous residence upon and cultivation of the land so claimed from„the di^te of settlement, and proof thereof made according to law ; Provided further, That any claimant under the preemption laws may take less than 160 acres by legal subdivisions ; Provided farther. That all persons who are preemptorsj on the date of tliis act, shall, 'Upon the payment to the proper auiIi:wHty of &ii cents p&r oc-'e, if paid within two years from the pas- sage of this act, be entitled to a patent from the Govern- ment, as now provided by the existing preemption laws. § 8. And be it further enacted. That the 5th section- of the act entitled "An act in addition to an act move effectually to provide for the punishment of certain cviniea- against the United States, and for other purposes," ap- proved the 8d of March, in the year 1857, shall extend to* all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits required or author- ized by this a'^t. § 9. And be it further enacted, That nothing in thi» act shall be so construed as to prevent any person who. has availed him or herself of the benefit of the first section, of this att from paying the minimum price,, or , the price' to which the same may have gi-aduated, for the quantity of land so enteredsftt any time after an actual settlement! of six months, and before the expiration of the five yeara,. and obtaining a patent thercfcJl* from the Government, asf ill other cases provided by law. § 10. And be it further enacted^ That all lands lying within the Umits of a State which have been subject to sale at private entry, and which remain unsold after the lapse of thirty years, shall be, and the same are hereby^ cedeti to the State in which the same may be situated \ Provided^ These cessiofis shall in no way invalidate any inceptive preemption right or location, or any entry unden this act, nor any sale or Bales -which may be made by the- United States before the lands hereby ceded shall be cer- tified to the State, as they are hereby required to be, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. And provided further, That no cessions^ shall take affect until after the States, by legislative act^ shall have assented to the same, r On the 28d, the President returned the bill tft the Senate with his veto, as foUowa : THE HOMESTEAD BILL. VETO MKSSAG ' OF THE PRESIDENT. To the Senate of the JJnitmJ States. I return, witii my objections, to the Senate, inwnitih. it originated, the bill entitled* An act to secure liume* steads to actual settlers on the pu) lie domain and for other purposes," presented to me on Ms" *20th instaiit. V 192 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860 This bill giv^a to every citizen of the Unitefl States, " who ia the head of a family," and to every person of foreign birth residing in the country, who has declai-ed his intention to become a citizen, though he may not be the head of a family, the privilege of appropriating to himself one hundred and sixty acres of Government land, of settling and residing upon it for five years ; and should his residence continue until the end of this period, he sha-U then receive a patent on the payment of twenty- five cents'per acre, or one-fifth of the present Govern- ment price. During this period, the land is protected from all the debts of the settler. This bill also contains a cession to the States of all the public lands within their respective limits " which have been subject to sale at private entry, and which ^-emain unsold after the lapse of thirty years." This provision embraces a present donation to the States of twelve mil- lions two hundred and twenty-nine thousand seven hun- dred and thirty-one acres, and will, fi'om time to time, transfer to them large bodies of such lands which, from peculiar circumstances, may not be absorbed by private purchase and settlement. To the actual settler, this bill does not make an abso- lute donation ; but the price is so small that it can scarcely be called a sale. It is nominally twenty-five cents per acre; but considering this is not to be' paid un- til the end of five years, it is, in fact, reduced to about •eighteen cents per acre, or one-seventh of the present minimum price of the public lauds. In regard to the States, it is an absolute and unqualified gift. 1. This state of the facia raises the question whether Congress, under the Constitution, has the power to give away the public lands, either to States or individuals. On this question, I expressed a decided opinion in my message to the House of Representatives, of the 24th JFebruary, 1859, retui-ning the agricultural college bill. This opinion remains unchanged. The argument then ased applies, as a constitutioiial objection, with the greater force to the present biU. There it had the plea of consideration, growing out of a specific beneficial pur- pose ; here, it is an absolute gratuity to th« State without the pretext of consideration. I am compelled, for want of time, in these last hours of the session, to quote largely from this message 1 presume the general proposition will be admitted, that Congress does not possess the power to make do- nations of money, already iu the Treasury, raised by taxes on the people, either Jo States or individuals. But it is contended that the public lands are placed upon a different footing from money raised by taxation, and that the proceeds arising from their B;Ue are not subject to the limitations of the Constitution, but may be appropriated or ^ven away by Congress, at its own discretion, to States, corporations, or individuals, for any purpose they may deem expedient. The advocates of this bill attempt to sustain their po- sition upon the language of the second clause of the third section of the fourth article of the Constitution, which declares that "the Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations .-especting the territory or other property belonging to the United States." They contend that, by a fair inter- pretation of the words "dispose of" in this clause, Congress possesses the jft^wer to make this gift of pub- lic lands to the States for purposes of education. It would require clear and strong evidence to induce the belief that the framerg of the Constitution, after having limited the powers of Congress to certain, pre- cise, and specific objects, intended, by employing the words '■'■ dispose of," to ^ve that body unlimited power over the vast public domain.* It would be a strange anomaly indeed, to have created two funds, the one by taxation, confined to the execution of the enumerated powers delegated to Congress, and the other from the public lands, applicable to all subjects, foreign and dome&tic, which Congress might designate. That this fund should be "disposed of," not to pay the debts of the United States, nor " to raise and support armies," noiT " to provide and maintain a navy," nor to accom- pUsh any one of the other great objects enumerated in the Constitution, but be diverted from them to pay the debts of the States, to educate their people, and to carry into effect any other measure of their domestic policy — this would be to confer upon Congress a vast and irresponsible authority, utterly at war with the uell-known jealousy of the Federal power which pre- vailed at the formation of the Constitution. The na- tural intendment would be that, as the Constitution confined Congress to well-defltied specific .powers, the fiinds placed 'at their command, whether in land or money,,5hould be appropriated to the performance of the duties corresponding with these powers. If not, a Government hap been created, With all its other powe.s carefully limited, biit without any limitation in respect io the public lands. But I cannot so read the words " disposed of" as to make them embrace the idea of "giving away.'' The true meaning of words is always to be ascertained by tL* subject to which they are applied, and the known general intent of 'the/ lawgiver. Congress is trustee under the Constitution for the people of the United States to " dis- pose of" their public lands, and I think I may venture to assert with confidence that no case can be found in which a trustee in the position of Congress has been authoi'ized to " dispose of" property by its owner, where it has ever been held that these words authorized such trustee to give away the fund intrusted to his care. No truBte.e, when called upon to account for the disposition of the property placed under his management before any judidal tiibn- nal, would venture to present such a plea in his defense* The true meaning of these words is clearly stated by Chief Justice Taney in deBvering the opinion of the Court (19 Howard, p. 486). He says, in reference to this clausa of the Constitution, "It begins its enumeration of powers by that of disposing ; in other words, making sale o^ the lands, or raising money from them, which, as we have al- ready said, was the main object of the cession (from the States), and which is the first thing provided for In the article." It is unnecessary to refer to the history of the times to establish tjie known fact that this statement at the Chief Justice is perfectly well founded. That it never was intended by the &amers of the Constitution that these lands should be given away by Congress is manifest froi^ the conclutoig portion of the same clause. By it, Con- gregs has power not only "to dispose of " the territory, but of the " other property of the United States." In the language of the Chief Justice (p. 437), "And the same power of making needful rules respectmg the territory is in precisely the same language applied to the other pro- perty of the United States, associating the powerover the territory, in this respect, with the power over movable or personal property — that is, the ships, arms, or raunitiong of war, which then belonged ia common to the State sove- reignties." The question is still clearer in regard to the public lands in the States and Territories ;within the Louisiana and Florida purchases. These lands were paid for out of the public Treasury from money raised by taxation. Now, if Congress had no power to appropriate the money with which these lands were purchased, is it not clear that the power over the lands is equally limited ? The mere con- version of this money into land could not confer upon Congress new power over the disposition of land which they had not possessed over money. If it could, then a tl'ustee, by changing the character of the fund intrusted to his care for special objects from money into land, might give the land away, or devote it to any piypose he thought proper, however foreign from the trust. The inference is irresistible that this land partakes of the very same cha- racter with the money paid for it, and can be devoted to no objects different from those to which the money could have been devoted. If tliis were not the case, then, by the purchase of a new Territory from a foreign govern- ment out of the public Treasury, Congi'ess could -enlarge then* own powers-, and appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the land ihus purchased, at their own discretion, to other and far different objects from what they coul* have applied the purchase money which had been raised by taxation. II. It will prove unequal and unjust in its operation among the actual settlers theinselvpR. < The first settlers of a new country are a most merito rious class. They brave the dangers of siivage warrare, suffer the privation;? of a fronsier lif ', and, with thihnnd of toil, bring tJie wilderness into cultivation. The " old settlers,'* as they are everywhere called, are public bene- factors. This class have all paid for their lands, the government pric«, or $1 26 per acre. They have con- structed roads, established 8chools,'and laid the fqunda-, tion of pro?p**rous Commonwealths. Is it just, is it equal, that, after they hj^ve accomplished all this by their labor, new settlers should come in among them and re- ceive their farms at the price of twenty-five or eighteen cents per acre f Sui-elythe old settlers, as a class, are entitled to at least equal benefits with the new. If you give the new settlers their lands for a comparatively Dominal price, upon every principle of equality and justice, you will be obliged to refund out of the common Treasury the difference which the old have paid above the new settlers for their land. III. This'bill will do great iryustice to the old'' soldiers who have received land warrants for their services in fighting the battles of their count'-y. It. will greatly reduce the market viilue of these warrants. Already their VHlue has aunk,-'for one hundred and sixty acre warranto, to sixty-seven cents per acre, under an tippre- ME. BUCHANAN'S VETO OF THE HOMESTEAD BILL. I»3 beDSion that such a measure as this might become a law. | tinction was ,an Inadvertence ; but, it is, nevortheless, a "VVliat price would they command, when any head of a part of the bill. family may take possession of a quarter section of land, VHI. The bill creates an unjust distinction between and riot pay for it until the end of five years, and then persons claiming the benefit of the preemption laws, at the raie of only iwenty-five cents per acre? Tlie While it reduces the price of the land to existing preemp- magnitude of the interest to be a£fected will appear in the fact that there are' outstanding unsatisfied'land warrants reaching back to tlie last wjir with great Britain, and even Kevolutionary times^ amounting in round numbers, to seven and a half millions acres. IV.'This bill will prove unequal and unjust in its opera- tion, because, from its nature, it Is confined to one class of ^ur people. It is a boon expressly conferred upon the cultivators of the soil. While ilf is cheerfully admitted that' these are, the most numerous and useful class of our fellow-citizens, and eminently deserve all the advantages which our laws have already extended to them, yet there should be no new legislation which would operate to the injury or embarrassment olHhe large body of rtspectalnle artisans and laborers. The mechanic who emigrates to the West, and pursues his calling, must labor long before he can purchase a quarter-section of land ; while the tiller of the soil who accompanies him obtains a farm at once by the bounty of the Government, The numerous body of mechanics in our large cities cannot, even by emigrating to the West, take advantage of the provisions of this bill without entering upon a new occupation, for which their habits of life have rendered them unfit. V. This bill is unjust to the old States of the Umon'in many respects ; and among these States, so far as the putahc lands are concerned, we may enumerate every State east of the BiDssissippi, with the exception of Wis- consin and a portion of Minnesota. It is a common belief, within their limits, that the older . States of the Confederacy do not derive their propor- . tionate benefit from the public lands. This is not a just opinion. It is doubtful whether they could be rendered . more beneficial to these States under any other system than that which at present exists. Then proceeds go into the common Treasury to accomplish the objects of the Grovernment, and in this manner all the States are bene- fited in just proportion. But to give this common ^lherit- ance away would deprive the old States of their just proportion of this revenue, without holding out any, the least, corresponding advantage. While it is our common glory that the new States have become so prospeAus and populous, there is no good reason why the old States Bhould offer premiums to their own citizens to emigrate from them to the West. That land of promise presents in itself sufficient allurements to our young and enterprising citizens, without any adventitious aid. The ofi'eroffree farms would probably have a powerful effectin encourag- ing emigration, especially froin States like lUmoiSj Ten- nessee, and Eentucky, lo the west of the Missi^ippi, and could not fail to reduce the price of property within their limits. An individual in States thus situated would not pay its fair value for land when, by crossing the Mississip- pi, he could go upon the public lands, and obtain a farm almost without money and without price. _ VI. This bill will op^n one vast field for speculation. Men will not pay $1 25 for lands, when they can pur- chase them for one-fifth of that price. Large numbers of actual settlers will be carried out by capitalists upon agreements to give them half of the land for the unprove- ment of the other half. This cannot be avoided. Secret ■ agreements of this kind will be numerous. In the entry of graduated lands, the experience of the Land Oflice justifies this objection. . ^ • ^i. * « t-^^ VII We ought ever to maintain the most perfect eauality between native and naturahzed citizens. They are equal, and ought always to remain equal, before the laws. Our laws welcome foreigners to our shores^ and their rights will ever be respected. While these are the Beatiments on which I have acted through life, it is not, in my opinion, expedient to proclaim to all the nations of the earth that whoever-shall arrive m this country from a foreign shore, and declare his intention to become a citizen shall receive a farm of 160 acres, at a cost of 26 or 20 cents per acre, if he will only reside o^^^tf n^ cu ti- vate it The invitation extends to all ; and if this bill becomes a law, we may have numerous acti^al settlers fi-nm China and other Eastern nations, enjoying its bene- fits on the great Pacific slope. The bill makes a distinc- tion in favor of such persons over native andna.urahzed citizens When applied to such citizens, it is confined to such as 'are the heads of famiUes ; but when apphcable to nersons of foreign birth recently arrived ou our shores, there is no such restriction, Such pereons need not be the heads of families, provided they have file4 a declara- tion of intention to become citizens. Perhaps this dis- tors to 62i cents per acre, and gives them a credit on this sum for two years from the present date, no matter how long they may have hitherto enjoyed the land, future preemptors will be compelled to pay double this price per acre. There is no reason or justice in this discrimi- nation. IX. The efi'ect of this bill on the public revenue must be apparent^io all. fchould it become a law, the reduc- tion of the price of lands to actual settlers to 25 cents per acre with a credit of five years, and the reduction of its price to existing preemptors to 62i cents per acre, with a credit of two years will so diminish the sale of other public lands as to render the expectation of future revenue from that source beyond the expenses of survey and management illusory. The Secretary of the Interior estimated the revenue from the public lands for the next fiscal year at $4,000,000 on the presumption that the present land system would remain unchanged. Should this bill become a law, he d'bes not believe that $l,000,t'00 ■will be derived from this source. This bill lays the ax at the root of our present admirable land system. The public land is an inheritance of vast value to us and to our descendants. It is a resource to which we can resort in the hour of difficulty and danger. It has been managed heretofore with the greatest wisdom, under Existing laws. In this management, the rights of actual settlers have been conciliated with the interests of the Government. The price to ail has been reduced from $2 per acre to $1 25 for fresh lands, and the claims of actual settlers have been secured by our preemption laws. Any man can now acquire a title in fee-simple to a Iiomestead of 80 acres, at the minimilm price of $1 25 per acre for $100. Should the present system remain, we shall derive 3r revenue from the public lands of $10,000,000 per' annum, when th^ bounty land warrants are satisfied, without oppression t« any human being. In the time of war, when all other sources of revenue are seriously impaired, this will remain intact. It may be- come the best security for public loans hereafter, in times of difficulty and danger, as it has been heretofore. Why should we Impair or destroy this system at the pre- sent moment ? What necessity exists for it ? The people of the United States have advanced with steady but rapid strides to their present condition at power and prosperity.. They have been guided in their progress hy the fixed principle of protecting the equal rights of all, whether they be rich or poor. No agrarian sentiment has ever prevailed amorig them. The honest poor man, by frugality and industry can, in- any part of our country, acquire a competence for himself and his family, and in'doing this he feels that he eats the bread of independence. He desires no charity, either from the government or from his neiglibors. This bill, which proposes to give him hind at an almost nominal price, out of the property of the government, will go far to demoralize the people, and repress this noble spirit of independence. It may introduce among us those pernicious" social theories whi*ch have proved so disastrous in other coun- tries. James Buchahan. Washington, J-rnie 22, 1860. In the' Senate the question, Shall this biU pass notwithstanding the objections of the Pre- sident ? was put and lost, as follows : Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Brown^ Chandler, Clark, Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Mich, Foot, Foster, Gwin^ Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Zane, Lat/iam, MchoUo'ii^ Folk, Fughy Rice, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trum- bull, W^ade, Wilkinson, and Wilson. Republicans in Roman, 19; Democrats in Italics, 9. Total, 28. Nays— Messrs. Bragg, Chesnut, Crittenden, Davis, Fitzpatrick, Oreen, Hemphill, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson (Tenn.), Johnson (Ark.), Mallory, Maaon, JPearce, Powell, Sebastian, Wigfall, Yulee— 18. All from the South, and all Democrats, ex- cept Mr. Crittenden (Am.), of Kentucky. Several Senators were > paii;ed, which accounta for the light vote. So the bill failed, not hav- ing received the r^uisite two-thirds vote neces- a ry to pass it over the Executive Veto. 194 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 18fiO. DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM, ADOPTED BY THE UNITED STATES SENATE, On the first of. March, 1860, Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, submitted to the Senate the follow- ing Resolutions : 1. Eesolved^ that in the adoption of the Federal Con- BtituLion, the States adopting the same acted severally as free and independent sovereignties, delegating a por- tion of their powers to be exercised by the Federal Gov- ernment for the increased security of each against dangers, domestic ag well as foreign; and that any in- termeddling by' any one or more States, or by a combi- nation of their citizens, with the domestic institutions of the others, on any pretext whatever, political, moral, or religious, with a view to their disturbance or subver- sion, is in violation of the Constitution, insulting to the States so interfered with, endangers their domestic peace and tranquillity— objects for which the Constitu^on was formed— and by necessary consequence, tends to weaken and destroy the Union itself. 2. Hesolved, That negro Slavery, as it exists in fifteen States of this Union, composes an important portion of their domestic institutions, inherited from theU- ances- tors, and existing at the adoption of the Cbnstitution,^by which it is recognized as constituting an important ele- ment in the apportionment of powers among the States; and that no change of opinion or feeling on the part of the non-S'laveholding States of the Union, in relation to this institution, can justify them, or their citizens, in open or covert attacks thereon, with a view to its over- ttirow ; and that all such attacks are in manifest viola- tion of the mutual and solemn pledge to protect and de- fend each other, given by the States respectively on en- tering into the constitutional compact which formed the Union, and are a manifest breach of faith, and a viola- tion of the most solemn obligations. 8. Besolved, That the Union of these States rests on the equality of rights and privileges among its mem- bers; and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate either in relation to persons or property in the Territories, which are the common possessions of the United States, so as to give ailvantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally assured to those of every other State. 4. Hesolvedy That neither Congress nor a Territorial 1 egislature, whether by direct legislation or legislation of an indirect and unfriendly character, possess power to annul or impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United States to take his slave property into the common Territories, and there hold and enjoy the same while the Territorial condition remains. 5. Hesol/ved^ That if experience should at any time ,prove that the judicial and executive authority do not possess means to insure adequate protection to consti- tutional rights in a Territory, and if the 'territorial &ov- ernment should fail or refuse to provide the necessary remedies for that purpose, it will be the duty of Congress to supply such deficiency. 6. Jiesolved, That the inhabitants of a TeiTitory of the United States, when they rightfully form a con- stitution to be admitted as a State into the Union, may then, for the first time, like the people of a State when forming a new Constitution, decide for themselves whether Slavery, as a domestic institution, shall be maintained or prohibited within their jurisdiction ; and *' they shall be receive^ into the Upiqn with or without Slavery, as their Constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission." 7. liesolved^ That the provision of the Constitu- tion for the rendition of fugitives from service or labor, without the adoption of which the Union could not have been formed, and that the laws of 1798 and 1850, which were enacted to secure its execution, and the ihain fea^ tures of which, being similai", bear the impress of nearly seventy years of^ sanction by th« highest judicial author- ity, should he honestly and faithfully observed and maintained by all v?h6 enjoy the benefits uf our com- pact of Union; and that all acts of individuals or of State Legislatures to defeat the purpose or nullify the requirement*! of that provision, and the laws made in puifeuance of it, are hostile in character, subversive ol theVlonstitution, and revolutionary in their effect. On the 8lh May following, Mr. Clingman, of North Carolina, addressed the Senate at length on these resolutions, maintaining the position that the Constitution does guarantee the right of holding slaves in the Territories of the Uni- ted States, but that the enforcing ol' that right, by Congressional action, wa_s inexpedient, and would be ot no prai'ticHl vulue to the SIatg States ; also, thai, luo buuth waived that right in agreeing to the Compromises of 1850 and (he Kansas-Kebraska Act (repeal of the Missouri Compromise) of 1854. Mr. C. also reviewfid the proceedings of the National Convention at Charleston, and concluded aa follows : Entertaining these views, I have been disposed to ab- stain as much as possible from the discussion of the*?© questions, and I really hope that we shall not press them, I think no advantage can grow out of it. 1 greatly fear that I have occupied more of the valuable tiffie of the Senate than I intended. I felt, however, that from me, m my position, some explanation was necessary. I think that the gentlemen on the other side of the Chamber have given us a platform already. "We shall have to fight them; we had better make up our minds to go into the contest^ and meet them on the ^reat issue they tender va. In ten days, we shall probably have their derlaration c* war from Chicago, and the clash of arms will roixiioence vei-y soon. It is time for us to close our ranks. I am ready to fight under any flag and any standard-bearer that may be given us. I can adopt any of those platfoims that were presented at Charleston. I leave all that to our political friends assembled in convention. I know that they will present a platform, and present a man less objectionable to me than the candidate on the other side. I regard them as the deadly political enemies of my sec- tion ; as the enemies of the Constitution of the United States. 1 want to embark in the contest and fight theit with closed and seri'ied ranks on our side. I have spoken onlv in behalf of the Democratic party, of the Constitu- tion, and the country. MR. BENJAMIN ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana, followed: Mr. Becjamiii. — Mr. President, I had no intention of joining in this debate, or of uttering one word on the re- solutions now before the Senate; but, siF, 1 IiM.ve listened with intense surprise to what has falien from the St-mitor from North Carolina this morning, and I cannot remain quiescent and by silence appear to give consent lo what he has said in relation to the action of cerhiin Suuthern delegates in the recent Convention at Charleston. Tlie Senator from North Carolina thinks that political races can best be run without the load of principles. Tho Senator from North Carolina thinks thjit the be^t way to get success in a political contest is not to bother yourself witli the baggiige of principle, but let your candidate run yf\\,h nothing on his back, anu probably in that way he may run the faster and reach the goal the sooner. And a^aln, the honorable Senator ttiinks that, because the Cincinnati platform was acceptable to tlie whole Demo- cracy in 1S56, there is and can be no reai^on why De- mocrats who stood on that platfornl at tliai time should I be dissatisfied with it now. Mr. President, let us look a little back, behind 1856, la I relation to that platform, and to the living issue on which I we are Separated as regards that plalfofni. We aU'r*^ I member, sir — no man can forget— that, in the exciting I contest which took place on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, those who were the firmest supporters of the bill differed in principle on that one point which now threatens to di- vide the Democratic parly. They differed openly ; they avowed their differences ; they provided for the finjU settlement of those di£ferences. Sir, wfi&ii U6 met in MR. BENJAMIN'S ANTI-DOUGLAS SPEECH. 195 JtttrtWfi, v/riA&r the lead of the honorable S&ncetor from 1 llU»oi3, who introduced the KamsaB-Nehrasha hill^ it was found that the Pemoaraia from the-Morth and the P^nworais from theSoitth could not agree itt princi- ple. The Democrars from tlie South then took the posi- iion thai the Constitution of the United States was plain and clear. The rights of the people of the Suuthwei-e placed upon that instrument. I agi'ee with the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Davis) that we have nothing to do iu this! contrpvei'sy with natural rights or natural princi- ples. Those ri{;hts and those principles, which lie at the loundation of social organization and civil government, were proper subjects of examination and consideration with the fcithers. They did tulie them into consideration. They decided them. They have given ua a chart by which now we are bound all to direct our course ; and that chart is tlie Constitution of our country. Resting the rights of the South upon that Constitution, when the dis- cussions arose upon the Kansas-Nebraslsa bill, the Sena- tors from the South who met in caucus, or in convention, or in primary meeting, if youcho'ose so to say, all agreed, without a dissenting voice, that, by the true construction of the Constitution of the United States, the Territories belonging to the United States were the common pro- perty of all ; that^each State had equal rights in ttiose Territories; that amongst those rights was the right of the citizens of the different States to eipigrate to those Territiories with their property of every nature and kind j and, when there, we contended that there was no power under heaven that could drive us out of thbse Territories, or depi'ive us therein of the protection of the Constitution and the laws, uutil the people of the Territory should make a bonstiiution and form a State. The Senator from Illinois did not agree with us ,jn that. He has been consistent. The Senatoi' from Illi- nois held that there was ?^ power in the people of a Territi>ry ; he believed in Popular SovereigiUy; he be- lieved in some inherent right in the people when assem- bled, evtfti in the original inchoate shape in which they come as emigiants 19 the Territories, to pass laws to govtjrn themselves ; to mold their own Institutions, as he phrased it, and included in that power the right to ^ againstj Slavery. We could not agree. Morning after morning we met for the purpose of coming to sOme understanding upon that very point ; and it was finally understood by all, agreed to by all, made the basis of a compromise by- ail the supporters of that |>iil, that the Territories should be organized with a delegation by Con- gress of all the power of Congress in the Territories, and tiiat the extent of the power of Congress should be defer- minedbythe courts. Firm in our belief of our rights, conscious that in the Constitution we had guaranty enough; knowing that it wasimpossiblefora judicial tri- bunal to make other than one decision, we said that we would stand bv that decision when made ; and if it Bhould be deteVramed b/ the Supreme Court of the United States that there was a power in this Government "to deprive the people of the South of their fair share of the common Territories of the Union, if that power in this thecom — . ..^ _ . , , Government existed in Congress, and if Congress dele- gated all Its power to the Territories, we would stand by the decision and agree that we asserted a right that found no warrant in the Constitution ; and, on the other hand, ■ our brother Democrats of the North, and the Senator from IllindTs at their head, agreed that if the Supreme C juvt of ihe United States should determine that the Con- Eress of the United States had no power to interfere With Souihern rights in the Territories, if, consequently, we had hiid not the power that we could delegate at all, then the Democrats of the North wouldjoinua in shpwmg respect and obedience to that decision, and,stand with us on the principle that we advocated as the true one. None of us supposed at the time that the decision would come so quick. None of us knew of the existence of a contrDver^y then pending in the federal ^courts that would lead almost immediately to the decision of that Question We provided in the Kansas act itself ; we in- troduced an express clause having- for its avowed object to brinz that question before the courts for decision. Well sh- the question did come before the courts, and the Sunreme Coui-t of the United States, in the decision m the Dred Scott case, has determined— gentlemen say it is no decision-as doctrine, or as opinion, or in some way has declared that the Congress of the United States has no power so to legislate as to destroy therights of the people of the South in their slave property m the Territories, and the iudaea have said as a proposition, so cleair that it required no Irffument, that the Congress possessing no such power, it was Dlain that it could give none to the Territorial Legisja- tnrP I do not understand that the gentlemen from the North, thP members of the Democratic party, controvert that. rSS a time when we supposed that we all at length od up"*' one comiaon platform ; that we had at last a gaide and a pole, star by which the Democratic party could guide the ship of State, a sudden and alarming heresy sprung up in the North, and something was said about the right of the Legislature of the 'L'erritories not to destroy Slavery ; not to abolish it ; not to Cftnfiacate by direct le- gislation the rights of the citizens of the South who might find themselves in the Territories with their property, but, by aside blow, by mdirection, and by failure to perform duty, by "unfriendly legislation," to do that which consti- tutionally they had no power to do by any direct effort of legislative. will. Now, sir, the Cincinnati platform, with which'the gentleman from North Carolina seems to be so much in love, and which he thinks is sufficient for the coa- stitutional rights of the South, would be sufficient for that purpose, is sufficient for that purpose properly construed - but when the delegates of a great party, assembled to- gether from all portions of the Confederacy, recently met, and the proposition was made to them to adopt the Cin- cinnati platform, it was made under what cii'cumstances, and with what view? Jt waS inade with a knowledge of &very Tndn in that CorwefhUon that two distinctly opposite interpretations were put upon that platform — one at the Soutli, am,d- the other at tlie NbriJi. Mr. Clingman. — The Senator will allow me to ask him if these tyo opinions were not upon whether h Territorial Le gislatiire could legislate for or against Slavery ? Are thost the opinions to which he refers ? Mr. Benjamin. — The opposite constructions are put in several points. One point is, whether the Territorial Le- gislature has a right to abolish Slavery in the Territorios or not, before forming a State Constitution; and auothtrr is, whether or not it is the duty of the Federal Governmeut to protect the rights of the people of the South in the Ter- ritories. Upon those two points opposite interpretations and,opposite principles exist, and were developed in the Charleston Convention, Mr. Clingman. — 1 will answer the gentleman when he is through. Mr. Pugh.— Do I understand the gentleman to say that every member of the Convention agreed that the platfoi*m had received two interpretations, or that it was susceptible of it? Mr. benjamin. — lunderstand that opposite interpre- tations were plainly and op&nly gi/oento that platform in Convention, ty oiien wlhose good faith no inan has ever yet disputed to my hnowledge. Mr. Pugh.— I do not think that was the ground of the difference of opinion at all. I said there never were two interpretations that could be faii'ly given to it ; that the platform purposely, in the language of the Senator from North Carolina, referred that question to judicial tribu- nals ; that the difference of opinion arcs? upon the judicial question;, it did not arise upon the platform; and that consequently it was a false accusation. I say that cer- tainly in no unkind spirit to the Senator ; but I say the platform \A not susceptible of two interpretations ; that it referred a c6ntroversy tcf arbitration. There might be a difference of opinion as to the particular arbitration of it, but there was none as to the terms of submission. Mr. Benjamin. — ^I read, Mr. President, with as much attention as I was capable of, everythmg that occui-red in that convention, and I saw the statement over and over again made in the convention, and not controverted, that different opinions were put upon that platform in different parts of the country. Mr, Pugh. — I certainly controverted it for one. I do not -recollect who else may have stated it. It may have been repeated a great many times ; but I did controvert it. Mr. Beiyamin, — Now, sir, I say, in relation to that Cin- cinnati platform, which the .Senator from North Carolma seems to think ought to have amply sufficed the South, and to have sufficed the Democratic party, these two opposite interpretations were known to be, intended to bsi given to it. Further, I say this : I say it was avowed at Charleston, over and over again, that if a construction wa)s given to that platform by which it should be clearly stated that the people of the South were entitled to have th?ir slaves pro- tected in the Territories against any direct interference, either by Congressional or Territorial legislation ; if that was avowed ; if the doctrme of the party was asserted to be that the Le^lature of the Territory, whilst a Territory existed in its inchoate organization, had no right to inter- fere with Slavery, then it was said, again and again, that no northern State could be carried upon that ground. Mr, Clingman. — On the question as to whether a Terri- torial Legislature could legislate against Slavery or for it, I ask the Senator whether that would not necessarily be a question which a c( urt ftiust determine ; that if the Legislature legislated op acted in any way, could we, by our opinfons, settle it ; or is it not, from necessity, a judi- cial question ? Mr. Benjamin. — The Senator is directing me entirely out of the line of my argument. I must beg him to allow 196 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOE FOR 1860. me to proceed in my line. That is not at all what I am at. It has no reference at all to my line of argument, I say tinis; I 'say that distinctly oppoaite inteipreta- tatlons, or distinctly opposite principles, if you-choose, in relation .to Southern rights under the Constitution, ^ere ayowed at Charleston, by men professing all iro be Demo- crats; and that, in my judgment, it is a brand upon the ■good faith of the Deipocratic party, it is an imputation upon their honor, it is unworthy of them, and unworthy of us all, that we should go before the people of this country and ask their votes in favor of one party or an- other, with the avowed purpose of presenting opposite kitei'pretations' or opposite sets of principles in the two" sections of the Confederacy, as being the principles of a common party, and forming a common party creed. I say that 1 will never be a party to any such contest ^s that. If I go into an electoral contest, I want to know .the principles of the party with which I act, and I want, before the people of my State, before the people of the country, to declare those principles, to stand by them, to find them written in letters of light, so that no man can dare misQ.9nstrue them, and by them to stand, and with them, if need be, fall. That I understand to have been the position of the dele- gation of Louisiana at Charleston. Talcing that ^sitibn, determined that they would not palter to public preju- dices by uwng words in any. double sense; that all they did and all they said must go forth to the country Inca- pahle of raisconstraction ; when they found it impossible to have the principles upon which alone they could go into the Presidential contest* stated thns clearly and thus plainly, they withdrew, rightly withdrew, honprably with- drew. I applaud them; I approve them; I stand by them. I thinlc they did as became high-minded and hon- orable citizens. I thinlc the State will show itself grateful to them for their act. . ■ . . . Now, the honorable Senator says he is willing to go with Democrats upon almost any platform ; that almost any one that we can elect would be preferable to the ad- versaries against whom we are to be opposed. Mr. Clingman, — I said any of those proposed. I alluded to tliose proposed in the Convention. Mr. Benjamin, — I suppose so. Now, Mr. President, I am not willing to go for any man, I do not care whether his name has been proposed or not, wtio is not willing to stand upon a platform of principle, of constitutional prin- ciple. I am willing to go for any man, whether named or not, who will pledge his honor to stand faithfully and squarely upon a platform of sound principles ; and wtten a platform of sound constitutional prlnciplee shall be adopted by a Democratic Convention, satisfactory to me, with my views of 'constitutional right, and satisfactory to my people — principles satisfactory to my people, I say; I care not for men — then you may put upon that platform any man who can stand upon it honorably, and I will Tote for him; I will maintain iaim ; I will canvass my State in his behalf; I will spend all my time and all my breath in his cause, wherever, whenever, and however, I may be asked by his friencfe. That far, sir, I am willing to go ; but I have no stomach for a fight In which I am to have my choice be>tween a man who denies me all my rights^openlyaiid fairly and'a man who admits my rights but intends to £Ich them. I have no choice there. BENJAMIN ON DOUGLAS. ■ After Mr." Douglas's famous speech of May 1 5th and 16th, on these resolutions, Mr. Benjan\in addressed the Senate again, speaking of Mr. Douglas as follows : Mr. Benjamm said, when we met here in December, the pubUc mind was greatly disturbed by the irruption of a band of fanatics into a St&,te of the Union, with the avowed intent to liberate the slaves. A large number of resolutions have been offered, all relating to the relation of the General Government to Slavery in the States and Territories The large number and variety of these re- solutions, required that those who professed to belonging to the same party shoU|ld meet, in order to harmonize and act in concert. A meeting of Democratic Senators was therefore held to accomplish this purpose. The Senator from Illinois, in a speech occupying two days, had presented the extraordinary spectacle of advocating his own claims to the Presidency, and denouncing those who had dared'to express their views on s&bjects before the Senate. The Senator from Illinois assumed that he was the embodiment of the Democratic party, and that all who opposed him were rebels. He arraigned othgr Senators, and charged them an'd the representatives of seventeen States at Charleston as being on the high road t» disunion. After having thus assailed everybody, he announced that he had only spoken Jn self-defense, and with princely mugnanim,ity agreed ta forgive those who, as he said, had erred cxsre through ignorance than de> sign. Mr. Beigapiin then defended the Democratic Sena- tors from the charge of having undertaken to dictate to the Charleston Convention what sort of platform it should make. 'When the Kansas bill was before the Senate, the Senator from Illinois called a caucus oj Democratic Senators every morning to decide on their action for the day. The late Senatonal caucus had done no more than that. Yet for this it had been charged with seeking to diminish the'Senator's, chance for success, Mr. Benjamin next examined Mr, Douglas's charge that seventeen Democratic States had adopted a platform looking to the dissolution of the Union, and had plao<:d' themselves undep the Jead of Mr. Yancey, an avowed disunionist. His State had vcted for that platform, and he should vote for the Senate re=!oIntion8, and he denied that the Senator from Illinois had correctly stated the meaning of either. Nobody here wanted to make a slave code, a slang term which Mr. Douglas had picked up from the Republicans, nor to force Slavery on aj un- willing people. The attacks upon the Democratic Sena- tors were wanton and unprovoked, and he should repel them. The Senator had defended his consistency at gi-eat length, which was not the issue between them. The issue was that the Senator from Illinois had made a bkrgain and had violated it. To prove this he should not go further back than 1857, up to which time the Sena- tor from Illinois was looked upon by the Democratic party with pride and favor.' Why was it that a Senator who had thus been treated with -favor should now be separated from his former associates? That he bad passed overin his speech, and he (Benjamin) would sup- ply the deficiency: Mr. Benjamin then went into a history of the Kansas act, pointing out the differences between Democrats and BepubUcans and Douglas Democrats. At that time the Democrats being unable to agree as to the power of the people of the Territories, it was agreed, to^refer the subject to the Courts and to abide liy the decision. He never had attacked the Senator's consistency. It was his consistency that constituted his great crime — adhtfl-ing still to views which he had agreed to abandon when the Court decided the question, and which the Court hud decided against him: Ttiis lie charged was bad faith. The Senator no longer worshipped at the Democratic shrine, but had wandered forth after strange gods. Tlie Sena'or from Illinois had admitted that he made this bargain, and yet he had been engaged since 1S57 in trying to explain away, in conjunction with tlie Republicans, the decision of the Court, and to render it useless in case it should be ■affirmed. He quoted from the Dred Scott decision to show that the principle of right to slave property in the 1'er- ritories was decided by it. On this point he argued at great length to show that Congress had full power over the Territories wUh'in the limits of its constitutional power; that the Constitution ' "orbid the prohibition of Slavery in the Territories by Congress ; and as the Territo- rial Government derived all its powers from Congress, the Territorial Legislature could not do more than Congress could. No sSoner was this decision made than it was attacked by the Republicans, and the Chief-Justice assailed as having colluded with the President of the United States, The Senator from Illinois got over lys bar- gain by saying that he did not agree to abide by the decision in the Dred Scott case ; but when the case was carried up from the Territorial Courts to the Supreme Court, he would obey that. This was an afterthought, first announced in the canvass of 1858, when pressed by Mr. Lincoln for a seat in the Senate. To save himself from defeat, he introduced his theory as to the power of the people in the Territories. [Mr. Benjamin then reSd from the discussious between Messrs. Lincoln and Douglas to show that the former was much more candid in his ans- wers than the latter, and he confessed he was hot such an ultra Anti-Slavery man as he supposed.] Mr. Douglafi told us here that he would abide the decision of the Court, but at home he turns his back on his promise, repudiates his words, and tells his people that he has so arranged the Kansas bill that in spite of the decision the people of ths Territories can keep slaves out. To bo tw;ce deceived by the same man would b^ to/make them dupes and fools. Even Mr. Lincoln was shocked at his profligacy, and charged him with bad faith. The election came o% au(i though Mr. Douglas was successful by the arrange'nenl of the Legislative Districts, Mr. Lincoln beat him4,0U0oq the popular vot^. [Mr. Benjamin next read from Mr. Douglas's Harper's Magazme article, tc show that he had absolutely copied Mr. Lincoln's arguments of 1S5S, and claimed them as discoverie.s of his own. Mr. Benja- min warned Mr. Douglas that the tendencies of his doc- trines were to drive him back, step by step, to the Blsiclt Republican camp'.] We already find him using theargu ments and quoting the language of the Republiciio part/ EDWARD BATES TO THE REPUBLICANS OF MISSOURI. 197 On the 24th May, the vote waa taken on the flrst of Mr. Davis's series of resolutions, which was adopted, 36 to 1&, the yeas being all De- mocrats, except Messrs. Crittenden, of Ky., and Kennedy, of Md., Americans. The nays were all Republicans. The second resolution was then read, when Mr. Harlan (Eep., of Iowa) offered to add the following as an amendment : But the free discussion of tlie morality and expediency ef Slavery stiould never be intei-fered with by the laws of any State, or of tlie Dnited Stales ; and the freedom of Epeeoh and of the press, on this and every other subject of domestic and national policy, should be maintained in- violate to all the Slates, This amendment was rejected, 20 to 36, as fol- lows : Yeas.— Messrs. Bingham, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolitile, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, and Wilson — ^aiH Nats.— Messrs. Benjamin, Bigler, Bragg, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clay,Clingn]an, Crittenden, Davis, Fitzpatrick, 6-reen, Gwin, Hammond, Hemphill, Hunter, Iversoii, Jolmscn of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, Lane Latham, Mallory, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce, Polk. Powell, Pugh; Rise, Sebastian, Slideli, Thomson, Toombs, Wigfall, and Yulee— 86. Yeas all Republicans ; nays all Democrats, ex- cept Crittenden and Kennedy, Americans. The second resolution was then adopted, 36 to 20, the J, ote being exactly the reverse of that on Mr. Hei.flan's amendment. The third resolution of the series was adopted, 86 to 18, as follows : Ybasv — Messrs. Benjamin, Bigler, Bragg, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingmun, Crittenden, Davis, Fitzpatrick, Green, Gwin, Hammond, Hemphill, Hunter, Ivei'Son, Johnson of A'-k^nsas, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, Laae, Latham. Mallory, lyiason, Nicholson, Pearce, Polk, Powell, Pujl), fjce^ Sebastian, Sliddl, Thomson, Toombs, WigfaU, ana y j'ie— 36. Nats.— Messrs. Bingham, Chandler, Clark, Ci.llamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Byck, Trumbull, Wade, and Wilson— 18. Yeas aU Democrats, except Crittenden and Kennedy ; nays all Republicans. The fourth resolution was adopted, 35 to 21, the negatives being all Republicans, except Mr. Pugh, Dem., of Ohio. ■ Mr. Clingmaii offered an amendment, in the form of the following resolution, to follow the 4th of Mr. Davis's series : ' Sesoived, That the exi^tlng-conditlon of the Territories nf the United States does not require the intervention of Congress for the protection of property in slaves. The amendment was debated "at considerable length ; but, without taking the question, the Senate adjourned. On the following day, the amendment was adopted, 26 to 23, as follows : Yeas.- Messrs. Bigler, Bingham, Bragg, Chandler, Cl»rk, Clingman, Collamer, Crittenden, Dixon, Dooliltle, Foot, Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Johnson of Tenrics- see, Kennedy, Latham, Polk, Pugh, Simmons, Ten Eyi;k, Toombs, Trumbull,, Wade, and Wilson — ^26. Nays. — Messrs. Benjamin, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Davis, Fitzpatrick, Green, Hammond, Hunter, Iv<;r- son, Lane, Mallory, Mason, Nicholson, PearOe, Powell, Rice, Saulsbury, Sebastian, Blideli, WigfaU, and Yulee— 23. ( Yeas all Republicans, except Messrs. Bigleri Bragg, Clingman, Crittenden, Johnson (^enn.), Kennedy, Latham, Polk, Pugh, and Toombs; Nays all Democrats. ^ ' The fifth resolution of the series was then adopted, 35 to 2, Hamlin and Trumbull, the Yeas being all Democrats, except Crittenden and Kennedy. The seventh and last of the series was then adopted, 36 to 6, Mr. Ten Eyck, Rep., of New Jersey, voting Yea Ji/dGE BATES'S PLATFORM. IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE. LETTER PROM JUDGE BATES ON THE POLITICAL QOESTIONS OF THE DAI. St. Louis, March, 1860. Tbt Hon. Bdwaed Bates— (Sir.- As you may have earned from the public prints, the Republicans of Missouri met in Convention, in this city, on Saturday, the 10th in- stant, to make a declaration of their principles, elect dele- gates to the National Republican Convention, and com- plete a State organization. All of this the Convention ex- ecuted, In a manner wholly satisfactory to ita members. It also commended you, by resolution, to the National Re- publican party, as one well worthy to be the standard- bearer of that party in the coming Presidential elecUon. This fact the undersigned have pride and'pleasure in com- munioating to you, knowing that throughout your Ufe you have carried out, as far as a private citizen might, the sentiments contained in the resolutions adopted on Satur- day, and a copy of which we inclose. But as you have voluntarily remained in private life for many years, your political opinions are consequently not so well understood by the Republican party at large as by the Republicans of MissourL Inasmuch as the delegation ftom this State to the Chi- cago Oonvenlaon intend to present your name to that body as a candidate for the Presidency, ,we, in common with many other Republicans of Missouri, desire to procure from you an exposition of your views on the engrossing political questions of the time. We hope that notwith- standing your well-known relucta ice to appear before the public in the light of a Presidential aspirant, you TiU not refuse to answer the following interrogatories, which, in our judgment, involve all the issues pending between the two political parties of the country, 1st Are you opposed to Qie extension of Slavery f 2d. Does the Constitution of the United States carry Slavery into the Territories, and, as subsidiary to this, what is the legal eflect of the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case ? 3d. Are yOu In favor of the colonization of the free colored population in Central America P 4th. Do you recoguize any inequality of rights among citi- zens of the United States, and do you hold that it is the duly of Uie Federal Government to protect American citizens at hohie and abroad in the enjoyment of all their constitutional and legal rights, privileges, and immunities? 5Ui. Are you In fia-vor of the construction of a railroad from the Valley of the Mlsslfisippl to the Pacific Ocean, under the auspices of the General Government? 6Ui. Are you In favor of the measure known as the Home- stead bill? 7th. Are you in favor of the immediate admission of Kansas, under the Constitution adopted at Wyandot ? ^ Yours, respectfully, etc., Petee L. Fot, Chas. L. Bbbnats, Hbnet T. Blow, Jko. M. Richarhsoh, F. A. Dick, 0. D. Fillbt, Stephen Hott, Wm. MgKeb, G. W. FiSEBACE, Baktos Abu, J. B. SrrTDN. im A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. RESPONSE OF JDDGE BATES. St. Loots, MarcJi 17, 1S60. Ti. Messrs. P. L. FOT, Editor of The Missouri Democrat ; Dr. UfcJiiNAYS, Editor of the Anzeiger ; and other genUemon : StRS: B. Grata Brown, Esq., as President of the Mis- souri State Convention, which sat in St. Louis on the tenth of this month, has oflBcially ihade known to me the proceedings of that bSdy, and by them I am enabled to know some of you as Delegates to .the Chicago Conven- tion, representing the Republican party of Missouri. I have received your letter propounding to me certain questions (seven in number) which you suppose will cover most, if not all, the giounds of controversy^ in the approacl(ing Presid'eutial election. With pleasure I will answer your questions. But be- fare doing so, allow me to glance at the peculiar circum- t-tauces in which I am placed, and the strangeness of the fact that I, a mere private man, am called upon to make avowals and 'explanations, with any view to take me from the shades of private life and place me at the I'.ead ofithe nation. I came to this frontier in my youth, and settled in St. Louis when it was a village. All my manhood has been spent in Missouri, and during all that time I have followed a profession which left my charac- ter and conduct open to the observation of society. And while it has been my constant habit freely to express my opinion of public measures and public men, the people, of Missouri, of all parties, will bear me witness that" I have never obtrusively thrust myself forward in pursuit of official honors. I have held no political office, and sought none, for more than twenty-five years. Under these circumstances, I confess the gratification wliich I feel in receiving the recent manifestations of the respect and confidence of my fellow-citizefas. First, the Opposition members of the Missouri Legislature declared their preference for me as a candidate ; then followed my nomination by a Convention composed of all the ele- ments of the Opposition in this State; and, now, the Re- publicans of Missouri, in their separate Convention, just held in St, Louis, have reaffirmed the nomination, and proposed, by their delegates, to present me to the Na- tional Convention, soon to be held at Chicago, as a cau- U'date for the first office jn the nation. These various demonstrations in my own State are doubly gratifying to me, because thtsy afford the strongest proof that my name has been put forward only in a spirit of harmony iind peace, and with the hope of preventing all division and controversy amon-g those who, for their own safety and the public good, ought to be united in their action. For all this I am deeply grateful, and, as far as con- cema me personally, I must declare* in simple truth, tliat if the movement go no further and produce no national results, still I am paid and overpaid for a life of labor, and for whatever of zealous effort and patient watching I have been able to bestow in support of a line of governmental poUcy which I believe to be for the present and permanent good of the country. And now, gentlemen, I proceed to answer your ques- tions, briefly indeed, but fully, plainly, and with all pos- sible frankness. And I do this the more willingly be- cause I have received from individuals many letters (too many to be separately answered), and have seen in many public journals articles making urgent calls upon me for such a statement of views. I. Slavery— Its extension in the Territories. On this subject, in the Spates and in the Territories, I have no new opinions — no opinions formed in rela- Bion to the present array of parties. I am coeval with the Missouri, ^uefetion of 1819-30, having begun my political life in the midst of that struggle. At that time my position required me to seek all the means of knowledge within my reach, and to study the principles involved with all the powers of my mind; and I ar-, rived at conclusions the.n which no subsequent events have induced me to chknge. The existence of negro Slavery in our country had its beginning in the early time of the Colonies, and was imposed by the mother country against the will of most of the colonists. At the time of the Revolution, and long after, it was com- monly regarded as an evil, temporary in its nature, and likely to disappear in the course of time, yet, while it continued, a misfortune to the country, socially and politically. Thus was I taught, by those who made our (Jovern- meut, and neither the new light of modern civilization, nor the discovery of a new system of constitutional law and social philosophy, has enabled me to detect the error of their teaching. vSlavery is "a social relation "—a domestic institu- tion. Within the States, it exists by the local law, and liie federal (xov&rnment has no cont.ol over It there. The TeiTitories, whether acquired by conquest 07 peaceable purchase, are subject and subordinate ; not sovereign like the States. The nation is supreme over them, and the National Government has power to per- mit er forbid Slaveiy, within them. -Entertaining these views, I am opposed to the extension of Slavery, and in my opinion, the spii-it and policy of the Government ought to be against its extension. ■ 2. Does the Constitution carry Slavery into the Territories! I answer no. The Constitutidn of the 'Jnited-Statea does not carry Slavery into -the Teiritories. With much more show of reason may it be sjiid that it canies Sla- very into all the States. But it does not carry Slavery • anywhere. It only acts upon it, where it finds it estab- lished by the local law. In connection with this point, I am asked to state my views of the Dred Scott case, and wha^ was really determined by the Supreme Court in that case. It is my opinion, carefully considered, that the Court deter- mined one single point of law only, that is, tl?at Scott, the plaintiff, being a negro of African descent (not neces- sarily a slave), could not be a citizen of Missouri, and therefore could not sue in the Federal Court ; and that for-th;s reason, and this alone, the' Circuit Court had no jurisdiction of the cause, and no power to give judgment between the parties. The only jurisdiction wliich the Supreme Court had of the cause was for tlie pui-pose of correcting the error of the Cii'cuit Court, in assuming the power to decide upon the merits of the case. This power the Supreme Court did exercise, by setting aside the judgment of the Circuit Court upon the merits, and by dismissing the suit, without any judg- ment for or against either party. This is all that the Supreme Court did, and aU that it had lawful power to do. I consider it a great pubUc misfortune that several of the learned judges should have thought that their duty required them to discuss and give opinions upon various questions outside of the ca^e, as the case was actually disposed of by the court. All such opinions are extra juc^dal and of no authority. But beside this, it appeai-s to me that several of the questions so discussed by the judges are political questions, and therefore beyond the cognizance of the judiciary, and proper only to be consi- dered and disposed of by the poiiticUl department^. If I am right in this, and it seems to me plain, the precedent is most unfortunate, because it may lead to a dangerous conflict of authority among the coiirdinate branches ot the Government. 3. As to the colonization of the free blacks. For many years I h^ve been connected with the Ameri- can Colonization Society, of which the rising young State of Liberia is the first fi-uit. I consider the object both humane and wise, beneficent alike to the free blacks who emigrate, and to the whites whom they leave behind. But Africa is distant, and presents so many obstacles to rapid settlement, that we cannot indulge the hope of dr^nmg off in that dii-ection the growing numbers of our free black population. The tropical regions of America, I think, offer a far better prospect both for us and for them. 4. As to any inequality of rights among American clUzens. I recognize no distinctions among American citizens buli sucli as are expressly laid down in the Constitution. AnIV I hold that our Government is bqund to protect all the citizens in the eryoyment of all their rights, everywhere and against all assa^ants. And as to all these rights, there is no difference between citizens born and citizens made such by law. 5. Am 1 in fftvor of the construction of a railroad ftora the Valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, under Uxe aus pices of the General (iovernment ? Yes, strongly. I not only believe such a road of vast importance as the means of increasing "the population, wealth and power of this great valley, but necessary as the means of national defence, and of preserving the integrity of the Union. 6. Am I in favor of the measure called the Homestead bill i . Tes ; I am for guarding the public lands, as well ^s possible, from the danger of becoming the subject of com- mon trade and speculation — for keeping them tor the actual use of the people— and for granting tracts of suitable size to those who will actually inhabit and im- prove them. 7. Am I In favor of the immediate admission of Kansas under the Wyandot Constitution ? I think that Kansas ought to be admitted without delay, leaving her, "like all the other States, the sole judge of her own Constitution. Thus, gentlemen, I believe I have answered all youi inquiries in a plain, intelligible manner, and, I hope, U JUDGE BATES'S LETTER RESPECTING MR. LINCOLN. 199 y&iir satisfaction. I have not attempted to support ray anawera by argument, for that could not tee done in a short letter; and, restraining myself from going into general politics, 1 have confined ^y remarks to the particular subjects upon which you requested me to write. Your obliged feliow-citizen, Edward Bates. JUDGE BATES'S LETTER IN SUPPORT OP LINOOL*. ^ ^ St. Louis, June 11, I860. 0. H. BR'bwNTNG, Esq., Quincy, 111. DbarSir: When I received your letter of May 22d, I hiidno thought that the answer would be so lon^ de- layed: but, waiving all excuses, I proceed to answer U now.) Under the circumstances of the case it ought not to have been doubted that I would give Mr. Lincoln's nom- ination a cordial and hearty' support. But in declaring my intention to do so, it is due to myself to state some of the facts and reasons which have a controlling influence over my mind, find which I think ought to be persua- sive arguments with some other men, whose political opinions and antecedents are, in some important pai'ti- culavs, like my own. There was no good ground for supposing that I felt any pique or dissatisfaction because the Chicago Con- vention failed to nominate me. I had no such feeling. On pavty grounds, I hud no right to expect the nominl^ tion. I had no claims upon the Republicans as a party, for I have never been a member of any party, so as to be bound by its dogmas, and subject to its discipline, ex- cept only the Whig party^ which is now broken up, and its materials, for the most part, absorbed in other organi- zations. And thus I ani left, alone and powerless, in- deed, but perfectly free to follow the dictates of lAy own judgment, and to .take such part in current politics as mj" own sense of duty and patriotism may require. Many Republicans, and among them, I think, some of the most moderate and patriotic of that party, honored me with their confidence and desired to malte me their candidate. For this favor I was indebted to the fact that between them and me there was a coincidence of opin- ion upon certain important questions of government. They and I agreed in believing thaltthe National Govern- ment 'has sovereign power over the Territories, and that it would be impolitic and unwise to use that power for the propagation of negro Slavery by planting it in Free Territory. Some of them believed also that my nomina- tion, while it would tet,/ "vj soften tile tone of the Repub- lican party, without any abandonment of its principles, might tend also, to generalize its character and attract the friendship and support of many, especially in the border Staites, who, like me, had never been members of their party, but concurred with them in opinion about the government of the Teix'itories. These are the grounds, and I think the only grounds, upon which I was sup- ported at all at Chicago. As to the platform put forth by the Chicago Conven- tion, I have little to say, because, whether good or bad, that will not constitute the ground of my support of Mr. Lincoln. I have no great ruspect for party platrorras in general. They are commonly made in times of high ex- ci^ment, under a pressure of circumstances, ami with the view to conciliate present support, rather than to esta- blish a permanent system of principles and line of policy for the future good government of country. The Oonveniions which form them are trjinsient in their nature ; their power and influence are consumed in ihe using, leaving no continuing obligation upi)n their re- spective parties. And, hence we need not winder that platforms so made aie hardly ever acted upon in prac- tice. I shall not discuss their relative merit-!, but con- tent myself with saying that this Republican platform, though in several particulars it does not conform to my views, is still far better than any published creed, past or present, of the Democrats^ And as to the new party, it has not chosen to promulgate any platformatall, except" t^o or three broad genei-alities which are common to tlie professions of faith of all parties in the cdimtry. No party,, indeed, dare ask the confidence of the nation, Whil-e openly denying the obligation to support the Union and the Constitution and to enforce the laws. That is a common duty, binding upon every citizen, and tlie failure to perform it is a crime. To me it is plain that the approaching contest must be between the Democratic and i he Republican parties ; and, between them, I prefer the latter. The Democratic party, by the long possession and ftbuse of pow«r, has grown wanton und r^ecjileasj has corrupted I itself a/id perverted the principles of the (*t^ yernment; has set itself openly against thft great home interests of the people, by neglecting to protiict their industry, and by n-.fusing to improve and keep in order the liighways and depots of commerce ; and even now is urging a measure in Congress to abdicate the constitu- tional power and duty to regulate commerce among the States, and to grant to the States llie discretionary power to levy tonnage duties upon all our commerce, under the pretense of improving harbors, rivers, and lakes I has changed the status of the negro slave by mak- ing him no longer mere property, but a politician, an antagonist power in the State, a power to which all other powers are required to yield, under penalty of a dissolu- tion of the Union ; lias directed its energies to the grati- fication of its lusts of foreign domain, as tnaoifested in its persistent efforts to seize upon tropical regions, not be-' cause those countries and their injjongruous people are nepessary, or even desirable, to be incoi-porated into cur nation, but for the mere purpose of making Slave States, in order to advance the political power of the party in the Senate and in the choice of the President, so as effectually to transfer the chief powers of the Government from the many to the few; has in various insiancea endangered theequality of the coiirdinate branches of the Government, by urgent efforts to enlarge the powers of the Executive at the expense of the Legislative depart- ment; has attempted to discredit and degrade the Judi- ciary, by affecting to make it, at first, the arbiter of party quarrels, to become soon and Inevitably toe pas- sive registrar of a party decree. In most, if not all these particulars, I understand the Republican pserty (judging it by its acts and" by the known opinions of many of its leading men) to be the exact opposite of the Democratic party ; and that is the ground of my .preference of the one party over the othei*. And that alone would be a sufficient reason, if I had no other good rea!sons, for supporting Mr. Lincoln against any man who may be put forward by the Democratic party, as the exponent of its principles and the agent to work out, in practice, its dangerous policies. The third party, which, by its formation, has destroyed the organization of the American and Whig parties, has nominated two most excellent men. I know them ^tell, as sound statesmen and true patriots. More than thiity years ago I served with them both in Congress, and from that time to this I have always held them in respect and honor. But what can the third party do toward the eleii- tion of even such worthy men as these against the two great parties which are now in actual contest for the power to rule the nation ? It is made up entirely of por- tions of the disintegrated elements of the late Whig and American parties — good materials, in the main, I admit, but quite too weak to elect any man or establish any principle. The most it can do is,'here and there in par ticular localities, to make a diversion in favor of the Democrats. In 1S56, the Whig and Aiherican parties (not forming a n&w pari/y^ but united as allies), with en- tire unanimity and some zeal, supported Mr. Fillmore for the Presidency, and with what results? We made a miserable failure, carrying no State but gallant little Maryland. And, surely, the united Whigs and Ameri- cans of that day had a far greater show of strength and fal' better prospects of success than any which belong to the Constitutional Union party now. In fact, I see no possibUty of success for the third party, except in one contingency— the Destruction of the Democratic party. That is a contigency not likely to happen this year, for, badly as I think of many of the acts, and policies of that party, its cup is not yet full — the day has not yet come when it must dissolve in its own corruptions. But the day is coming, and is not far off. The p^vty has made itself entirely sectional ; it has concentrated its very ^e- ing into one^single idea ; negro Slavery has control of all its faculties, and it can see and hear nothin g else—" one stern, tyrannic thought, that makes all other thoughts its slaves !" But the Democratic party still liVes, and while it lives, it and the Republican party are the only real antagonistic powera in the nation, and for the present, I must choose between them. I choose the latter, as wiser, purer, younger ^nd less corrupted by time and self-indulgence. The candidates nominated at Chicago are both men who, as individuals and politicians, rank with the foremost of the country. I have heard no objection to Mr. Hamlin personally, but only to his geographical position, whieli ia thought to be too far North and East to allow his personal good qualities to exercise tneir proper influence over the nation at large. But the nomination for the Presidency is the great controlling act. Mr. Lincoln, his character, talents, opinions and history will be criticised by thou- sands, while the candidate for the Vice-Presidency will bo passed over in comparative silence. 200 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK JFOR 1860. Mr. Lincoln's nommation took the public by surprise, because, until just before the event, it was unexpected. But really it ought not to have excited any surprise, for Buch unforeseen nominations are common in our political history. Polk and Pierce, by the Democrala, and Harri- eoa and Taylor, by the Whigs^ were all nominated in this extemporaneous manner— all of them were elected. I have known Mr. Lincoln for more than twenty years, and thej'efore have a right to speak of him with some confi- dence. Ab an individual, he has earued a high reputation for truth, courage, candor, morals, and amiability ; go that, as a man, he is most trustworthy. And in this particular, he is more entitled to our esteem than some other men, hia equals, who had far better opportunities and aids in early life. His talents, and the will to use them to the beat ad- vantage, are unquestionable ; and the proof is found in the fact tha,t, in every position in life, from his humble begin- ning to his present well-earned elevation, he has more than fulfilled the best hopes of his friends. And now, in the full vigor of his manhood, and in the honest pride of having made himself what he is, he is the peer of the first man of the nation, well able to sustain himself and advance his cause,, against any adversary, and in any field, where mind and knowledge are the weapons used. In politics he has but acted out the principle of his own moral and intellectual chai-acter. He has not con- ceal'fed his thoughts nor hiddon his light under a bushel. With the boldness of conscious rectitude and the frank- ness of downright honesty, he has not failed to avow his opinions of public affairs upon all fitting occasions. This I know may subject him to the carping censure of that class of pohticians who mistake cupning for wis- dom and falsehood for ingenuity ; but such men as Lin- coln must act in keeping with, their own characters, and hope for success only by advancing the truth prudently and maintaining it bravely. All his old political ante- cedents are, in my judgment, exactly right, being square up to the old VFhig standard. And as to his views about "the pestilent negro question," I am not aware that he has gone one step beyond the doctrines publicly and habitually avowed by the gi-eat lights of the Whig party, Clay, Webster, and their fellows, and indeed sustained and carried out by the Democrats themselves, in their wiser and better d^ays. , The following, I suppose, are in brief his opinions up- on that subject: 1. Slavery is a domestic institution within the States which choose to have it, and it exists within those States beyond the control of Congress." 2. Congress has supreme legislative power over all the Territories, and may, at its discretion, allow or forbid the existence of Slavery within, them. 3. Congress, in -wis- dom and sound policy, ought not so to exercise its power, directly or indirectly, as to plant and establish Sl3.very in any Territory theretofore free. 4. And. that it is unwiee and impolitic in the Government of the United States, to acquire tropical regions for the mere purpose of convert- ing them into Slave States. <- These, I believe, are Mr. Lincoln's opinions upon the matter of Slavery in the Territories, and I concur in them. . They are no new inventions, made to suit the ex- igencies of tl^e hour, but have come down to us, as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have, sanctioned by the venerable authority of the wise and good men who established our institutions. They are conformable to law, principle and wise policy, and their utility is proven iir practice by the as yet unbroken cur- rent of our political history. They will prevail, not only because they are right in themselves, but also because a great and still gpowlng majority of the people believe them to be right ; and the sooner they are allowed to prevail in pe^ace and harmony, the better for all con- cerned, as well those who are against them a5 those who are tor them. I am aware thatsmalll partisans, in their little warfare against opposing leaders, do sometimes assail thera by the trick of tearing from their contexts some particular objectionable phrases, penned, p-rhaps, in the hurry or composition, or spoken in the .^ i^t of oral debate, and holding them up to the public as the leading dodrlnM of the person assailed, and drawing from them their own uncharitable inferences. That line of attack befci-ays a httle mind conscious of its weakness, for the falsity ofite logic is not more apparent than the injustice of its de- signs. No public man can stand tha;t ordeal, and, how- ever willing men may be to see it applied to their adver- sai ies, all flinch from the torture when applied to them- selves. In fact, the man who never bald a foolish thing, will hardly be a-ble to prove that he ever said many wibe ones. I consider Mr, Lincoln a sound, safe, national man. lie could not be sectional if he tned. His birth, education, the habits of his life, ^.nd his gepgraphical positio^, com- pel him to be national. All his feelings and interest aa-e identified rith the great valley of the Mississippi, near whose centpfi he has spent his whole life. Thevallfly is not a section, but, conspicuodsly, the body of the nation, and, large as it is, it is not capable of being divided into sections, for the great river cannot be divided. It is one and indivisible, and the North and the South axe alike necessary to its comfort and prosperity. Ite people, too, in ail their interests and affections, a*e^ as broad and general as the regions they inhabit. They are emigrants, a mixed multitude, coming from every Stata in the Union, and from most countries in Europe-; they are unwillhig, therefore, to submit to any one petty local standard. They loVe the nation as a whole, and they love all its i)arts, for they are bolind to them all, not only by a feel- ing of common interest and mutual dependence, but also by the recollections of clidldhaod and youth, by blood and friendship, and by all those social and domestic charities which sweeten life, and make tliis world worth living in. The valley is beginning to feel its power, and will soon be strong enough to dictate the law of the land. Whenever that state of things shall come to pass, it will be most fortunate for the nation to find the powers of Government' lodged in the hands of men whose l?abits of thought, whose position and surroumMng circumstances, constrain them to use those powers for general and not sectional ends. _ « I give my opinion freely in favor of Mr. Lincoln, and I hope that for the good pf the whole country, h£ may he elected. But it is not my intention to take any active part in the canvass. For many years past, I have had little to do with public affairs, and have aspired to do political office ; and now, in view of the mad excitement which convulses the coimtry, and the general disruption and disorder of parties and the elemente which compose them', I am more than ever assured that for me, pereon- alll.v, there is no political future, and I accept the condi- tion with' cheerful satisfaction. StiU, I cannot- discharge myself from the life-long duty to watch the conduct of men in po*er, and to resist, so far as a mere private man may, the fearful progress of official corruption, which for several years past has sadly marred and defiled the fair fabric of our Government. If Mr. Lincoln should be elected, coming in as a new man at the head of a young party never before in power, he may render a great service to his country, which no Democrat could render. He can march straight forward in the discharge of his high duties, guided -only by hia own good judgment and honest purposes, without any necessity to temporize with established abuses, to wink at the delin- quencies of, old party friends, or to unlearn and discard the bad official habits that have grown up under the liiis- govermnenfof his Democratic predecessors. In short, he can be an honest and bold reformer on easier and cheaper terms than any Democratic President can be— for, in pro- ceeding iq the good work of cleansmg and purii^ring- the administrative departments, he will have no occasion to expose the vices, assail the interests, or thwart the ambi- tion of his political friends. Begging your pardon for the length of this letter, I remain, witli great respect, your friend and obedient servant,' Edward Batb^ P" LEGISLATIVE RESOLVES FOR FREE TERRITORY. 901 THE MONROE DOCTRINE. So much has been wildly said of what is termed the " Monroe Doctrine," in regard to the infiuenoe of European Powers on this continent, that we publish exactly what President Monroe said on the subject. We copy from the Seventh Annual Message of Mr. Monroe, dated December 2, 1823 : " It was stated, at the commencement of the last session, ttiat a great effort was then making in Spain aud Portugal to improve the condition of the people of those countries, and that it appeaifa to be conducted with extraordinary moderation. It need scarcely be remarked that the re- sult has been, sb far, very different fi-om what was then anticipated. ■ Of events in that quarter of the globe, with which we hav4j so much intercourse, and from which we derive our origin, we have always been anxious and in- terested spectators. The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most fi-lendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. lu the wai-s of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, we iiave never taken any part, Dor does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced, that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense. With the movements in this hemisptere we are of neces- sity more immediately connected, and by causes which musfrfbe obvious to all enlightened and impartial obser- vers. The political system of the allied p'lwers is esaen- ,tlally different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective governments. And to the defense of our own. Which has been achieved by the loss af so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefure, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare, that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemi- sphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the goveriiments who have declared their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence wo have, on great consideration, and on justprinoiples, acknowledged, we could ^lot view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power, In any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United Stiites. In the war between these new govern- ments and Spain, wo declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided no change shall occur, which in the judgment of the competent authorities of this G-overnment, shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States indispensable to iheir security. " The late events in Spain and Portugal show that Europe is still unsettled. Of this important fact no stronger proof can be adduced than that tlie allied powers should have thought it proper, on a^^principle satisfactory to them- selves, to have interposei^ by force in the internal concerns of Spain. To what extent such interposition maybe car- ried, on' the same principle, is a question to which all independent powers, whose governments differ from theirs, are intei'ested— even those most remote, and surely none more so than the United States, Our policy in re- g£^rd to Europe, wfeic^ was adopted at an early stage pf the wars which have so long, agitated that quarter of tna globe, nevertheless remains the same, whicii is, not to interfere in th^ internal concerns of any of its powers ; to consider the G-overnment, de facto, as the legitimate Government for us ; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relatiojis by a frank> firm, and manly policy ; meeting, in all instances, the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none. But in regard to these continents, circumstances are eminenily and conspicuously different. It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endangering our peace and happiness ; nor can any one believe that oui southern brethren, if left to theraselvesrwould adopt it ot their own accord. It- is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition, in any form, with indifference. If we look to the comparative strength and resources of Spain and those new Governments, and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is. still the true policy of the United States to leave the parties to themselves, in the hope that other powers will pui'sue the same course." STATES AND STATESMEN ON THE SLAVEET QUESTION. "WISCONSIS FOB TKEE SOIL. The following resolutions were adopted by the Wisco'nsin (Democratic) Legislature iu 1848, with only three dissenting Totes in the Senate ar.d five in the House : Whereas, Slavery is an evQ of the first magnitude, morally and politically, and whatever may be the consequences, it is our duty to prohibit its extension lU a)l cases where such prohibition is allowed by the Con- stitution : Therefore, ^ .. o. » . Resolved, By the Senate and Assembly of the State or ■Wisconsin, that the introduction of Slavery into this country is to be deeply deplored; that its extension OTight to be prohibited by every constitutional barrier within the power of Congress ; that in the admission of new territory into the Union, there ought to be an in- hibitory provision against its introduction, unless clearly and unequivocally admitted by the Constitution— inas- much as in all cases of doubtful construction, the Rights of Man and the cause of Liberty ought to prevail. Beaoloeci, That our Senators m CbogreSs be, and they are hereby, instructed, and our Representatives are re- auested to use their influence to insert into the organic act for' the government of any new territory already »cauired or hereafter to be acquired, that is now free, an nrdinance forever prohibiting the introduction of Slavery or involuntaiT servitude into said territory ex- cept as a punishment for drime, of which the party shall have been dujy convicted according to law. BesoPoectf That His Excellency the Governor is here- by requested immediately to forward a copy of the fore- going resolutions to each of our Senatoiis and Represen- tatives, to be by them laid before Congress. THE DKMOCEACT Or MAINE TOR THE WILMOT ■ Resolutions adopted by a Convention of the Democratic party of Maine, in June, 1849 : JieiioPoed, That the institution of human Slavery is at variance with the theory of our government, abhorrent to the common sentiments of mankind, and fraught with danger to all who come within the sphere of its influence, that the Federal Government possesses adequate power to inhibit its existence in the Territories of the Union ; and that we enjoin upon our Senators and Representa- tives in Congress to make every exertion and employ all their influence to procure the passage of a law forever excluding Slavery from the Territories of California and New-Mexico. DELAWARE FOK TREE TERRITORY. The following preamble and resolution wore adopted by the Legislature of Delaware iu 1847: 202 A POLITICAL TEX-T-BOOK FOR 13t50. Whet'eas^ A crisis haa avriv^d in the public affairs of the Nation, which requires the fi'ee and full expression q*i the people, through their k-gal repres^tntTves ; and* Whereaa^ The United States is at war with the Republic of Mexico, ofcasioned by the Annexation of Texas, witii a view to the addition of SlaVirTerritory to our country, and the extending of Slave power in our Union; and Whereas, In the opinion of the General Assembly, such acquisitions are hostile to the spirit of our Free Insti- tutions, and contrary to sound morality ; therefore be it Resolved, By the Senate Jind House of Representatives of tliL' Slate of Delaware in Genernl Assfembly met, ,That our Seniiti.rd and Representatives in Congress are hereby requested to vote against the annexation of any Territory to our Union, which shall not thereafter be forever free from Slavery. MASSACHUSETTS AGAINST SLAVERY. The following resolution was passed'by the Legislature of Massachuaetta in 184'7,^ in con- nection with others on the subject of the Mexi- can war. ResoloeJ; That our attention is directed anew to the wrong and '' enormity " of Slavery, and to the tyranny and usurpation of the " Slave Power," as displayed in the history of our country, particularly in the annexation of Texas, and the present war with Mexico, and that ■ye are Impresseil with tha unalterable condition, that a regard for the ra,if fame of our country, for the principle of morals, und for ifiat righteousness that exalteth a riRtion, sanctions and r-quir^i all constitutional efforts for the "^estiuotion of the unjust inflaeiTce of the Slave power, and for tiie abolition of Slavery within the limits of the United Statts. THE "WHIGS OP MASSACHUSETTS AGAINST SLAVERY. The Massachusetts State Convention, held at Springfield, in the latter part of the month of September, 184'7, and at which Daniel Webster was nominated as a candidate for the Presi- dency, passed the following among other re- Bolutiqns : Besol/oed^ That the war with Mexico — the predicted, if Bot t,lie legitimate offspring, of the annexation of Texas — \)egun in a palpuble violation of the Constitution, and the usurpation of tiie powers of Congress by the Presi- dent, ^jid carried on in reckless indifference and disregard of the blood and treasure of the Nation — can have no object wliieh can be effected by the acquisition of Mexi- ijan, terrftory, under the circumstance of the country — unless under adequate securities for the protection of human liberty — can have no other probable result than tiie ultimate advancement of tlw sectional supremacy of the Sl.LV(r Power. Aftei recommending '* Peace with Mexico, without dismemberment," and " No addition of Mexiciin Territories to the American Union," the Convention Jiesolvedy That if this course should be rejected and the war sliall be prosecuted to the final sulyection or dismem- berment of Mexicp, the Whigs of Massachusetts, now de- clare, and put ilihs declaration of purpose on record, that Muisacliusetts will never consent that Mexican Territory, however acquired, shall become a part of the American Uiiinn, unless On tlie unalterable condition that '*there shall be neither Slavery nor Involuntary Servitude therein, otherwise ilixi in the punlsiiment of crime." Resolved, 'i:ha,l in malting this declaration of her pm-- pose, Massachusetts announcesno newprinciple of action in regard to her sister Siateii, and makes no new applica- tion of principles already acknowledged. She merely states the great American principle embodied in our De- claration of Independence — the political equality of per- sons in tlie civil state ; the principles adopted in the legis- lalion of tlie States under the Confederation, and some-, tiniud by the Constitution— in the admission of all the new States fonned from the only Territory belongingto the Union at tlie adoption of the Constitution— it is, in short, the imperishable principle set forth in the ever . memorable Ordinance of 1787, wliich has for more tlian fcalf a century been the fundamental law of human liberty in Mie great valley of the Lakes, the Ohio, and ihii Jlissiribippi, Willi what brilliant success, and with what unparalleled results, let the great and growing States of Ohio, Indiana, lliinuis, Michigan, and Wisconsin, answer ftud declare. MR, WKBSTER AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION* In the United States Senate, in Aug., 1848, Mr. Webster, in speaking on the bill to organize the Territory of Oregon with a clause prohibit- ing Slavery, said: The question now is, whether it is not competent tc Congress, in the^exercise of a fair and just discretion, tc say that, cunsidering that there have been five slave- holding States (Louisiana, florxda, Arkansas, Missomi and Texas) added to the Union out of foreign acquisi- tions, and as yet only one Free State, whefher, under this state of things, it is unreasonable, and unjust in the slightest degree to limit their farther extensi.-Ti? That ii the question, I see no injustice in it. As to *hc poiVei of Congress I have nothing to add to what I said th« other day. I have said that I shall consent to no E^ tension of the area of Slavery on iMi ConUn&nt, noj any increase of Slave Ji&presentation in the oth& Mouse of Qmgrese, MILLARD PILL more' S* VIEWS. His Buffalo Zetter o/1838. Buffalo, Oct. 17, 1838. Sib : Your communication of the 18th inst. , as chairman of the committee appointed by " The Anti-Slavery Society of the County of Erie," has just come to hand. You solicit my answer to the following interrogatories ; 1st. Do you believe that petitions to Congress, on tlie subject of Slavery and the Slave-trade, ought to be re- ceived, read, and respectfully considered by the represen- tatives of the people ? 2d. Are you opposed to the annexation of Texas to this Union under ai^ circumatances, so long as slaves are held therein ? 8d. Are you in favor of Congress exercising all the power it possesses to abolish the Internal Slave-trade be- tween the States ? 4th. Are you in favor of immediate legislation for the** Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia ? ATiswer. — ^I am much engaged, and' have no time to enter into argument, or explaua at length my reasons for my opinions. I shall therefore content myself, for the present, by answering all 2,our inten-ogatories in the affir- mative, and leave for some future occasion a more ex- tended discussion on the subject. I would, however, take this occasion to say, that in thus frankly givmg my opinion, I would not desure to have it underatood in the nature of a pledge. At the same time that I seek no disguise, but freely ^ve my sentunenta on any'Subject of interest to those for whose suEh-ages I am a candidate, I am opposed to ^ving any pledge that shall deprive me hereafter of all discretionary power. My own character must be the guaranty for the general correct- ness of my legislative deportment. On every importaiat subject I am bound to deliberate before I act, and -^spe' ciaUy as a legislator, to possess myself of all the infon^a tioD, and listen to every argument that can be adduced by my associates, before I give a final vote. It I stand pledged to a particular course of action, I cease to be a responsible agent, but I become a mere machine. Should subsequent events show, beyond all doubt, that the coui-sa I had become pledged *»■: pursue was ruinous to my Con- stituents and disgraceful to myself, I have no alteraatire, no opportunity for repentance, and there is no power to absolve me from my obligation. Hence the impropriety, not to say absurdity, in ray view, of giving a pledge. I am aware that you have not asked my pledge, and i believe I know your sound judgment and good sense too well to think you desh-e any sucTi thing. It was, however^ to prevent any mkrepresentation on the part of others, that I have felt it my duty thus much on this subject. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, Millard Pillmore. W. Mills, Esq., chabrman. MR. Fillmore's albant speech of 1856. The following is Mr. Fillmore's speech, de- livered at Albany, in July, 1856 : Mr. Mayor and Fellow-CUiz&tia : This overwhelming demonstration of congratulation and welcome almost de< prives me of the power of speech. Here, nearly thirty years ago, I commenced my political career. In this building I first saw a legislative body in session ; but at that time it never entered into the aspirations of my heart that I ever should 'receive such a welcome as this in the capital of ray native S)iate. You have been pleased, sir, to allude to my former services and my probable course if T should aisaiu ba MR. FILLMORE'S ALBANY SPEECH, ETC. ao3 called to the position of Chief Magistrate of the nation. I It is not pleasant to speak of one's self, yet I trust that the occasion will justify rae in briefly alluding to one or two events connected with ray administration. You all j know that when I was called to the Executive chair by a beveavement which shrouded a nation in mourning, that the couni ry was unfortunately agitated from one end to the other upon the all-exciting subject of Slavery. It was then, sir, that I felt it ray duty to rise above every eecLional prejudU-e, and look to the welfare of the whole maion. I was compelled to a certain extent to overcome lont-chevished prejudices, and disregard party claims. But in dohig this, sir, 1 did no more than was done by many abler and better men than myself. I was by no means the sole instrument, under Providence, in har- monizing these dilficulties. There were at that time noble, independent, high-souled men in both Houses of Congress, belonging to both the great political parties of the country— AVhigs and Democrats— who spurned the- dictation of selfish party leaders, and rallied around my administration in support of the great measures which restored peace to* au agitated and distracted country. Some of these have gone to their eternal rest, with the blessings of their country on their heads, but others yet survive, deserving the benediction and honors of a grateful people. By the blesainga of Divine Providence, our efforts were crowned with signal success, and when I left the Presidential chair, the whole nation was pros- perous and contented, and our relations with all foreign nations were of the most amicable kind. The cloud that h'^ng upon the horizon was dissipated. But where are we now ? A!us ! threatened at home with civil war, and from a'li oad wii h a rupture of our peaceful relations. I e\vj\\ not seek to trace the causes of this change. These are the I'dcts, and it is for you to ponder upon b(iem Of the inesent Adaiiiiib-tiation I have nothing to say, for I know and ciui apineeate the difBculties of administering this governmeni, iind if the present Executive and his supporters have wiih good intentions and honest hearia made a mistalce, I liope God may forgive them as I freely "do. But, if there be tliose who have brought these cal- amities upon the country for selfish or ambitious objects, it is your duty, fellow-cLtizens, to hold them to a strict responsibility. The agitation which disturbed the peace of the coun- try in 1850, was unavoidable. It was brought upon us by the acquisition of new teri'itory, for the government of which it was necessary to provide territorial organi- zation. But it is for you to say whether the present agi- tation, which distracts the country and threatens us with civil war, has not been recklessly and wantonly pro- duced, by the adoption of a measure ^o >aid personal ad- vancement rather than in any public good Sir, you have been pleased to say, that I have the Union of these States at heart ; this, sir, ia most true, for if there be one object dearer to me than any other, it is the unity, prospei'ity, and glory of this gi*eat republic ; and. I confess fi-ankly, sir„that I fear it is in danger. I say nothing of any particfular section, much less of the several candidates betSre the people. I presume they are all honorable -men. But, sir, what do we see ? An exasperated feeling between the North apd the South, on the most exciting of all topics, resulting in bloodshed and organized military array. But this is not all, sir. We gee a political party pre- senting candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presi- dency, selected for the first time from the Free States alone, with the avowed purpose of electing these candi- dates by suffrages of one part of the ^nion only,, to rule •ver the whole United 'States. Can it be possible that those who are engaged in such a measure can have seri- ously reflected upon the consequences which must inevi- tably follow, in case of success ? Can they havei the madness or the folly to beUeve that our Southern breth- ren would submit to be governed by such a Chief Magis- trate? Would he be required to follow the same rule, prescribed by those who elected him, in making his ap- pointments? If a man living South of Masop and Dixon s Una be not worthy to be President or -Vice-Presideuf, would it be proper to select one from the same quarter as one of his cabinet council or to represent the nation in a foreign country ? Or, indeed, to collect the revenue, or administer the laws of the United States? If not, what naw rule is the President to adopt in selecting men for ofiice. that the people themselves discard in selecting him ' These are Serious, but practiciil questions, and in order to appreciate them fully; it is only nci-essary to turn the tables upon ourselves. Suppose that Hie ^outh, having a majority of the electoral votes, should dcthire that they would only have slaveholders for Pi evident and Vice-President,, and should elect such by Wn-.n- ex Blusve s'iffragea to rule over us at the No>-th. Do you think we would submit to itf No, aot for a moment. And do you believe that your Southern brethren are less sensitive on this subject than you are, or less jealous of their rights ? If you do, let me tell you that you are mistaken. And, therefore, you must see that if this sec* tional party succeeds, it leads uievitably to the destruc- tion of this beautiful fabric reared by our forefathers, ce- mented by their blood, and bequeathed to us as a price* less inheritan"**!. I tell you, my friends, that I feel deeply, %nd there- fore 1 speak earnestly on this subject '(cries of ■'you've right !") for I feel that you -are in danger. I am deter- mined to make a clean breast of it. I will wash my hands of the consequences, whatever they may be ; and I tell you that we are treading upon the brink of a vol- cano, that is liable at any moment to burst forth and overwhelm the natiori. I might, by soft words, inspire delusive hopes, and thereby win votes. But 1 can nevei consent to be one thing to the North and another to tlie South. I should despise myself, if I could be guilty of such duplicity. For my conscience would exclaim, witi the dramatic poet : " Is Uiere not sonA chosen curse, Some liitlden thunder ui Ihe stores of heaven, Red with uucommon wrath, to blast thii man Who owes hie greatness lo his country's ruin V* In the language of the lamented, but immortal Clay " I had rather be right than be President !" ■ It seems to me impossible that those engaged in this can have contemplated the awful consequences of suc- cess. If it brealra asunder the bonds of our Union, and spreads anarchy and civil war through the land, what ia it less than moral treason? Law and common sense hold a man responsible for the natural consequence of his acts, and must not those whose acts tend to tlie de struction of the Government, be equally held responsi ble? And let me also add, that when this Union is dissolved, it will not be divided into two republics, or two mou archies, but be broken into fraguKuts, and at war with each other. MR, Fillmore's letter to a new-tork union MEETING IN 1859. The following is an extract from a letter of Mr. Fillmore, (dated Dec. 16, 1859), in, reply to an invitiition to attend a Union Meeting at Cooper lnst;itute, New-York. But it seems to me that if my opinions are of any im- portance to my. countrymen, they now have them in a much more responsible and sat.sfactory form than I could give them by participating in the proceedings of any meeting. My sentiments on this unfortunate ques- tion of slavery, and the constitutional rights of the South in regard to it, have not changed since they were made manifest to the whole country by the performance of a painful duty in approving and enforcing the Fugitive tilave Law. What the Constitution gives I would con- cede at every sacrifice. , I would not seek to enjoy its benefits without sharing ita burdens and its responsibili- ties. I know of no other rule of political right or expedi- ency. Those were my sentiments then — they are my sentiments now. I stand by the Constitution of my couutiy at every hazard, and am preparted to maintain it at every sacrifice. Here I might stop ; but since I have yielded to the im- pulse to write, I will not'hesitate to express, very biiefly, my views on one or two events which have occurred since I retired from office, and which, in all probability, have ^ven rise to your meeting. This I cannot do intel- ligibly, without a orief reference to some events which occurred during my administration. AH must remember that in 1849 and 1850, the country was severely agitated on this disturbing question of Slavery. That contest grew out of the acquisition of new territory from Mexico, and a contest between tht North and South as' to whether Slavery should be toier at6d in any part of that Territory. Mixed up with this, was a claim on the part of the slaveholding States, that the provision of the Constitution for the rendition of fugitives from service should be made avstilable, as the law of 1793 on that subject, which depended chiefly on State officers for its execution, had become inoperatiire, because Siute officers were not obliged to perform that duty. After a severe struggle^ which threatened tbe integrity of the Uoinn, Congress finally passed laws settling tlie^a que.-tion«; and the Government and the people for a time LccmeH to arqniesee in thiit cum-prom/tm a^ a final seitlenieni. of this exciting question ; and il is exceedinjj'ly ^04 A' POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. 10 be regretted that mistaken arabitiaa or the hope of promoting a party triumph should have tempted any !tne to raise this question again. But in an evil hour this Pandora's box of Slavery was again opened by what I conoeiVe to be an unjustifiable attempt to force Slavery Unto Kansas by a repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the floods of evils now swelling and threatening to over- throw the Constitution, and sweep away the foundation of the G-overnment itself, and deluge this land with fra- ternal blood, may all be traced to this unfortunate act. Whatever might have been the motive, few acts have ever been so barren of good, and so fruitful of evil. EDWARD Everett's opinions on slavery. The following is an extract of a speech of Mr, Everett, delivered in the House of Represen- tatives, March 9, 1826. (See Benton's Abridg- ment of Congressional Debates, vol. 8, page ■iii.y Having touched upon this point, I ought, perhaps, to add that, if there are any.membera in this House of that class of politicians to whom the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Saunders) alluded, as having the disposition, though not the power, to disturb the compromise contained in the Constitution on this point, I am not of the number. Keither am I one of those citizens of the North, to whom another honorable gentleman referred, in a publication to which his name was subscribed, who would think it im- moral and iri'eUgious to join in putting down a servile in- surrection at the South: 1 am no soldier, sir ; my habits and education are very unmilitary, but there is no cause in which I would sooner buckle a knapsack to my back, and put a musket on my shoulder, than that. I would cede the whole continent to any one who would take it— to England, to France, to Spain ; I would see it sunk in the bottom of the ocean before I would see any part of this fair America converted into a continental Hayti, by that awful process of bloodshed and desolation, by which alone such a catastrophe could be brought on. The great relation of servitude, in some form or other, with greater or less departure from the .^theoretic equality of man, is inseparable from our nature.- I know of no way by which the form cf this servitude shall be fixed, but political insti- tution. Domestic Slavery — though, I confess, not that form of servitude which seems to be the most beneficial to the master — 'certainly not that which is most beneficial to i\e servant — is not, in my judgment, to be set dotvn as an Ijimoral and irreligious relation. I cannot admit that re- ligion hits but one voice to the slave, and that this voice is, " Rise against your Master." No, sir ; 4he New Testa- ment says, "Slaves, obey your Masters';" and, though I know full well that, in, the benignant operation of Chris- tianity, which gathered master and slave around the same communion-table, this unfortunate institution disappeared in Europe, yet I cannot admit that, while it subsists, and where it subsists, its duties are not presupposed and sanc- tioned by religion. I certainly am not called upon to meet the charges brought against this institution, yet truth obliges me to say a word more on the subject. I know the condition of working classes in other countries ; I am intimately acquainted with it in some other countries, and I have no hesitation in saying that I believe the slaves in tliis country are better, clothed and fed, and less hardly worked, than the peasantry of some of the moat prosper- ous States of the continent of Europe. Consider the checks on population. What keeps population down? Po verty, w,ant, starvation, disease, and all the ilia of life ; ill is these that check population all over the world. Now, 'the slave population of the United States increases faster than the white, masters included. What is the inference as to the physical condition of the two classes of society ? These are opinions I have long entertained, and long Bince publicly professed on this subject, and which I here repeat in answer to the intimations to which I have al- ready alluded. But, sir, when Slavery comes to enter luto the Constitution as a political element — when it comes to affect the distribution of power amongst the States of the Union, that is a matter of agreement.' If I make an agreement on this subject, I ^^ill adhere to itJike a man; but I will protest against any inferences being made ftrom it like that which was made by the honorable mover of these resolutions. I will protest against popularity, as well as votes, being increased by tlie ratio of three-fifths of the Slaves. i MR. Mitchell's views. Mr, Mitchell, of Tennessee. — Sir^ I do not go the length of the gentleman from Maasachusetts, au?l hold that the existehce of Slavery it this country U almost a bllsshig. On the contrary, I am £rmly settled iu the opinion thiit^t I Is a great curse — one of the greatest evils '^h'at oould have ' been interwoven into our system. I, Mr. Chalrinan, am one of those whom these poor wretches call master ; I do not task them ; I feed and clothe them well ; but yet, alas ! sir, they are slaves, and Slavery is a curse in*any shape. It is, no doubt, true that there are persons in Europe far more degraded than our slaves, worse fed, worse clothed, etc. ; but, sir, this is far from proving that negi'oes ought to be slaves. John Randolph, of Vu-ghiia.— Sir, I envy neither the head nor lieart of that man from the North who rises here to defaod Slavery upon principle. MR. CAMBRELENG-'S VIEWS. Churchill C. Cambreleng, of N. Y., (foi-merly of N. C.) —The gentleman from Massachusetts has gone too far. lie has expressed opinions which ought not to escape with- out animadversion. I beard them with equal surprise and regret. I was astonished to hear him declare that Slavery — domestic Slavery— say what you will, is a condition of life, as well as any other, to be justified by morality, reli- gion, and international law; and when at the close of his opimon he solemnly declared that this was his confession of faith, I lamented, sincerely lamented, that " Star-eyed Science should have wandered there To bring us back the message of despair." If, sir, among the wild visions of German philosophy I had ever reached conclusions like this ; if in the Aulse of Gottingen I had ever persuaded myself to adopt a poltti- cal maxim so hostile to liberal institutions and the rights of mankind, I would have locked it up foreverin the dark- est chambers of my mind. Or if my zeal had been too ardent for my discretion, this place, at least, should never have been the theatre of my eloquence. No, sir, if such had been my doctrines I woiild have turned my back for- ever on my native land. Following the course of "the dark rolUng Danube," and cutting my way across the Euxine, I would have visited a well-known market of Con- stantinople, and there preached my doctrine amidst the rattling chains of the wretphed captives. Nay, sB", I would have gone fi'om thence, and laid my forehead upon the footstool of the Sultan, and besought him to set his foot upon my neck, as the recreant citizen of a recreant Republic. EDWARD EVERETT ON GEOGRAPHICAL PARTIES. But, sir, I am not prepared to admit that geographical parties are the greatest evil this countiy has to fear. Party of all kinds, in its excess, is certainly the bane of our institutions ; and I will not take up the time of tb^ Committee by disputing which is most deleterious, arsenic or laudanum. It is enough that they are both fatal. The evil of geographical parties is, that they tend to severlihe Union. The evil of domestic pjirties is, that they render the Union not worth having. I remember the time, ar, though I was but a boy, when under the influence of do- mestic parties, near neighbors did not speak; when old jTcquaintances glared at each other as they passed in the streets ; when yon might wreak on a poan all the bitterness of your personal and private enmity, and grind him into the dust, if you had the power, and say, he is a Democrat, he is a Federalist ; he deserves it. Yes, sir, when party spirit pursued its victim from the halls of legislation, from the forum, from the market-place, to what should \ib the sanctuary of the fireside, and filled hearts that woulc^ have bled to spare each other a pang, with coldness a^d es- trungement. Talk r^ot to me of your geographical parties. There does not live the man, I thank God, on earth, to- ward whom I have an unkind emotion — one whose rights I would invade, whose feelings I would wound. But if there ever should be a man to whom I should stand in that miserable relation, I pray that mountains may rise, that rivers may roll between us — that he may never cross my path, nor I his, to turn the sweetness of human nature into bitterness and gall in both our bosoms. — /Speech in th-' II0U86 of Jiepi'es&ntaUveSj 1S2G.—M&>itvn'8 De- buies^"^ol. 8y p. 713. MR. Everett's VIEWS in 18oTand39. Oct. 14th, 1837, Hon. "Wm. Jackson, of Kew- ton, Mass., wrote to Mr. Everett a long letter containing the following questions : Do justice, humanity, and sound policy, alike re- quire that the slaves of this country should be emanci- pated ? Is it the right and duty of the citizens of the non-^ slavehoUiing States to require of the General Qovern- iiicnt the abolition of Slavery iu the District of Co- lumbia ¥ EDWARD EVERETrS VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 205 Is it Just or safe, u-ith regard to our foreign relations aud domestic compact, to admit Texas into the Union ? MR^ EVERETT'S REPLY. Boston, Blsi October, ISST. Sir : I liave duly received your communication of the 14th inst., iu which you desire to be furnished with my views on certain questions therein propounded. Under other circumstances, I should deem it proper to preface my answer with some preliminary remarks, but my en- gagements at the present time compel me to reply as concisely aa possible. In answer to the first question, I observe, that Slavery being, by universal admission, a social, political, and moral evil of the first magnitude, it is required toy jus- tice, humanity, and sound policy that the slaves should be emancipated by those having constitutionally the power to effect that object, as soon. as it can be done peacefully, and in a manner to better the condition of the emancipated. I believe the most considerate por- tion of the people of the United States, in every quarter, unite in this 'sentiment ; and you are aware that the most eminent Southern names can be cited in its sup- port. In reply to the second question, I would remark, that all the considerations in favor of emancipation in the States, apply with equal force to the District of Co- himbia. My opinions o^ this subject are fully expressed in the resolution adopted by the legi'slatui*e last winter, with a near approach to unanimity, in the following terms : " Kesolv6d, That Congi-ess having exclusive legis- lation in the District of Columbia, possesses the right to abolish Slavery in the said District, and that its exercise should only be restrained by regard to the public good." -- I know that the slave-trade is carried on to a shocking extent in the District of Columbia. There is no part of the South, where it is reputable to be engaged in this la'affi.c ; and no Southern State, I am persuaded, would' permit its existence in its own capital, as it exists at the national capital. The South and the North ought to unite in prohibiting it, by act of Congress — which is the local legislature of the District. This has been loudly called for, from the Distiict itself. * I have before me a copy of a petition, couched in very strong language, against both Slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, which was presented to Congress in 1824, signed by nearly ^even hundred and fifty names of citizens of Washington, several of whom were known to me to be of th> first consideration. I may observe in this connection, that at the same se5sion,'I voted in the negative on a motion to lay upon the table the petitiQn of the American Anti-Slavery Society for the 'abolition of' Slavery in the District of Columbia, and on two other motions. Intended, in like manner, to deprive this class of petitions of a respectful* reception and considera- tion. The last question propounded by you refers to the annexation of Texas. It presents the subject of Sla- very, ^ most of Its bearings, in a new light. In the States, its introduction was the result of a legislation forced upon the colonies, and in many cases, in despite of acts passed by their legislators, for the prohibition of the slave-trade, and regulated by the crown. Its ex- istence' is recognized by the Constitution of theUnited States. The rights of property growing out of it are in some degree protected by law in the non-slaveholding States (see the opinion of Chief Justice Shaw in the case of the Commonwealth -08. Aves— an opinion in the doctrines and principles of which I fully concur) ; and ttiorality and religion frown on all attempts to put an end to it by violence and bloodshed. But none of these principles countenance a voluntary extension of Slavery ; and as the question of annexing Texas is one of volun- tary, and aUnosfc boundless extension, it presents the subject, as I have said, in a new light. It hto been offi- cially stated by the Texan Envoy that th^ region so called contains two hundred thousand square mj^ps. In other words, it might form twenty-five States as large as Massachusetts. In this vast region. Slavery was prohibited by Mexico ; , it has been restored, and is rapidly spreading itself Under the new government; and no one denies, that if the independence of Texas is sustained. Slavery will be indefinitely extended through- out its ample borders. The Executive Government of the United States has promptly recognized this independence, and by so doing, has discharged the whole duty that could be required by the law of uations. Whatever step we take towai-d an- nexation is gratuitous. This whole subject has been so ably dificussed by Dr. Channing, in his recent letter to Wr Clay that i^- would be superfluous to enlarge upon it. I will only say, that if, at thi& moment, when an all- important experiment is in train, to abolish Slavery by peaceful and legal means in the British West Indies, the United States, instead of imitating their example, or even awaiting the result, should rush into a policy of giving an indefinite extension to Slavery over a vast . region incorporated into their Union, we should stand condemned before the civilized world. It would be vain to expect to gain credit for any further professions of a , willingness to be rid of Slavery as soon as possible. No extenuation of its existence,' on the ground of its having been forced upon the country in its colonial state, woUld any lonter avail us. It would be thought, and thought justly, that lust of power and lust of gold had made us deaf to the voice of humanity and justice. We should be self-convicted of the enormous crime of having vo- luntarily given the greatest possible enlaugement to an evil, which, in concert with the rest of mankind, we had aflFected to deplore, and that at a time when tho public sentiment of the civilized world, more than at any former period, is aroused to its magnitude. There are other objections to the measure drawn from its bearing on our' foreign relations; but it is unneces- sary to discuss them. I am, sir, rdspectfuUy, Your obedient sei-vant, BnWARD EVEftlftT. Hon. "William Jackson, In 1839, the following questions were put to Mr. Everett by Hon. A. Borden, of Massachu- setts : 1. Are you in favor of itnmediate a.bo1ition by law of Slavery in the District of Columbia and of tlie slave traCBc between the States of this Union? 2. Are you opposed to the admission into the Union of any new States the constltutionB of which tolerate domes- tic Slavery ? The following waa Mr. Everett's reply : Washington, (k-t 31, 1889. Deah Sir : On Saturday last I only received your let^ ter of the 18th, propounding to me certain interrogate ries, and earnestly requesting an early answer. You are aware that several resolves on the subject of these in- quiries and their kindred topics, accompanied ^y a re- port, were introdi^ed into the Senate of the Common- wealth, year before last, by a joint committee of the two houses, ofwhich the lamented Mr. Alvord was chair- man. Those resolves, after having been somewhat enlarged by amendment, were adopted by the legisl'atuie. They ap- pear to cover the whole ground of your two interroga- tories. Having cheerfully cooperated in the passage of the resolves, and concurring in the genei-al reasoning by which- they ar# sustained in the powerful report of the chairman of the committee, I respond to both your in- quiries in the affirmative. The first of the three subjects in your inquiry is the only one of them which came before Congress while I was a member. I voted in- the negative on the motion to lay upon the table the petition of the Amgrican Anti- Slavery Society for t^e abolition of Slavery in the Dis- trict of Columbia., and on other motions of the like char- acter introduced to cast ofiT the consideration of this class of petitions. 1 am, dear sir, veiy respectfully, your friend and ser- vant. Edward' Everett. Hon. Nathanibi. A. Dobdbn. The "several resolves" to which Mr. Everett refers in the above letter, in the passage of which he ** cheerfully cooperated," as Governor of Massachusetts, are as follows: Resolved^ That Congress has, by the Constitution, power to abolish Slavery and the slave-trade in the Dis- trict of Columbia, and that there is nothing in the terms or circumstances of the acts of cession by Virginia and Maryland, or otherwise, enforcing any legal or moral restraint on its existence. Resolved, That Congress ought to take measures to eHect the abolition nf Slavery in the District of Columbia. ResoVoed^ That the rights of humanity, the claims of justice, and the common good alike, deigand the sup- pression by Congress of the slave-trade earned on iu and through the District of Columbia. Resolved, That Congress has, by the Constitution, power to abolish Slavery in the Terrltorira of the United States. 206 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. [For later views of Mr. Everett, see hig letter 1 accepting the nommation for the Vice-Presi-I deucy in I860.] | ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON THOMA^ JEFFERSON. Mr. Lincoln having_ been invited by the Re- publicans of Boston, to attend a Festival in honor of the anniversary of Jefferson's birthday, on the 13th of April, 1859, Teplied as follows: Springfield, 111., April 6, l&ti9. Gbntlbhws : Tour kind iiote, inviting mg to attend a festival in Boston, on the 13th inst., in honor of the birth- day of Thomas Jefferson, was duly received. My engage- ments are such that 1 cannot attend. Bearing in mind that about seventy years ago two great political parties were first formed in this country ; that Thomas Jefferson was the head of one of them and Boston the headquarters of the other, it is both curious and interesting that those Bupposed to descend politically from the party ppposed to Jefferson, should now be celebrating his birthday in their own original seat of empirt-, Vrhile those claiming political descent from him have nearly.ceased to breailie hiB name everywhere. ^ Remembering, ton, that the Jefferson party was fornied upon its supposed superior devotion to the personal^ rights of men, holding tlie rights of property to be secondary only, and greatly inferior ; and then assum- ing that the so-called Democracy of to-day fire the Jeffer- son, and their opponents tlie anti-Jefferson p irtie-i, it will be equally interesting to note how completely the two have changed ground as to the principle, upon which they were originally supposed to be divided. The Democracy of to-day hold the liberty of one m^n to be absolutely nothing, when in conflict with another man's right otproperty. Republicans, on the contrary, are both for the mcwt and the dollar, but in case of con- flict the man before the dollar. I rememb»ir being once much amused at seeing two partially intoxicated men engaged in a fight with their great-poats on, which fight, after a long and rather harm- less ontest, ended in each having fought himself out of his own coat and into that of the other. If the two leading parties of this day are really identical with the two in the days of Jefferson and Adams, they have per- formed the same feat as the .two drunken men. But soberly, it is now no child's play to save the prin- ciples of JeffL'rson from total overthrow in thici nation, Oiie\. ouid state with great confidence that he could convince any sane child that the simpler propositions of Euclid are true ; but nevertheless, he wuuld fail, with one vho should deny the definitions and axioms. The prin- ciples of Jefferson are the definitions antfVaxIoms of free flooiety. And yet they are denied and evaded,* with no smalt show of success. One dashingly (Jails them " glit- tering generalities." Another bluntly styles them " self- evident lie?." And others insidiously argue that they apply only to " superior races." These expresstOns, differing in form, are identical in .»bject and effect— the supplanting the principles of frue govcrnmettt, and restoring those of classification, caste, and legitimacy. They would delight a convocation of crowned heads plotting against the people. They are the vanguard, the sajipers and miners, of returning despoiism. We must repulse them, or they will subju- gate us. This is a world of compensations ; and he who would 56 no slave must consent to ha/ioe no slave. Those who deny freedoit: to others deserve it not for themselves ; and, under a just Qod, cannot long retain it. All honor to Jefferson — to the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for natiimal independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity, to introduce into a merely revolutionary document an ab- stract truth, applicable to hU men and all times, and so to embalm it there', that to-day and in alLcomiug days it shall be a rebulce and a stumbling-bloclc to the harbin- gers of reappearing tyranny and oppression. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln, Messrs. H. L. Pibrcb, and others, etc. ABKAH.VM LINCOLN ON NATURALIZATION. Springfield, Kay 17, 1S59. Dr. Theodor CANisins: Dear Sir— Your letter, in which you inquii-e on your own acCouiitf'and in behalf of certain other German cxu- zens, whether I approve or oppose the constitutional pro- vision in reliition to naturalized citizens which was^a^^ enacted in Massacllusetts, and, whether I favor w oppooo a fusion of the Republicans with the oth«r Opposition env. ments in th& campaign of 1860, has been received. Massachusetts is a sbverelgn and independent State, and I have no right to advise her ta her policy. Yet, if any one is desirous to draw a conclusion as to what I would do, from what she has done, I may speak without impro- priety. I say, then, that so far as I understand the Mas- sachusetts provision, I am against its adoption, not only in Illinois, but in every other place in which I have the right to oppose it. Aa I understand the spirit of our in- stitutions, it is designed to promote the elevation of men. I am, therefore, hostile to anything tliat tends to their de- basement. ' It is well known that I deplore the oppressed condiMon of the blacks ; and it would, therefore, be very inconsisteat for me to look with approval upon any measures that in- fringes uppn the inalienable rights of white men, whether or not they are born in anothertland, or speak a different language from my own. In respect to a fusion, I am in favor of it whenever tt can be effected on Republican principles, but upon no other condition, A fusion upon any other platform would be as insane as unprincipled. It would thereby lose the whole jS'ovth, while the common enemy would still have the support of the entire South. The questJdfl in relation to men is different. There are good and patri- otic men and able statesmen in the South, whom I would willingly support if they would place themselves on Re- publican gi-ound ; but I shall oppose the lowering of the Republican standard even by a hair^s breadth. I have written in haste, but I believe that I have an- swered your questions substantially. Respectfully yours, Abbauam LrapoLK. NE"W-Y0RK S'OE THE WILMOT PUOVISO. In January, 1847, Col. Samuel Young intro- duced the following resolve into the New- York State Senate, and on the 27th of that month it was adopted by a vote of 22 to 6 : JtemVced, That if any Territory is hereafter acquired by the United States,.or annexed thereto, the ac^ by which euch Territory ife acquired or annexed, whatever sucli act may be, should contain an unalterable, fundamental ar- ticle or provision whereby Slavery or Involuntaiy servi- tude, except^ as u punishment fur crime, shall be forevet excluded from the Territory acquired or annexed. This resolve subsequently passed the Assembly by a vote which was almost unanimous. NEW-YORK FOR FREEDOM IN 1858. The following pream^ble and resolutions were adopted by the Assembly of the State of New- York on the 10th day of January, 1848, by a vote of 108 to H, and by the Senate, a few days later, by a majority nearly as emphatic aS that of the Asswnbly : Wherea^^ The President of the United States, in his last annual message, has recommended the establishToent by Congress of territorial government over the conquered provinces of New Mexico, and the Californias, and the retention thereof as an indemnity, in which said Terri- toi'ies the institution of Slavery does not now exist, therefore JR&soVoed (if the Senate concur), That our Senators ia Congress be instructed, and our Representatives re- quested, to use their best efforts to insert into any act of ordinance, est.iblishingany or all such provisional or ter- ritorial goveinment or governments, a lundamental article or provision, which shall provide, declare, and guaranty, that Slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party *hall hava been ffst duly convicted, shall be prohibited therein, so long as the same shall remain, a Territory. Mesolved^ That the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the Assembly, be wequt- ted to transmit a copy of tlie foregoing resolutions and preamble to each of tha said Senators and Representatives. NEW-YORK AGAIN FOR FREE TERRITORIES IN 1849. The following preamble antj resolves were in- troduced into the New-York Senate on the 2d of Jaivaviry, 1849, passed'that body by a unani- mous vote on the 4th, and were concurred in NEW-YORK ON SLAVERY. 201 by-tTi« Assembly t^vo dayg later, on the 6th of : January : Wh&reas, The people oT' the State of New-Mexico nave petitioned Congress foi-jthe establiahmeub ot ,a Ter- ritorial Qovernment which sliall protect them against the institution of domestic Slavei-y while they remain a ter- ritory of the United States, and have also petitioned Con- gress for protection against the unfounded claims of the State of Texas to a la-ge portion of their territory lying east of the Rio Grande ; and, whereas^ it would be un- just to the people of New-Mexico and California, and revolting to the spirit of the age, to permit domestic Slavery— an Institution from which they are now free- to be introduced among them : and, whereas^ since the acquisition of New Mexico by the United States the peo- ple thereof have a right to expect the proteotion of the General Government, and should be secured in the full possession and enjoyment of their Territory : therefore ResoPoed^ That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be requested to use their best efforts to procure the passage of laws for the establishment of govern- ments for the Territories acquh'ed by the t^reaty of peace with Mexico, and that by such laws involuntary servi- tude, except for crime, be excluded from such Terri- tories. RasoVoed^ That the territory lying between the Nue- ces and the Rio Grande is the common property of the United States, and that our Senators and •Repr,esenta- tives in Congress be requested to use their best efforts to preserve the same as such common property, and protect it from the unfounded claim of the State of Texas, and prohibit the extension over it of the laws of Texas, or the institution, of domestic Slavery. Beadlved^ That the existence of prisons for the con- finement and marts for the sale of slaves, at the seat of the National Government, is viewed by this legislature with deep regret and mortification ; that such prisons and marts ought forthwith to be abolished ; therefore be it farther Resolvedj That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be requested to use their strenuous efforts to procure the passage of a la*^ that shall protect slaves from unjust imprisonment, ahd shall effectually put an end to the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. Rt:80loed^ That the Governor be requested to forward copies of the pi'eceding resolutions to each Senator and Representative in Congress from this State. MR. DIX FOR SLAVERY PROHIBITION. These .resolutions were presented in the TT. S. Senate by the Hon. John A. Dix (now, I860,) Postmaster of Kew-York, and defended by him m an elaborate and able speech. On the first resolution, he said : This resolution was in sentiment, if not in words, Jdentical with those which have been passed by fifteen of the thirty States of the Union. 'With a single excep- tion, all the non-slaveholding and one of the slaveholding States have declared themselves opposed to the exten- sion of Slavery into territory now free. Sir, I fully con- cur in the propriety of this declaration. I believe that Congress has the power to prohibit Slavery in California and New Mexico ; that it is our duty to exercise the power, and that it should be exercised now. I am always for acting when the proper time for action has come. I am utterly opposed to any course which shall cast upon others the responsibility which belongs to our- selves. The resolution looks. to the exclusion of Slavery from New Mexico and Cal.fornia during their territorial condition only. It does not look beyond that condition with a view to control the people when they shall have come into the Union. It contemplates no invasion of State sovereignty. In this view of the subject, one of the New-York presses which has resisted all interference with Slavery, even in the Territories, pronounced these resolu- tions conciliatory in their character. I do not knc^ that I should call them either conciliatory or the rOTorse. They take firmly the ground that New-York has always -taken, that Slavery shall by no act of hers be further ex- tended. She believea it to be the gi-ound of principle, of justice, and of right and I do not hesitate to say she will never abandon it— never, never. THE NEW-yORK WHIGS FOR FREEDOM IN 184Y. At the Whig State Convention held at Syra- cuse, October 6, 18-17, the Hon. James Brooks reported a brief address to. the "Whigs of the Biate, which was unanimously adopted. The following are extracts from the address then, adopted : FitLLOW-CiTizENS : Hitherto when we have assembled in Convention, there were well known and well recognized bounds to our country, but now tt^at the spirit of con- quest hM been let loose, who can tell where Is his coun- try, whether on the Ilio Q-rande, the Sierra Nevada, the Ria Gila or the Gulf of CaUfornia, or whether part Span- ish, much Indian, and som:e Negro, Santa F6an or Call fornian may not be as good an American citizen as him' self? Our flag is borne, with fixed bayonets to surround it, and unmuzzled grape-shot to clear the way, in the conquering footsteps of Cortes — by the base of the snowy peaks of Popocatapetl, to the Eternal city of the Aitecs— and Mexicans of every color, and every breed, sprung from commingling Moor and straight-haired Afri- can, as well as from Castile and Leon, are made Ameri- can citizens, or prepared for being made so, by the gen- tle logic of red-mouthed artillCry, thundering from the ■" bristling heights of Cerro Gordo to the bloody plains of Contrei-as and Churubusco. Wherever that flag is, with its stars and stripes, the emblem of our Nationality, there our hearts are ; but woe I woe ! to the men, we cry, who have dispatched it upon its mission of Conquest, and what is yet worse, the conversion uf a Free into a Slaveholding Territory. Fellow-citizens, disguise the Mexican war as sophistry may, the greai truth cannot be put down, that it exisrs because of the annexation of Texas; that from such a cause we predicted such a consequence would follow: and that, but for that cause, no war would have existed at all. iJi^guise its intent, purposes and consequences as sophistry may struggle to do, the further great truth* cannot be hidden, that its main object is the conquest oT a Market for Slaves, and that the flag our vicEoiiour legions rally around, fight under, and fall for, is to be desecrated fi-om its holy character of Liberty and Eman- cipation into an errant of Bondage and Slavery. In obedience to the laws, and in a due and f lithful submis- sion to the regularly constituted government of our country, we will rally by and defend our flag on what- ever soil or whatever sea it is unfurled ; but before high* Heaven we protest against the mission on which it is sent, and we demand its recall to the true and proper bounds of our country, as soon as in honor it can be brought home. We protest, too, in the name of the rights of Man, and of Liberty, against the furilier extensio-iv o£" Slavery in North America. The curse which ourmother country inflicted upon us, in spite of our fatliera' remou- strances, we demand sliall never blight the virgin soil of the North Pacific. . . . , We will not pour out the blood of our countrymen, if we can help it, to turn a ^re*) into a Sla/oe soil. We will not spend from fifty to a hundred mllUons of dollars per .year to make a Slave Market for siiiy portion of our countrymen. We will never, for- such a purpose, consent to run up an untold National debt, and saddle our posterity with Fund- mongers, Tax-Brokers, Tax-gatherers, laying an excise oi an impost on everything they taste, touch or live by, 'I'he Union as it is, the whole Union, and nothing b\it ilie Union, we will stand by to the last — but JVb More To}'ri' tory is our watch-word,unle33 it be Free. RESOLTBS. Among the Resolutions unanimously adopted by this Convention was the following : Resolved, That while the Whig Freemen of New- York, represented in this Convention, will faithfully adhere to all the compromises of the Constitution, and jealously maintain all the reserved rights of the States, tbey declare— since the crisis has arrived when the question, must be met — their uncompromising hostility to the Ex- tension of Slavery into any Territory now Free, or which^. may be hereafter acquired by any action of the Govern* ment of our Union. FREE DEMOCRACfT OF NEW-YORK CITT AGAINST SLAVERY EXTENSION. At a Free Democratic Meeting held in the • Park at New-York, October 9, 1848, at which Henry Everson presided, and S. J. Tilden, John Van Bureu, and John Cochrane spoke, Mr, Cochrane introduced the following Resolves,, which were adopted: Resolved, That tlie politics of the times indicate pre- cisely to whom remain the principles of the Democracy ; that the absence from the field of discussion of the fiaan- cial and commercial questions which formerly defined^ -uwkML 208 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR -1860. political dififbrentees, permits that otherparty tests than those which, even if demanding attention, still as but questions of expediency, shonidrbe, aa they have been, postponed to the consideration of.fihat one'of vital Ini- pQrtance, tJie freeciand wJliiich is, from th.e very nature of thing?, antagonistic U> our institutions. It is mucli better that our drays should be driven by slaves, that our factoriea should be , wprked by slaves, that our hotels should be served by slaVes, that our locomotives should be managed by Eilaves, than that we should be exposed to the introduc- tion from any quarter of a population alien to us by birth, training, and edilcatlon,' and which in the process of time mtist lead to the convict biitween capital and labor, which i makes it so difficult to maintain free Instatutitjiis. Ia all ' wealthy and civilized nations where such insUtutdoiis ai MR. HAMLIN" AGAINST THE DJlMOOaATIC I" AST/ 209 ^rs do not exist. In all alaveholdlng Stiatefl true policy cictates that the supgrior race should digict, -anct the mferior perform all menial serviee. Oompetation between the white and black man for this service may not dia(urb Northern sensibility, but does not exactly suit our latitude. Irrespective, however, of interest, the act of Congress declaring the slave-trade piracy is a brand upon us which I think it important to remove. If the trade be piracy, the slaves must be plunder, and no ingenuity can avoid the logical necessity of sQch a conclusion. My hope? and fortunes are indissolubly associated with this form of Bociety. I feel that I would be wanting in duty if I did not urge you to withdraw your assent to an act which is Iteelf a direct condemnation of your institutions. But we have interests to enforce a course of self-respect. I be- lieve, as 1 have already stated, that more elavea are necessary to a continuance of our.itio^poU ^ planiation products. I believe that they are jiectesaary to the ftiU development of our \Yhole round of agricultural and me- chanical resouvces-, thit they are necessary to the resto- ration of the South to an equality of power in the Fede- ral Government, perhalp's to the very integrity gf slave society, diatui-bed.as it has been by causes which liave introduced an undue proportion of (She ruling race. To ua have been committed the fortunes of tlils peculiar form of society resulting from the union of unequal races. It has vindicated its claim to the approbation of an enlightened humanity; It has clylUzed and ohrlatianized the African; it has exalted' the white race to higher hopes and purposes, and it is pea^haps of the most sacred obligation that we shouid give it the means of expansion, and that we should press it forward to a. perpetuity of progress,. ME. HAMLIN DENOUNCES THE DEMOCEATIC PAETY. On the 12th of Juae, 1856, Mr. Hamlin rose In hia place in the Senate, and spoke as follows : Mr. Hamlin. — Mr. President, I rise for a purpose purely personal, such as I have never before risen for in the Senate. I desire to explain some matters personal to myseVf and to my ownfuture course in public life. Several Senators.-^o on. Mr. Hamlin. — I ask the Senate to excuse me from furthei* service as Chairman of the Committee on Commerce. I do so because I feel that my relations hereafter will be , of such a character as to render it proper that I should DO longer hold that position. I owe this act to the domi- nant ma}iicy which would restore pe^ce to the country and stability tc the Union. The csBehtikrilviflg principle of that policy, as applied in the legislation of 1S50, was, and now is, nws- interijention by (jongress with Sla/oery in ihe TerriUh ries. The fair application of this just and equitable prin- diple restored harmony and fraternity to a distfacted'coun* FITZPATRIGK DECLINES— BELIi, ACCEPTS. 213 %vy. If. we now depart from- that wise ■ and just policy Wn^ch produced these happ^ results, and perim;b the coun- try to be agai^ distracted.; if precipitftted into revolution Dy a seclaonal contest between Pro-Slayeryand Anti-Sla- very interventionists, where shall we look for another Clay, aiQother Webster, or another Cass to pilot the ship of State QVer the breakers Into a haven of peace aod safety ? The Federal Union must he preserved. The Constitu- tion must be malnta^ed inviolate iu all its parts. Svery right guaranteed by the Gonstitation.must.be protected t^ la win aU cases where legislation is necessary to its.en- jQyme^tk The judicial authority, as provided in the Con- Btibution^ must be sustained, and its decisions implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed.. The laws must be ad- ministered and the constituted authorities upheld, and all. unlawful resistance to these things must; be put down with i&rpiness, impartiality and fidelity, if we expect to eDj.oy aiid transmit , unimpaired to our posterity, that blessed inheritance which we have received in trust from the patriots and sages of the Revolution. With sincere thanks for the kmd and agreeable man- ner in which youihave made kniiwn to me the action of the ConveAtiqn, I have the honor to be, Your friend and fellow citizen, S. A. DoooL&s. Hog. Wm, H. Lddlow, of New- York ; R. P. Dick, of North Carolina ; P, C. Wickliff, of Louisiana, and othei a of Committee. MR. FITZPATRICK DECLINES, Washington, Jiaie 25, I860. G-ENTLHMEN : TouT letter of tO-day, informing me that i " have been unanimously nominated by the National Con- vention of the Democratic party, which met at Charleston on the 23d 'day of Api-U last, and adjourned to m^et at Baltimore on the 18th day of June, as their candidate for the office of Vice-President," was duly received. | Acknowled^g with the liveliest sensibility this distin- guished mark of your confidence and regard, it is with no ordinai'y feelings of regret that considerations, the recital of which I will not impose upon you, constrain me to de* cline the nomination so iatteringly tendered. My desit;- nation as a candidate for this high position would have been more gratifying to me if it had proceeded from the United Democracy — -united both as to principles and m6n. The distracting differences at present existing in thi? ranks of the Democratic party were strikingly exempliiied \>oth at Charleston and at Baltimore, and, in my humMe opinion, disthactfy admotdsh me that I should in nawuy contribute to these Unfortunate divteions; The Black Republicans have harmoniously (at least in Convention) preiented their candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency. So have the Constitutional Union party (as it is termed). Each party is already engaged in the contest. In the presence of such organizations we still, unfortunately, exhibit a divided camp. What a mehm- choly spectacle ! It is calculated to cause every Democratic citizen who cherishes the Constitution of his country to despond; if not to despair, of the durability of ^he Union. Desirous, as far aa I am capable of exerciang- any influ- ence, to remove every obstacle which may prevent a resto- ration of the peace, harmony, and perfect concord of that glorious old party to which I have been inflexibly devoted from early manhood — a party which, in my deliberate opinion, is the only real and xeliable ligament which binds the South, the North, the East, and the West together upon constitutional principles — no alternative was left to me but that which I have herein most respectfully communi- cated to you. For the agreeable manner m which you have conveyed to me the action of the Convention, accept my sincere thanks. . Very truly yoiif ftiend and obedient servant, ' B, PiTZPATSICK. To Wh. H. LtiDLOW, of New-York, and others. The Dempcratip National Committee subse- quently nominated the Hon. Herschel V. John- son, of Georgia, who accepted the position. MR. BELL ACCEPTS. Nashville, Mat/ 21, 1860. Bbar Sir: Official information of my nomination to the Presidency by the National Union Convention, of which vou were the presiding officer, was communicated to me bv your letter of the 11th inst., at Philadelphia, on the eve of my departure with my fkndly for my place of resi- dence in Tennessee ; and diffident as I was' of my" worthi- ness I did not hesitate to signiJ^ my Intentior. t-t accept the position assigned to me by that dlstiiiguished and pa- tiioUo body. But for convenience, and under a sense of the propriety of acting in BO gi^ve a, matter witl greater deliberation, I concluded, as I informed you at .he time by a private ikote, to d^fer a fbrlnal acceptance until alter my amval at home. Now ;that I.^ave had aU the leisure I could desire for re- dectioji ^pon the circumstances under which the Domiiiu- tion was made, the purity of the motivfes and the lofty spirit of patriotism by which the Convention was anlniu- ted, as evinced in all its proceedings, I ^an appreciate raoi'e justly the honor done me by the homiaation ; and, though it might have been more fortunate for the country had it fallen upon some one of the many distinguished st» tes- meh* whose names were brought to the notice of the Con- vention,; rather than myself, I accept it, with all its pOShi- ble responsibilities. Whatever may be the issue of tlie ensuing canvass, as for myself, I shall ever regard it iis a proud distinction,— <3i^3 worth a Ufelong ellort to attain — to be pi'onounced worthy to receive the highest office ia the Government at such a tune as the present, and by such a Convention as that which recently met in Baltimore — a Convention far leas imposing by the number of its mi'in- bei's, large as it was, than l^y their high character, lu it were men venerable alike for their age and their public services, who could not have been called fi'om their volun- tary retu'ement from public life, but by the strongest sense of patriotic duty ; othei^, though still in the prime of lite, ranking with the first men of the country by honors and l^tin,ctiops already acquired in high official positions, State and national, many of them statesmen worthy to lill fhe highest office in the government ; a still gi-eater num- ber occupying the highest rank in their respective profes- sional pursuits ; othevs distinguished by their intelligence and well-earned influence In various walks of private life, tind all animated and united by one spirit and one pur- pose — the result of a strong conviction that our political system, under the operation of a complication of disorders, is r^ipldly approaching a crisis when a speedy change must takii place, indicatiug, as in diseases of tlie physical bod^', recovery or death. The Convention, in discarding the use of platforms, ex- ^ act no pledge from those whom they deem worthy of the liighest trusts under the Gcvernraent; wisely considering tliat the surest guaranty of a man*s future usefulness and fi lelity to the great interests of the country, in any offi- ci.il station to which he may be Chosen, is to be found in his past history connected with the public service. The pledge i)nplied in my acceptance of the nomuaation of the NuUoDal Union Convention is, that should I be elected, I will not depart from the spirit and tenor of my past course ; and the obligation to keep this pledge' derives a double force from the consideration that none is required ; from me. , , , ; Y'lU, sir, in your.Tettercontaining the official announce- , meiit of my nomination, have been pleased to ascribe to I une tlie irieiit of modjiration and justice in my past public , career. Yoii have likewise given me credit for a uni- Hirm support of all wise and beneficent measures of legis- tati<^n, for a Arm resistance to all measures calculated to erig&nder sectional discord, and for a lifelong devotion to tlie Union, hai'mony, and prosperity of these States. Whether your personal partiality has led you to over- state ray merits as a public man or not in your'enumern- tion of Uiem, you have presented a summary — a basis of all sound American statesmanship. It ,may be objected tbamothing is said in this summary,iu express terms,of the obligations imposed by the Constitution ; but the duty to respect and, observe them is clearly implied, for wifholit due observance in the conduct of the Guvern- metit of the Constitution, its restrictions,, and require- ments, fairly interpreted in accordance with its s^piric and objects, there can be no end to sectional discord— no security for the harmony of the Union, ih^iLve not,the vanity to assume that in my past con- nection with the pubUc service I have exemplifleid the cburse of a sound American statesman ; but if I have de'Served the favorable view taken of it in your letter, I may hope, by a faithful adherence to the maxims l.y which I have heretofore been guided, not altogether to dis- appoint the confidence and expectations of those who have, placed me in my preseat rdation to thepublic; mihI if, under Providence, I should be called to preside •■v«r the affairs of this great country as the Executive Chii-f uf the Government, the only further pledge I feel called upon to make is, that the utmost of my abiUty, and with wlml- ever strength of will I can command," all the powers und influence belonging to my official station,ahaII be employed and directed for the promotion of iill the great obj acts for whicb the Government was instituted, but nmie espe- cially for the maintenance of the Constitution and tlie Union against all Imposing influences and tendencies. I cannot conclude this letter without expressing my high gratification at the nomiuation to the pHC'»nd"'ffirV under the Government, of the eminently-giftod and dis- 2} 4 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860, Tlng-ulshed statesman of Massachusetts, Edward Everett, a {THmlemen lidd by jfeneral consent to be altogether worthy of the first. Tendering my grateful aclmowledg'raentB for the kin^ ar^d complimentary manner in which you wefe pleaded to accompany ihe communication of my domination,! am, dear sir, with the highest respect, Your obedient servant, Johh Bbll. Totlie lluu. Washirgton Hukt. MR, EVKltETT's ACCEPTANCE. Boston, May 29, 1860. Mt Dear Sir : I have duly received your letter of the Ilth, in which you inform me officially, that the National Union Convention, recently in session at Baltimore, had done me the honor to nominate me as its candidate fdr the office of Vice-President of the United States. I am deeply impressed with this manifestation of the favorable opinion of the Convention, comprising as it did among its members so many persons distinguished for public service, patriotism and intelligence; and fairly representing a considerable portion of the conservative feeling of the country. For the great cordiality with which, as you inform me, my name was proposed and received, my warmest thanks are due. The grateful acceptance of such a nomination would, under ordinary circumstances, be a matter of course; but it has unavoidably been with me the subject of long and anxious hesitation. The grounds of this hesitation I owe it to the Convention which has honored me with this mark of its confidence, and to myself, to explain ; loath as I am to dwell on matters of personal interest of no importance to the public. It is generally known that I have, for some years past, retired from active participation in political life, not, as I hope I have shown, from indolence or want of sympathy with my fellow-citizens in the pursuit of the great objects of social life. The reasons of my retire- ment have been more than once publicly stated, and I beg to repeat them here from my speech at the Union meeting in Faneuil" Hall last December: *'I did not suppose that anything could occur which would make me think it my duty to appear again on this platform, on any occasion of a political character ; and had this meeting been of a party nature, or designed to promote any party purposes, I should not have been liere. When compelled, by the prostration of my health, five years ago, to resign the distinguished place which I tlien filled in thepubHcservice,it was with no expectation, no wish, and no intemion of ever again mingling in the scenes of public life. I have, accordingly, with the par- tial restoration of my health, abstained from all partici- pation in political action of any kind ; partly because I have found a more congenial, and, as Iventure to think, a more useful occupation, in seeking to rally the affec- tions of my countrymen. North and South, to that great name and precious memory which are left almost alone of all the numerous kindly associations which once bound the different sections of the country together, and also because, between the eictrenles of opinion that have long distracted and now threateli to convulse the coun- ti-y, I find no middle ground of practical usefulness, on -«hich a friend of moderate counsels Can stand." 't having been suggested to me, notwithstanding these avowals, that I might be thought of, at the Union Con- vention, as a candidate for the Presidency, I requested, by telegraphic message and by letter, that my name, if brought forward, might be withdrawn. It is true that in these communications I had only in View a nomination to the Presidency, none other having'been suggested to me ; but all the reasons above indicated, which led me in advance to decline such a nomination, apply with equal force to tlie Vice-Presidency. These reasons, of course, still exist in unimpaired force, and I cannot now take an active part in politics without abandon^g a deliberately formed purpose, and even exposing myself to the suspicion of insincerity in its persistent avowal. Without dwelling upon these considerations, of which, however, I am sure the weight will be admitted,! beg leave to advert for a moment to my conjiection with the movement for the purchase of Mount Vernon, to wjiich your letter alludes in such obliging terms. The favor which has attended my exertions in that cause (if I may withoutindellcacy say anything on that subject) has been mainly the result of my known and recognized discon- nection from party politics. If it could have been even plausibly insinuated that I was, or intended to become, a candidate for high political hoilors, I should, i:n my various excursions in aid of that fund, have laid myself open to the imputation of speaking one word for Mount Veraon and two for myself. As it is, the people through out the Union have generously given me credit for hav- ing a single eye to that meritorious object. As far asth* purchase'of Mount Verpon is concerned, that object has been effected, under the judicious and efficient man- agement of the Kegent and Vice-Regents of the Asso- ciation, with theaid of their intelligent and active assist- ants throughout the Union. But a sun;i of money equal to that already raised is still wanting for the repair of the Mansion, the inclosure of the land purchased, the restoration of the house and grounds,' as far as practi- cable, to their condition in 1800, and the establishment of a permanent fudd for their conservation. I own that I am desirous Still to enjoy the privilege of coope- rating in' this noble work, which, however, it will be im^ possible for me to do to any advantage, whatever may be the result of the present canvass, if I am drawn into the vortex of a strenuously contested election; ■ There are many parts of the country which I have not yeft visited. I had promised myself a rich harvest f^om the patriotic liberality- of the States on the G-ulf of Mexico, and of those on the Mississippi River (which I have not yet been able to visit-jvlth the exception of Missouri, through often kindly wvited), and 1 confess that it ia very painful to me to withdraw from that broad field of congenial labor to tread the thorny ^.nd tkanMesB paths of politics. Apart from the pecuniary aspects of the dase, which, however, are of considerable importance, I will candidly say that in holding up to the admiring veneration of the American people the peerless name of Washington, (almost the only bond of fraternal senthnent which the bitterness of our sectional controversies has left us), I feel as if I was doing more good, as far as I am able to do any good, and contributing more to revive the kindly feeling which once e:x!!sted between North and South, and which is now, I grieve to say, nearly extinct, than I could possibly do by engaging in the wretched scramble for ofiice — which is one great source of the dangers that threaten the country. These considerations, a^nd others of a still more personal nature, have necessarily occasioned me to reflect long and anxiously, before accepting the nomination witli which the Union Convention has honored me. In yielding at length to the earnest solicitations which have been ad- dressed to me, from the most respectable sources in almost every part of the Union, I make a painful sacrifice ot inclination to what I am led to believe a public duty. It has been urged upon me, and I cannot deny that such is my own feelings, that we have fallen upon times that call upon all good citizens, at whatever cost of personal con- venience, to contribute their share, however humble, to the public service. I suppose it to be the almost universal impression— it is certainly mine-r-Uiat the ekisting state of affairs is |ex- tremely critical. Oiir political controversies have sub- stantially assumed an almost purely sectional character — that of a fearful struggle between the North and the South. It would not be difficult to show at length the perilous nature and tendency of this struggle, but I can only say, on this occasion, that, in my opinion. It cannot be much longer kept up, without rending the- Union. I do not mean that either of tlie great parties in the country desii'es or aims at a separation of the States as a final object, although there are extremists in considerable numbers who have that object in view. While a potent and a baleful influence is exercised by men of this cla^, in both sections of the Union, a portion of the conservar tive masses are insensibly ana gradually goaded into con- currence with ppinions and sentiments with. which^ in the outset, they had no sympathy. Meantime, almost wholly neglecting the xoaXa. public interests, otir political tontro- versifs turn more and more on questlona, in .refesvenoe to which, as abstract formulte, the gi'eat sections -of the country differ irreconcilably, though there is nothing practically important at stake which requires the dlsciis- sion to be kept up. These controversies are cairied-bn with steadily increasing bitterness and exasperation. -The passions thus kindled have d.lready'led to acts of violence and bloodshed, approaching to civil wai'in the Territories^ and attempted servile insurrection in the States, The great religious and philanthropic associations of the coun- try are sundered, and. the kindly social relations of North and South seriously' impaired. The national House of Representatives, hovering 'on the verge of anarchy, re- quires weeks to effect an organization, which ought W'ibo the work of an hour, and it holds its sessions (many of its members, I am told, armed with concealed weapons), on the crust of a volcano. The candidates for the Preadency rej)reseBting respectively the dominant sectional ideas, will, at' the ensuing election, in all probability, be sup- ported by a pui-ely geographical vote. In other words, we are already brought to a pass, at which North and South cannot and will not coijperate in the per^odiual reorganization of the Groveruraent. EVERETT ON SUMNER, AND GEORGIA ON EVERETT/ 216 'i Can such a state of things long continue, especially jnth the ever-present risk of new causes of exasperation? I own it seems to me impoaaible, unless some healing course ia adopted, that the catastrophe, which the mass of good citizens deprecate, should be much longer delayed. A spirit of patriotic moderation must be called into action hliroughbut the Union, or it will assuredly be broken up. Unless the. warfare of inflammatory. speeches. and incen' diary publications is abandoned, and good citizens, as in 17T6 and ITST, North and South, will agree to deal with the same elements of discord (for they existed then as now) aa our Fathers dealt with them, we shall but for a very few years longer be even nominally brethren of oq^ fami^. The suggestion that the Union can be maintained by the numerical- predominance and military prowess of one section^ exerted to coerce the.other into submission, is, in my judgment, as self-contradictory as it is dangei'ous. It comes loaded with the death smell from fields wet with brothers' blood. If the vital principle of all republican government " is the qonapnt of the governed;" much more do^ q, union of coequal sovereign States require, as its basisi the harmony of its members and their voluntary cooperation in its organic functions. Believing, for these reasons, that healing counsels must be listened to, if we are much longer to remain one people, I regard the late National Union Convention as a move- meat in the right direction, I could wish that it had been earlier assembled; with less exclusive .reference to ofBcial nominations, and with a more comprehensive repvesenta- tion, if possible, of the conflicting opinions of the country. On general principles and in ordinary times,, I admit that third parties are objectionable, but in the existing state of affairs, if there is to be any escape from the present ill- omened conflict, it would seem that a commencement must be made with such a meeting as that of the 9Lh and 10th, at Baltimore. It was a fair representation of tiie cousevvative opinion of the countryt; and the calmness, gravity and good feeling with which its proceedings were conducted, cannot be too highly praised. In adopting as its platfunn the Constitution without note or comment, the Convention, as it seem:i to me, pur- sued a wise and patriotic course. No other course was .thought of in the earlier days of the Republic. Elec- tioneering platforms .ai'C ajmost without exception equivo- cal and delusive. It is objected tliat men differ as to the meaning of the fundamental law; but tiiey differ not less as lo any gloss or commentary. The Constitution, in its fair and natural interpretation, is the only basis on which (Vood citiz -ns in every part of the country can now unite; and any attempt to go furtiier will usually have no otlier effect than to cause those who agree on great practical principles to differ on metaphysical subtleUes, or to bring together, by artfully constructed phrases and from selfish motives, those who have nothing else in common. The candidate for the Presidency, presented by the Union Conventinn, is every way worthy of confidence and support. I speak from personal knowledge and long asso- ciation wltli him in the public service. His distinguished talent, large experience in public affairs, proved integ- rity and sterling patriotism furnish the amplest pledge for an honest and efficient administration of the government at home and abroad. A citizen of the South, and loyal to her constitutional rights, hia impartial and conciliatory course as a public man affords a ground on which he can be supported in either section of the country, without dereliction of principle, and by men of all panics, without a painful sacrifice of former preferences. Deeply regretting that the Convention has not put it in my power to pay an equally cordial and ernphatic tribute to some wortliy candidate for the Vi.ije-Pre^iJency, but feeling it a duty to give the desired proof . of sympathy with their patriotic efforts to restore the happy days of brotherly concord between the different secti m of our beloved country. I remain, dear sir, sincerely yours, EnWARD KVBRBTT. MR. EVERETT ON SUMNER. Soon after the brutal assault on Charles Sum- ner, in 1856, Mr. Everett, in some remarks delivered at Taunton, Mass., referred to the subject as follows: The civil war, with its horrid train of pillage, fire, and Blaughter, can-ied on, wtliovit the slightest pi'em Buc'nn Ani. Fiil're. 1852. Whig. aeoti. Dem. Pierce. F.Soil. Hale. 1848. Whig. Tiiylor Dem. Cass. FreeD. Whig. VanB. Clay. 1844. Dem. Folk. Abo. Birne; Whig. Ha' son 1S40. Dan. Van J!. Adams AUea » Ashland Ashtabula Athens Vuglaiae Belmont Brown Batler Carroll Champaign, . . Clark Clermont Clinton Oolumbiana . Coshocton — Crawford Cuyahoga . . . Darke Jleliance Delaware Erie Fairfield Fayette Franklin Fulton Gallia Geauga .... Greene Guernsey. . . . Hamilton Hancock t... Hardin Harrison Henry Highland Hooking Holmes Huron Jackson *. Jefifersou . . . . Knox Lake Lnwrence . . Licking Logan ... . Lorain Lucas Madiaon Mahoning .. . Marion Medina Melius Mercer Miami Monroe Montgomery . Morgan Morrow Muskingum. . Noble Ottawa Paulding . Perry Pickaway . . , Pike Portage Preble Putnam Kichmond . . . . Ross Sandusky Sciotfl Seneca Shelliy Starke Summit Trumbull Tuscarawas... Union ■. . Van Wert . . '. . Vinton Warren 140T 1415 1912 5108 2399 912 181T 1TS5 2801 1T50 1995 2641 2188 211T 8516 2162 1685 1T90 1508 2089 915 1360 1604 2810 2T00 3609 1256 1711 1539 2741 1170 2497 2281 £164 4446 1983 895 1649 187T 8233 880 3791 772 1341 575 1465 1092 18051 1944 882 147S 656 2140 1454 210B 1709 1888 1991 2437 628 1150 8871 1828 1420 1866 656 1937 1275 1572 1603 1159 1988 2812 4285 1669 1667 8891 1387 47r 170 1847 2066 1175 2072 1661 1116 2909 2681 1599 634 2005 1446 3688 1748 1920 2656 1005 789 932 1174 26SSl 1776 821 2367 2258 1700 1209 8483 1098 610 2694 9346 1778 1091 20G0 587 1810 1092 1285 8468 938 2424 2785 2371 7-18 8027 2093 8604 1639 997 2823 1867 2635 1998 629 8171 1016 4088 2125 2031 8172 1608 454 497 1385 1724 523 2983 5249 790 2726 2436 1543 546 2505 1856 8770 3185 4049 8007 1481 758 278 94 154 83 1758 428 296 87 820 168 731 ■.X 56 711 87; 574 64 1206 53 214 210 6680 87 82 110 22 894 116 6 64 416 259 124 89 902 417 476 29 4 23 S44 114 169 418 891 201 101 1092 164 1 6 492 832 875 45 1821 103 127 29. 74 IS 18 263 32 61 844 1218 953 1868 2174 1751 538 2786 1702 2210 1543 1994 2662 2213 1424 2237 1193 1074 2944 1719 654 2088 1589 2117 1221 8498 587 1867 1147 2430 1941 9252 1076 382 1728 825 19S2 365 1066 2242 1069 1995 1874 1046 ■ 1299 2779 2118 1832 1238 1400 955 914 ,1579 1578 500 2754 997 8336 2084 lOW 274 121 141T 2175 927 1351 2258 461 2188 8091 1064 1804 1972 1147 2740 2386 1968 2669 124» 422 774 2S23 W86 1686 2434 1076 1883 1430 2694 2460 8679 1366 1637 1874 2766 106S 2911 2618 2106 85^1 179T 896 1691 1404 3811 727 1103 664 1490 1809 18485 1617 847 1462 586 2290 1652 2100 1819 1093 670 981 8669 1861 1564 1271 665 1878 1270 1764 1399 881 2004 2422 8744 1708 1710 3500 1487 400 2041 1029 200T 1688 ■ 890 8284 2465 1619 1424 2809 1309 3634 1965 2039 2685 943 787 912 1919 28 297 1 2502 864 24 4541 206| 183 409 702 993: 73 58 2107 92 43 891 275 10 166 \ 242 71 135 1439 600 504 634 85 74 422 14 231 21 19 848 626 1111 16 582 191 1777 129 61 1083 79 1008 297 11 285 180 177 220 748 2U 435 2 E 17 36 16 1296 197 61 209 179 88 29 lis S4 856 660 17 112 2,=i6 6 95 1369 728 Un 1124 1846 Un 2723 I'ffl 1959 1453 1873 2506 2204 1288 1860 1814 962 1776 1603 Un 1866 1409 2438 1167 8199 Un 1630 872 2035 2375 9018 1016 596 1564 217 2114 856 1118 1960 9S7 2147 1910 777 1164 8030 1652 647 1298 1829 Un 1001 1440 1827 860 2542 999 8561 2820 Un 4427 Un 190 70 1488 2115 843 1270 2106 402 2087 1690 1070 organ! 378 1500 organi 2892 2657 8586 1895 1508 1875 2833 1122 2782 2422 1678 2868 1554 organi 1674 999 8615 946 8029 organi 1081 922 1356 2^ 196 2 zed. 2467 8! zed. 648 408 881 845 880 208 404 785 866 137 90 2594 81 1883 15ii6 1021 2382 1892 1864 1080 1601 605 1668 297 2224 1819 2224 1769 1108 2-231 2890 716 745 8468 1147 1478 1197 712 organi 1193 1SS6 1014 641 1822 2674 8380 2448 organi 8! organi 281 198 2192 1960 909 2149 1619 684 8177 2306 1148 1129 8496 1815 .1951 42 128 284 zed. 96 1378 644 489 1986 22 61 S48 17 842 23 45 876 50 455 589 904 58 561 276 1616 S37 zed. 55 1093 306 16 272 797 881 organi 1861 814 112T 314 8 183 174 124 IS 488 49 670 1058 2075 164 173 402 1252 779 88SS 2050 8140 1798 2158 1701 2069 2477 2189 1736 8416 1835 1197 8881 1408 2548 1468 2542 1229 2965 1434 2274 2422 2746 7201 907 610 2148 719 1142 2664 908 2336 2746 1818 1140 8500 1625 1956 1167 1269 1425 2045 1341 423 2572 1210 8838 2061 4489 241 68 1527 2219 800 2610 2262 461 8443 8321 997 1519 1727 1026 2962 2841 8887 2696 1009 153 1128 1426 2321 2343 S546 1184 1409 1155 2637 1187 8743 2381 1784 2S8S 1409 2017 1261 8687 873 2498 957 1101 1330 1247 495 1760 246 2164 1289 2817 2136 1046 2854 8324 901 653 8840 1015 1793 881 643 1480 1920 880 812 1657 2648 8101 2077 8196 192 2273 2012 886 2247 1626 697 6574 2380 1214 1095 2316 1014 8575 2056 8644 2858 710 270 1T9B 87 9 537 220 134 180 61 140 82 48 105 172 217 60 S 812 118 65 15 67 72 126 218 298 195 114 188 13 96 184 109 473 13 88 220 41 4 118 114 88 64 8 10 16 244 70 2 111 90 76 184 1206 3788 2094 8166 1798 2101 1677 2062 2331 2044 1847 3600 1880 1009 8102 1308 2360 1324 2468 1182 1479 2310 3821 2606 5373 693 481 2003 191 2146 649 1109 2291 794 2800 2441 1837 1113 3857 1574 1868 981 1201 1858 1793 12S4 6.51 2469 1063 8427 1651 4367 66 1471 2201 660 2524 2299 401 8381 3081 919 1472 1433 956 2701 2562 4101 2333 946 Unorg 4639 2071 917 749 1616 1027 8106 1646 8.32S 1787 677 anized 85 2613 100^ POPULAR VOTE FOE PEESIDENT. 219 OHIO—{Oontirm6cl). COUNTIEa 1856. 1852. 1848. 1844. 1840. Fitm't Dein. Huc'an Am. Kill'ie. Whin Scoit. Lein. Pieice. F. Sail. Hule. ,„"''','■»■ Taylor. Deni. FieeD. Van I). WJii^. Clay. .Dem. Polk. Alo. liiriiey WMa. Ua'dOii Vem, Van B. Washington . . . Wayne Williama Wood 2T83 2904 132T 1819 124T 2251 2918 1022 9S5 12TS 281 4T . 49 143 108 24T8 2288 546 881 990 2139 8148 832 986 1290 883 149 160 20 9 20T9 2284 828 647 951 1980 8380 510 686 1059 462 190 154 29 46 2194 2769 583 676 Un 1686 8765 673 570 organi 151 75 1 zed. 2109 2798 ■896 1458 8821 407 BIB Wyandotte .... Total 1ST497 n08T4 28126 162526 169220 81682 138860 154775 85854 165057 149117 8060,'l4S157 124T83 Fremont over Buchanan, 16,623; Pierce over Scott, 16,694; Cass over Taylor, 16,415 ; Olay over Folk, 5,9 Harrison over Van Buren, 28,ST5. In 1840, Mr. Birney received »03 votes. IsT B'V^-"V O R IE. . COUNTIES Fcp. Dem. Am. Whi/i. Dem.^ r. soa WMg. Bern,. FreeD. WKij. Dem. Aio. Whin. Dem. Frem't Bue'aii FiU'ie. S0O& Pieioa. Hale. Taylor. Caes., Van li. Clay. Pollt. Bivney Ha'uoD Van li. Albany 5016 7T51 5801 7246 8868 1S8 7068 4003 2407 7109 6916 124 6871 5944 Allegany 6545 1640 850 8670 4009 678 2789 1288 2040 8918 3640 485 4182 8382 Broome 4297 2*06 791 2674 8064 847 2490 1969 777 2681 2508 106 2896 2181 Cattaraugus . . . 5166 1778 978 8687 3498 561 2604 167T 1286 2748 2634 487 2966 24S6 Cayuga 7086 1818 1928 4888 4560 916 4318 1084 8979 4908 6202 8T6 5164 4S64 Chautauqua . . . 7037 1847 2017 5612 8708 1146 4207 1911 1628 5612 3407 814 5965 3845 Chemung 2664 1789 766 2326 3189 839 1943 728 2166 1791 2592 106 1688 2296 6469 2406 1070 3380 4481 808 858T 2616 1481 4215 4495 243 4386' 8995 Columbia 8818 SO20 1981 4142 4455 7 8948 2121 2100 4322 4691 11 4287 4478 Cortland - 3596 1181 628 2328 2064 655 1879 946 ISOS 2878 2858 548 2064 2229 Clinton 2659 2134 13U 2286 2812 245 1941 1472 1221 1919 2216 410 2023 1828 Delaware....... 4867 2107 2009 3289 4052 889 2882 790 2908 8071 423C 205 2988 8847 Dutchess 5S12 : 4089 2018 5495 5600 88 5376 8227 1295 5767 5627 87, 6366 5862 Erie 6901 7586 5520 6023 7688 610 7647 836C 2867 6905 5050 416. 6784 8691 2904 1489 1173 : 1600 S56 1145 2756 1747 1973 2074 174 180 2629 1368 1002 974 1119 911 2612 1624 1998 1601 143 98 2617 1440 1789 1110 2598 1874 1084 2171 2070 115 1976 8SC 1602 2107 2192 100 1964 1646 G-enesee 8620 1484 1100 3858 2166 818 2S90 1180 1111 8604 2105 298. 7067 8809 2164 !f34« 1588 2808 8242 16 2T0T 1551 1425 296S 8488 SO, 2991 8268 Hamilton •149 250 117 12S 842 With Ful ton. 128 222 5074 1660 1280 2679 4220 665 2480 699 8893 2868 4846 608 8118 4360 8249 8496 1068 5656 62T9 787 4841 2445 4842 6676 6291 712. 6257 5680 7846 8124 3697 14174 1114 1652 8647 418 1979 8487 1727 4096 10621 2586 3055 66 808 ' 80S 7511 1228 8780 4882 TS9 889 817 1258 2100 510T 1640 8773 4648 2073 2709 77 154 210 8298 171S 8916 8167 1755 Livingston.,... Montgomery... 2684 8076 1485 1718 2995 8873 40 2924 1285 1602 2849 3278 86 2828 8293 6-S12 ISSl 865 8879 8485 1584 2898 1565 2789 86S3 8848 1311 4266 4114 7584 4688 3070 7467 6314 775 6589 1448 4671 6873 5611 480, 6468 4S84 Nrw York 17771 41913 1992^ 28115 84226 206 29057 1897-4 5106 28385 28296 117 20968 21985 Niagara Onondaga Ontario . . Orange Oneida. Oswego Orleans Otsego Putnam Queens.. Senseelaer Richmond feockland St. Lawrence. . . Saratoga Schenectady . . . 3906 1864 1985 8418 2862 1056 282S 1818 2080 3100 2589 810 2964 2219 1C07I 4227 1724 6097 6415 1701 5442 2229 4942 6495 6878 782 6667 6568 4651 1642 2189 4402 8847 547 8848 1273 2627 4668 3669 485 4828 8451 4274 3948 2172 4221 5171 16 4172 8170 1484 4626 6303 87 4371 4845 11174 6886 1601 7881 8636 1083 60-32 8585 4816 6983 7717 1144 7156 • 7763 8246 3688 1175 4876 4973 2143 8655 1134 4254 8771 4382 861 4192 8907 80S8 1052 1412 25SB 2267 605 2402 918 1772 2600 2311 276 2606 2027 6873 8695 1229 4464 5486 643 8929 8674 1941 4748 6050 413 4856 6681 ,968 1096 479 826 1521 816 996 415 979 1731 — 920 1683 1886 2894 2521 2208 2899 12 2444 1810 800 2647 2751 — 2522 2560 5158 736 4415 1550 4548 946 6185 1147 6563 1824 218 30 6241 1099 2685 860 2980 123 6360 1049 5618 1083 181 5762 908 ■5424 861 668 1626 937 T88 1785 — 918 1064 255 794 1679 1 687 1657 9698 1950 1882 4570 5683 1386 8667 618 •6028 4672 6008 468 4803 4751 4624 2446 2581 4498 4291 71 4488 2516 1405 4550 4200 119 4416 3873 1714 787 1218 1654 1900 — 1716 1069 444 1814 1679 81 1762 1577 Schuyler Suffolk Seneca Schoharie Sullivan Steubt^n Tioga Tomplcins Ulster Washington . . . , Warrei* Wayne Wyoming Westchester . . . Yates 2542 931 461 Steub er,Oh emung andT ompki :ns. 2393 2045 1980 1917 8806 2180 1051 1400 24S7 8875 14 2416 8482 2163 2876 1625 2S8T 1583 1266 1680 2037 2218 2958 2054 2511 8846 2681 200 18 U 1767 2724 1672 1860 2671 1863 1523 654 584 2327 2936 1(39 2669 8523 1964 1'24 111 80 2466 2895 1475 2472 8346 1679 7270 8217 2034 5286 6880 845 4857 1975 8623 4885 5612 248 4081 4820 8331 2154 4S5 2284 2815 197 1T82 1688 789 1999 2645 90 1925 2180 1470 8410 8472 862 8008 1270 2648 88-!5 4018 822 8969 8568 2932 4080 4708 6188 6916 26 4659 1970 2277 4804 47S3 12 4491 4260 6174 1682 1848 4280 8174 461 4486 1225 2024 5024 8270 838 6071 8024 785 1174 1718 119 1270 1019 618 1S3C 1791 118 1306 1411 5776 1999 1448 4038 4050 941 8667 797 8690 8958 4046 668 4809 8907 1911 571 8005 24T1 7U7 55 2881 1887 1680 2764 2102 442 Wii). Gi^n'sea 4450 4600 3641 4038 6279 4112 2146 1812 425E 4412 19 4088 4864 2994 915 851 19T4 2153 824 1651 862 1483 2056 2110 207 2072 2087 Total 276007 1958T8 124604 234832 262088 2582ft 2186'08| 114818,120510 233482'237'588 16812 225S17 212627 Frpmont over Buchanan, 80,129; Pierce tA^er Scott, 27,201; Taylor over Cass, 104,285 ; Polk over Olay, 6,106 J HaSlmSvervIn Buren, 18,290. Mr. Blrrey received 2,808 votes in 1840- and Gerrit Smitli, Z 640 20 873 863 20 817 861 '4 293 816 Du Page 1887 542 2 881 686 886 818 628 628 372 651 173 428 378 Edgar , 9S2 176 1842 288 803 810 892 291 924 162 88 829 288 816 118 42 19 701 886 884 186 24 49 783 311 720 Edwards 212 Effingham 90 7R4 168 175 527 — 99 980 _ 82 864 82 207 Fayette' 68 947 799 487 678 — 407 452 — 414 663 442 645 Franklin 5 1051 251 196 709 — 189 459 — 102 684 ..— 71 642 Fulton 2021 2724 898 1848 2192 298 1685 1684 371 1484 1537 ' 8 1258 1347 Gallatin 24 784 423 824 692 _ 285 587 6 4oe 1115 ; — 60C 1286 Greene 245 1866 719 864 1297 12 868 1128 86 800 me — .870 ms Grundy 928 618 « 249 836 64 128 207 63 49 91 7 Dnorg anized Hamilton 9 118S 162 223 T54 — 126 478 — 125 678 — 126 6^7 Hancock 1120 2011 999 1286 1466 84 1087 1074 67 747 1899 1 1818 601 Hardin A 332 229 244 212 — ■ 284 287 — 136 168 — 164 132 Henderaon ... 797 610 168 647 414 84 408 291 65 428 294 — Unorg anized Henry 1924 m 47 i 867 476 91 138 80 228 147 168 ■ — 162 86 Iroquois 76C 460 106 878 482 22 268 822 28 204 281 « , 154 178 Jackson U 105« 822 847 631 177 ■ 248 B 182 847 — 210 887 Jasper 83S 679 . 16E 25E 461 — 154 228 — 148 276 — 78 17S Jefferson ;. 6C 12TE 426 895 865 -_. 280 605 2 227 868 1 210 360 Jersey 887 702 68(1 651 664 89 680 454 98 665 468 48 517 Jo Daviess 2110 1509 44 1481 1425 12i 1772 1892 184 1614 1686 14 1079 06o Johnson.. : 2 1144 74 18S 761 — 67 290 .T— 82 882 — 10S 4|o Kane 857C 912 29 1180 1806 em ' 856 788 122C 746 1046 299 81C 774 Kankakee 1836 25« 60 Un organi eed. KendaU 1622 884 1« 616 632 252 802 876 547 867 479 142 Unorg anmed Knox 28S1 149C 277 1080 1119 ,S91 880 727 392 746 68S 162 74« btl Lake 2841 65£ 10 097 ■812 519 821 44« 1038 88« . 620 181 281 267 I/a Salle 8721 2665 121 1204 1894 652 862 1286 878 427 611 126 108« 16S8 Lawrence 8S 729 6«8 610 689 464 582 — 427 611 — 676 697 Lee.^.. 1804 601 83 476 578 77 300 867 186 244 816 46 241 230 Livingston 5SB 480 72 164 214 12 82 180 4 66 lOS — 85 • 78 656 ,600 823 821 898 668 386 489 486 7 465 268 869 828 4 6 810 221 261 . 828 — 260 250 1P7 Macon 377 Macoupin 82? 1778 1010 841 119« 74 710 896 96 641 974 6 632 812 Madison 1111 1461 1658 1546 1716 81 1820 1608 162 1661 .1496 12 1704 1166 Marion • 1,51 1160 418 236 762 28 227 689 16 182 722 6 174 578 MarshaU MOf 884 118 646 679 61 804 822 41 281 26! 209 1S3 Mason 267 787 568 561 621 6 891 408 7 266 264 Unorg anijed Massac 6 680 251 266 449 204 808 — 166 896 Unorg anized M'Donough.... 69C 1370 864 840 886 9 439 416 25 466 49S 41 472 427 M'Henry 2S6C 946 43 5866 119S 645 B16 626 1018 49S 666 14 346 271 M'Lean .. . 1937 1617 BfiO 256 1086 40 756 626 94 686 471 'm 68! 531 Menard lOE 854 668 644 696 1 605 488 1 397 87c — 4.3^ 874 Mercer. 1141 769 140 676 m 92 486 815 90 4K 821 12 815 193 Monroe 84f 900 618 294 1125 855 646 — 804 74t — 37( 563 Montgomery. , 162 992 686 415 665 9 S82 638 18 855 661 ^ — 8« 520 Morgan 96S ' 1656 885 1897 1411 183 1.1T2 1809 189 1448 1421 39 1635 12il3 Moultrie 1« : 432 -305 292 266 _4., 2-IS 191 198 204 — Unorg aniwd Ogle 246? 734 289 899 ■766 294 082 480 41.3 505 8Si 95 491 266 Peoria 2082 ' 2459 891 1.566 1805 262 12S7 1161 36B S46 1169 55 744 Hm Perry 20C 671 43S 277 £64 59 239 344 44 219 471 22 174 381 Piatt 85 810 8,50. 192 161 — 182 188 81 12C — ""M anized Pike 105f 2163 lOIO 1745 lT6i 34 1609 1636 IfiS 1411 145( 11 1037 Pope 11 RI5B 214 820 48S 224 234 _^ 201 34S _— 891 268 Pulaski 21 478 166 112 246 : 84 141 «C 206 — Unorg 25l ajilzed Putnam 682 807 115 80« 246 280 266 1S5 'm m 226 140 161 Eandolph 70S 1222 546 5T5 814 2-,J0 580 639 800 718 771 114 715 S17 Richland 8i 786 . 440 174 r i .101 821 281 — . iip9 82i! , — Unorg ai^ed Rock Island , . . 148! 1114 276 764 686 9G 88.3 431 96 466 897 ' — 426 22i Saline 4 1174 1004 2475 229 1612 209 2126 6.38 1606 2i n-i 1948 812 •• 1836 It Dn .1837 organi 1371 zed. 2000 Sangamon 124» Schuyler 38! : 186(1 :5J0 844 98( 16 807 804 84 61G 748 — 732 611 icott 188 84S 58f 780 708 8 793 G49 IB «i7U 610 ,7 68S 675 POPULAR VOTE FOE PRESIDENT. 2S1 ILLINOIS- ( OontiimeS). COUNTIES. Shelby .Stirk St. plah: Stephenson Tazewell CHlon Vermilion Wahash WaiTen "Wlashington . . . Wayne White'. Whiteside ■WiU Williamson "Winnebago Woodford 1S56. 162 1414 ■m 863 1998 1728 1907 1308 101!8 1818 46 1288 151)6 1111 Vl'i 481 1282 1117 244 1182 1S!9 1213 27 1062 1902 613 2iJ93 1575 10 1419 «(l)i6 457 596 T47 Am. fill're 461 152 9V8 50 76T 246 194 485 807 283 402 846 210 10 188 61 189 1852. Wlii!/. JBmi. r.soa. Scon. Pierce. Hille. 998 976 1869 169 997 469 806 251 869 749 • 684 1251 844 1028 958 850 2571 1061 869 880 761 757 782 618 1450 799 820 636 Total. ,.-..... 96189105848 87444 64934 80697 9966 68047 56800 15774 45528 6' 170 80 1 158 161 820 726 1848. WIdg, Hem, FrceD. Taylor. Case. Vmi H. 83T 214 1109 730 1097 108 942 456 687 204 818 674 891 718 211 866 186 668 174 2023 768 698 608 768 808 629 677 479 618 285 897 676 240 1 S4 68 111 96 14 140 2T 1 18 279 640 807 62 1844. Wlliq. Cln.v. 815 187 1042 4S8 1011 94 869 479 600 254 26S 786 884 609 1T9 646 159 Dem. Polk. 1945 465 628 617 768 816 603 666 637 748 289 810 766 Abo. Hirney 47 179 132 1840. Whiff. Ilft'soi 408 ASl 989 871 1181 78 1044 509 711 149 . 205 . .770 876 758 108 789 Unorg Dem. Van a 751 154 1788 241 661 636 68T 254 624 493 600 689 286, 1867 678 821 anized 8570 45637; «476 Buchanan over Fremont, 9,169 ; Pierce over Scott, 15,668 ; Cass over Taylor, 8,263 ; Polk over Clay, 13,E Vim Buien over Harrison, 1,939. In 1840, Mr. Birney received 149 votes. l.a:iCKiC3-.A.3sr. Jirp. Dem. Am. Wlliq. Dan. RSoil. Whig. Derti. FreeD. WlHq Dem. Abo. Whig Dem. ' Prem'f Buc'an Fill're. Scott. PiBice. Hale. Taylor. Ghss. Van B. Clay. Polk. Birney Ha'^OD Van B, Allegan 1626 1027 29 647 582 66 274 ' 804 174 823 299 11 257 174 Barry 1496 1926 872 1640 49 182 4T8 1017 652 1234 107 1 41 » 202 248 968 881 1147 93 108 228 713 249 828 16 85 128 549 103 Berrien, 548 Branch; 2608 1822 14 1071 1S8( 666 1084 400 644 88£ 89 64S 618 Oalhoun 8495 2161 122 1784 1824 440 1264 1481 746 1357 1628 226 114! 1169 Oass 1708 1165 41 981 984 95 78i 902 .191 76( 715 59 671 627 Cheboygan No retur n. Un organi zed. OMppewa . ... No retur n. No retur n. 61 4t — 34 4C — 22 40 eUnton 18K •\m 14 47( 481 146 21! S4( 181 266 28S 19 22; 144 1888 No 1228 retur 16 687 Un 786 organ 226 zed. 886 646 218 410 876 61 387 229 Genesee 2686 16Si 110 122] 1146 801 87( 82f 816 733 676 158 512 880 Grand Traverse 151 24S 2 Un organi zed. Gratiot 886 18< . — ■ Un orgam zed. Hillsdale 3446 1408 • 87 1411 159« 891 1021 129( 482 958 1084 212 848 721 Houghton 201 891 1 No retur n. Un orgam zed. No relui n. Ur organ zed. Jngham 1849 16& 25 786 992 128 47! 69i 882 432 441 45 254 261 Xonta ; . . . . 2002 2996 1154 ■ 2118 22 46 669 1727 864 1840 802 484 879 969 608 1347 477 1072 418 1302 898 1889 69 475 266 1504 219 1121 2808 162( 60 1.374 1251 411 lOK 88( 498 • 98S 828 276 954 744 Kent 2981 1579 2516 996 98 81 1221 618 1619 819 166 142 652 369 768 342 887 205 476 ■ 899 564 602 33 88 819 491 82C Lapeer 418 4499 277i 167 241 £ 2857 •40 1886 2171 796 2177 227-2 228 2118 1865 tJvingston .... 1T66 171) 18 981 141S 133 764 1128 289 687 1030 108 700 842 Jffackmac No n. 8S 29! — , SI 121 — 43 100 — 2210 1845 80 1058 1684 - 509 853 1840 204 . 963 136D 140 982 1121 Manistee No retur n. Un organi eed. Marquette T9 77 20 No retur n. Un organi zed. 82 12 — Un orgam zed. Midland 169 1777 43 1708 2 84 Un 1112 orgam 1682 zed. 169 soo 1155 898 870 1288 48 989 102S Montcalm ... . 414 265 7 120 156 6 Un orgam zed. Newago Oakland No 4105 retur 8276 n. 71 40 2876 104 8178 552 Un 1942 orgam 2781 zed. 693 2325 2838 877 2872 2366 82 21 — Un organi zed. Ontonagon Ottowa Saghlaw No 1892 retur 998 n, 89 Un 868 organ! 756 zed. 59 142 269 58 42 m 17 81 88 1042 1222 17 36T 694 78 U8 188 47 107 104 — 89 100 808 201 1 106 262 — Un organi zed. Schoolcraft Shiawassee — St, Clair gt; Joseph ^liscola 1 Tan Durjn — Washtei, aw.... Wayne No 1804 retur llflB n. ' 86 Un 619 organi 684 zed. S3 281 426 192 800 269 96' 238 151 1807 2324 1521 1476 21 12 852 1164 1110 1289 58 26^ 66S 968 818 1011 82 418 669 936 617 978 84 617 800 446 761 442 1710 242 1081 4 84 80 618 62 771 34 87 ^ organi 509 zed. 117 273 350 1 46 182 251 85T0 5250 , 288S 577T 109 208 2274 840T 2604 4680 •- 608 X 86S 2m 2081 8308 917 420 2347 2846 2549 2787 886 192 2626 2246 2057 2287 Total T1762 5218S leeJ 83869 41842 7287 2S940' 80687 10389 1 24837 27759 8632 1 22933 21181 ni^tj^j 71762 52180 ItiOO eaeoy ilts^z laoi . sou-w ouooi xvoau^ a-Mwi Aiiuf uu«* i^»ww i-iiu* ' TTrcmont over Buchanan, 19,«26 ; Pierce orar Scott, 7,998 ; Oass ever Taylor, 6,747 ; Polk over Clay, 8422 ; Harrison trer Van Buren, 1,802. Mr. Birney received 821 votes in 1840. 222, A POLITICAL TBXSr-BpOE: FOE 1860. 1856. 1S52. 1848. 1844. 1840. COUNTIES. Ur.p Ceai. Am. Whig. Dem. F.Soil. intg. Dem. FreeU. Wkif,. UlSy. Dtm. Ahit. WMg. DeiA. -'ri.-m'[ fUC'iill 847 Fill'i-a. Sicotl. Pierce. liale. rayioi-. Oasti. Ifanli. I'olk. ^irney. lia'non Van B. 4dams 413 69 362 672 14 261 398 1 198 296 . 193 163 ^ilen ]&il3 8211 145 1226 1964 24 991 1059 18 861 849 . — 640 399 Bartholomew. . . \-m 1844 142 1245 1612 26 1011 1167 28 1035 1068 , IS 982 703 Benton 315 217 6 110 138 19 60 78 8 40 69 1 26 42 Blackford ..... 2.SS 404 47 108 268 15 61 231 28 81 205 . 8 77 147 fioone 1299 1493 81 936 1161 109 778 916 66 816 871 8 700 686 148 681 90 102 532 — 70 603 — 59 432 — 50 270 Gari-oU 12(il 1344 22 1075 1266 29 . 822 1008 76 712 965 8 699 765 Cass ■.' 1604 1539 40 1176 1190 50 I 881 829 55 763 671 18 649 872 Clark 492 I960 1074 1186 1812 24 1200 1510 28 1132 1417 . — 1132 1278, Clay ....... . . BBS 1108 296 474 748 8 500 734 29 429 662 . — 898 487 Clinton 1261 1804 34 929 1250 75 t26 964 87 645 944 12 583 698. 24 785 509 502 499 ■ 520 897 , — 462 897 ■ — 485 281 2B 1115 939 726 720 6 735 701 2 807 764 . — • 738 509 1578 2619 297 1474 2486 89 1373 1801 176 1616 1971 50 1771 1588 Decatur 1718 168S> 61 1864 1894 183 •1245 1096 143 1275 1091 68 1298 769 De Ealb 1097 1247 76 391 780 16+ 847 677 45 269 327 6 177 168 Delaware 1736 992 8» 1083 93T 11 822 694 58 940 732 3 920 582 Dubois . 21 1191 236 229 717 — 256 5V9 1 239 501 — 264 239 Elkhart 1971 1051 18 1063 1343 26 760 1050 142 758 964 1 640 696 Fayette 1189 1002 40 1019 672 SOI 1040 765 86 1051 908 17 1090 723 228 1606 17S7 1683 1262 86 ■ 1328 1023 1815 1496 1 64 1018 900 1154 1343 17 1381 956 94T 981 1SS7 — 869 983 796 Fountain 1166 Franklin 14i)7 2259 41 1478 1956 80 1411 1695 51 13'i6 1583 8 1188 1115 Fulton 822 885 9 5D9 581 6 423 404 39 344 308 6 241 108 8(ifi 1286 T66 942 1127 2C 860 803 16 796 810 8 788 594 1395 879 108S 1129 99 683 599 834 6:j6 944 845 4 825 918 628 921 859 6 853 762 428 909 197 470 704 864, 684 Hamilton 1748 1185 88 971 901 401 8U9 805 317 859 766 139 972 638 962 184S 24 823 1002 40 666 806 40 719 786 2 721 587 Harrison ' RTS • 16S1 62! 1284 1278 — 12T7 1047 1 1253 1141 . — 1285 861 Hendricks 1680 1878 74 1252 980 166 1158 775 173 1263 844 26 1190 662 2741 1057 1229 686 49 S3 1589 639 1226 526 456 165 '%l lOOJ organ! 455 zed. 1453 1006 183 1662 889 Huntington 1232 1181 63 706 8SE 83 457 463 46 277 816 8 148 177 K99 1700 516 •614 USE 682 lOTl 7 662 1043 1 680 787 Jasper 633 548 68 867 847 38 86 190 128 128 175 8 73 9B jay 863 2814 880 1936 54 425 875 2016 600 2201 135 286 276 2076 892 1609 143 167 831 18:35 852 1427 82 50 283 1674 265 Jefferson 1026 1MI3 1189 172 99S 1104 5S 926 734 96 872 669 14 908 603 Johnson ...".... 1095 1608 15S 696 1388 2U 678 1114 46 659 1150 15 631 , 948 Knox 557 1512 535 1167 1003 . — 1044 741 8 1079 821 1 1077 658 1602 1075 18 1045 93S 26 797 676 64 623 653 b 496 829 1406 640 6 667 677 117 62a 636 114 690 457 **? 391 235 Lake 923 2582 846 2289 8 46 236 1357 834 1468 5^ I3e 188 1037 208 877 139 226 114 1009 206 831 5 53 115 1069 125 Laporte 640 480 1126 660 1054 Ills 14 1070 1081 IS 1019 1085 8 989 898 62d 1309 1603 54 1004 1282 83 824 998 65 813 854 20 911 Marion..., Sfi9fi 8733 206 2153 269S 110 187T 1789 109 1716 1634 l^. 1686 12791 Marshall 937 1039 348 511 50 8U5 423 91 199 256 54 154 194 Martin 76 769 850 877 51S 5 342 497 7 76 616 — 811 366 Miami 1390 1518 88 994 1196 76 781 77C 70 569 517 — 812 244 498 1191 89J 622 1085 87 78C 1084 59 721 1118 12 719 943 1910 2088 142 1559 1852 100 1601 1547 109 145( 1621 8 1418 1323 Morgan 15T3 1628 68 11119 1181 182 986 1029 121 1023 1078 24 1012 815 Noble 125-' 104 49 iiqa '505 1207 48 879 606 606 432 T47 807 456 1022 79 2 8 497 «^9 760 613 469 961 53 6 6 890 198 707 438 168 10S6 3 241 Unorg 70S 223 Ohio anized Orange 879 4S7 1494 1239 1288 580 192 901 1312 1060 1034 20 106 682 1898 953 1819 18 9 7M 1877 833 1829 1 12 560 1860 221 Parke 94S 96 80 lOGO 772 682 674 684 538 659 688 8 .1 599 519 888 510 8 1 664 459 334 491 — 560 474 221 Tike 818 Porter 847 614 10 444 62i 86 S4i 40: 7 81 806 14 230 194 Posey 806 1819 62S 784 1438 26 76i 1221 19 673 1164 — 706 966 Pulaski 841 667 27 210 33S 1 185 2* 1 123 134 1 61 60 l.'i.l.'- 1882 42.? 1712 1466 22 164; 1301 10 1541 1867 9 , 1571 1049 Randolph 2042 1258 69 900 993 S30 es: 78' 623 816 809 266 1066 668 Ripley i . . 1425 1661 184 1119 isse .1! UK 986 178 1060 908 89 lOOC Rush 1644 168S 83 1607 148C US 1142 1892 8i 1531 1362 42 1626 IITO Scott. 27f 698 264 518 659 11 ■ 48fc 44' 16 48 441 1 899 861 Shelby 151f 2076 142 1286 1627 21 112: 1414 IS 1107 1342 7 1016 1070 Spencer .' 2»f 1260 80E 685 TIC 1 681 471 — 68f 49C — 689 824 Starke 112 155 1 6( 122 — Ur organ zed. 121f 559 IS 487 54S 9( SIE 852 194 82f soa 42 SS6 176 St. Joseph 1812 1509 6 996 1055 17' 81' 66 832 86. 63S 83 805 441 251 1650 89i 52S i2o; 46£ 1142 6 46 1: 1221 1 411 1014 22E 1121 1040 lift 114- 1 lO'JE llOi 44 96 loot 8 102J i 736 Tippecanoe — Tipton 27TE 2307 45 191E 244( 14! 126S 152S 405 155 1551 87 150S i 1200 54e 78£ 14 34C 46 1 181 23£ 3 10 119 .— 1 XTnor, 'anized R7S 71C 188t 19 840 684 94£ 62( 181- 149 C 621 634 68- 66' 208 22 68, 67 ! 672 ) 55t 60 1 761 6» 614 i 870 86 82. S( 852 7S! '. m T6i — 78 r 762 — .St ' ^ Tlgo..'. 116£ 180S 888 1694 115f > S 158£ 1 86 57 161 J 85t — II Ibi I , 638 POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 22S INDIANA— {(hnlimiea.) 1856. . 1853. 1848. 1844. 1840. Rep. Fivra't Xltm.. Buc'an Am, FiU'ie. Whig. Scott. Pern. Pierce. F. Soil Hula, Whip. Tttylur. Dfsm.. Ckss. Fi-kD. Van B. Whig. Oliiy. Vem. Polk. ATxi lijniey. Whig. riii'son Bum. Yttii a. Wabash .Warren Warrick Washington ... Wayne WeUa White.., ffhitley 1785 11 6T 107 831 8688 726 708 797 1096 767 1506 17 78 1968 931 746 S51 108 76 480 691 100 16 42 57 1146 850 487 1093 2804 415 510 497 969 552 1634 1618 1874 710 636 568 91 56 81 11 786 23 , 18 11 847 708 457 , , 1126 2086 262 206 818 789 460 862 1648 1482 416 806 878 140 68 21 22 889 . 18 34 21 601 779 894 1149 ,2821 185 269 222 575 470 850 1660 1436 806 218 287 19 10 ~5 318 8 2 807 787 855 1188 2869 181 206 144 199 847 663 1881 1263 140 144 141 Total 94875 118670 22886 1 80901 95340 6929 69907 74746 8100 67867 70131 2106 65302 51604 , Buchanan over Fremont, 24,295; Pierce over Scott, 14,489; Cass over Taylor, 4,888; Polk over Clay, 2,264; Harrison over Van Buren, 18,698, ooKTisrsaTiaxTT. oonnTiES. Hep. Freiu'i Df.m. Buc'iwi Am. Eill're. Wltig. Scott, Dcm. Fierce, F.SoiJ. Hale. mig. Tftylor. ■J?em. flaas. Yttti B. mii.g. Clay. Zftm. I'olli, Aha. iSirucy. Whig. Ha'bOn Dan. VanB. Pairfleld Hartford mchfleld HiddleseK New Haven New London... Tolland Windham 62.98 8416 5481 2887 7976 5402 2407 3913 5689 7087 8986 2964 7815 8958 1958 2248 92S 809 150 183 604 850 35 56 4814 6829 , 8946 ,2065 6046 8801 1708 2095 . 5155 6639 4082 ■2784 6097 4079 2016 2448 ■'■ 167 461 413 238 424 687 202 618 5038 6000 3918 2136 5278 4020 1665 2266 4064 5348 8674 2152 4616 8fel 1612 2262 462 810 600 861 - 806 . T76 191 m 5868 6269 4668 2324 5546 4081 1964 2C20 4699 6624 4836 2345 4T26 '3709 1960 2544 142 287 868 180 229 804 120 363 4871 6216 4S42 2276 5100 3815 1991 2790 8802- 4496 8806. 2276. 4012 8148^ 1609, 2188 Total 42715 84995 2615 80359 83249 8160 30314 27046 5005 82832 29841 1948 81601 2529f Fremont over Buchanan, 7,720; Pierce over Scott, 2,880; Taylor over Cass, 8,£68; Clay over Polk, 2,991;, Banison over Van Buren, 6,305. Mr. Birney received 174 votes in 1840. E>EJ3sr:isrsTrxi-vA.3KriA.. COUNTIES. Rep. Prem't Am. Wtiig. Dem. F.Soil. Whig. Dem. Free J). Whig. JJem. Abo. r Tnig. Dem. Buc'an Fill'ie, Scott. Pierce. UiUe. Taylor. Cass. VanB, Ulaj. Polk. Biniey, Ua'son VanB 1120 2637 1249 2725 2018 81 2576 1762 25 2609 1891 6 2463 1628 Allegheny Armstrong 13671 9062 1488,' 9615 7226 : 965 10112 6691 779 8088 5748 48S 7619 4678 2963 2680 188 2098 2430 142 2030 2126 141 1468 1988 88 1260 1744 2658 1905 286' 1806 1948 861 2655 ■ 2808 630 2792 2172 270 8143 irio 806 2458 1986 2273 2319 — 2886 2816 1 3147 2989 5 2910 2446 Berks 1037 445 6983 11272 2069 2314 8586, 2450, 101 4918 2590 8626 9603 1931 3930 5 6 281 5082 2476 8272 9484 1485 1889 51 4 1780 4000 With 8235 8674 Hunti 3568 8 ngdon 63 8682 2681 7426 Blair 2S44 4682 3401 804 6617 2648 2987 7351 67j 968, 4928 2838 1461 5766 2583 2035 68 166 15 5140 2505 1238 6864 2247 1886 163 173 12 4862 2247 996 5251 '2112 1128 185 2 4705 2100 811 4488 1804 ffiOr ria.Vinn 692 1866 465 749 1311 — 889 1181 1 581 905 — tJnorg anized 'iiii 890 2895 1952 1916 2998 — 1866 2611 4 1860 2425 7 1448 2242- 5808 6338 1448 6700 6620 888 6949 586C 507 6070 5660 106 5642 4882- 788 2760 950 1218 2642 2« 1372 2806 87 814 1883 7 648 1866 718 1978 604 -997 iTsa 24 761 1168 23 544 ■S'if' — 499 812 Clinton Columbia Crawford Cumberland . . , Dauphin Delaware liie '.v. '.".'. '..',! Fayette 618 1485 682 9a6 1816 2 911 967 1 788 ■ 875 — 649- 1239 2839 219 1165 2102 — 2268 8896 29 1738 8870 1 1825 2829 5860 8,391 45 , 2775 8427 996 2204 2748 621 2636 8834 ■ 189 2469 2903 1472 8427 1579 2489 ■2878 8673 8188 2675 29 3242 8706 8178 2264 25 84 3092 3285 8155 2401 5 16 2791 3124 2C9fi 21 ST' 1690 275 . 2005 575 1010 52 2088 163 1737 423 107 14 2194 134 1547 242 84 16 2090 101 1466 128 15 9 2081 TJnorg 1835 anized 2684 289 4015 2738 611 3418 2022 857 8621 2226 74 S636 2061 2089 2446 1174 8030 8867 — 3045 8441 73 2S04 8429 86 2765 8035 8469 1283 8904 8858 8 4006 8199 4 8901 8298 — 8686 2892 Fulton Greene Huntingdon . Indiana Jefferson Juniata Lancaster Lawrence Lebanon . . . Lehigh Luzerne 142 1821 970 2747 566 286 729 1659 881 2602 80- Dn 1476 organi 2379 zed. 52 1418 2354 18 1350 2010 926 8612 1063 480 6608 8065 2164 1762 1463 1865 8781 1220 2511 1646 263 615 747 4692 96 487 2611 2387 1115 559 11686 1984 8105 2041 1827 1484 828 6578 1064 2118 2 279 _22 1 2690 2410 887 850 11390 With 2996 1922 1544 ,992 856 6980 Beav 1862 25 204 19 1 168 er and 2 4086 2200 591 1089 1029S Mt-c 2575 1443 781 1262 5948 er. 1791 lo 5 "21 3826 1953 476 966 9678 2870 2266 12US 892- 1044 5740i 140! 828T 4860 4426 322 2998 849{ 2 2976 819S 8 255^ 2811 — 2405 245C 6791 868 8389 6840 79 8516 8991 176 2699 8960 29 2776 4119- 8324 1770 2085 2790 6 1992 2244 » 2012 2629 19 1504 2181 UcKean 812 626 « 403 597 78 867 418 22 840 419 — 263 27«. 224 A. POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR ISBO. PM2i^M8YL rASIAMOmtiiMted). COUNTIES. 1S56. Hep. Fieiii't . 'i Am. nl'ill'r Mercer MilBin Monroe Montgomery . . . Montour Northampton . . Northumberlund Pterry Philaiielphia,. , . Pike . . Potter Bchuylkill Somerset Bnyder Susquehanna. . . Sullivan Tioga Union Venango Warren Washington . . . Wayne Westmoreland . Wyoming York 216 560 2845 666 1168 666 621 7998 '2701 2699 1491 2-375 7134 1271 6260 80&9 2185 3S222 1204! 667 2188 7085 1458 448 8861 809 4541 1429 2041 2091 4237 21T2 4091 1188 611 1768 1255 2548 688 1886 1092 «157 1281 4288 2259 5172 1171 Total 147510 230710 118 1050 69 2265 149 1338 1340 1407 24084 15 6 26S2 1405 1084 61! 48 27 186 72 49 266 118 299 74 4801 82175 1852. Wliig. Bern. Scolt. Pierce. F. Soil. Hale. 418 4791 866 2973 1619 1418 24666 202 263 4128 2986 Un 2085 177 1564 8081 1164 1183 8810 1232 8208 807 4700 1T9174 1620 2098 5707 1465 4408 2451 2169 661 4758 1203 organ! 8046 426 2614 1994 1899 1483 4064 2362 5509 1268 6685 198668 769 160 10 zed. 215 B9 79 204 248 870 21 119 19 11 Whig. Taylor. 8525, 1848. 2977 1548 518 6040 With 3191 1765 1662 81229 216 226 4808 8018 1855 129 1264 8129 1061 948 8893 997 8124 861 186513 Dfftn. CaGs. Free D. Vsu a. 1886 1880 5627 Colum 4208 2258 2295 21608 799 468 8490 1127 2563 803 134.4 1056 1583 1088 8820 1642 5197 892 5161 1080 26 8 251 bia. 5 87T 85 801 19 1039 26 I64I 130 468. 202! 122 87 4 171176, 112C8 1844. Whig. Cky. 2840 1518 414 4491 2776 1547 1870 151 240 2571 2660 I>em. Poll;. 1519 1806 5596 8870 2446 2321 18851 T69 554 8404 1085 1840. Alo. Wlnr,. Birnej'l Hii'-'^OT; 604 9 1! 49, 228 1802 2697 93 Un organi zed. i -'- 2a 18 65 17 290 15 71 1 1 1169 2198 2783 1765 966 1377 899 1149 SS72 3973 899 16.i7 2672 4978 814 899 4287 5071 161208'l67585 3247 1226 345 4063 2346 1351 1072 17844 135 180 1881 2801 1560 595 2428 855 827 4149 675 2778 Unnrg 144021 Bern. Van IS. 1269 144T 218T 1976 18077 5k 863 2184 T65 1721 1618 1576 929 3611 1188 4704 anized 143672 Buchanan over Fremont, 88,200 ; do. over Fremont and Fillmore, 1,025 ; Pierce over Scott, 19,394 ; Taylor over Cass, 1*;S87 ; Polk over Clay, 6,882 ; Harrison over Van Buren, 349. Mr. Birney received 343 votes in 1840. COUNTIES. Am. Dem. Sep. WJnf). Dtiln. f. Soil. Wliifj. Dem.. F,eeX>. Wtiig. Dem. Alx,. Whi^. Pern. Fill're. Huc'ftn Frem'l Scott. Pierce. Hale. Taylor. CasB. Van b. riay. Polk. miner Ila'.s6ii VanB AUeghany 1938 2248 1454 1976 1579 1620 1424 1491 1271 1098 Anne Arundel . 1043 927 884 889 1693 14K6 1777 1503 1604 1884 Baltimore City. 16900 9832 9563 14035 10474 10995 8418 886S 7296 7826 Bailiraore Co. . . 8604 8165 1946 3001 2527 2669 2801 2716 1941 2621; Calvert 401 866 853 852 481 3-36 451 844 494 825 CaroHjie 688 748 565 600 492 58ff 680 5.52 687 683 Carroll 2346 2099 1702 1920 17«S 1672 1784 ICO4; 1 1554 1610 Cecil 1834 1846 1494 1550 1504 1444 la-SI ISU4 j 1448 1814 Charles ,461 758 657 41H 769 89K 786 619 841 602 Dorchester 1292 979| 8304 1289 933 1367 m. 1377 903' 13S1 839 Frederick 8724 8204 8312i 8158 2988 8190 2904 295£ 26'JS Harford 2074 I405I 1853 13781 1621 12,5f 1517 1'247 1342 1248 Howard . 899 6331 570 6251 With Anne Arund/el. Kent 833 550 662 5511 645 447 728 527 679 478 Montgomery. .. 1208 1126 lOGl 842 1057 7Tl! 1124 852 1098 66S I?rince George. . 881 938 915 724 1051 733 ...... 1054 660 1017 609 Queen Anne's. . 904 741 728 735, 726 612 749 722! 77S 661 Somerset .... 1598 1321 1448 1115 1418; 1005 1449 902! 1616 844 St. Mary's 247 10.B2 681 440 788' 422 788 468! 895 415 Talbot 749 910 74C 796: 706 719 795 712 74£ 682 Washington . . . 2717 2670 266S 2723 2688 2454 2G38 2665 2484 2290 Worcester 1224 1423 1258 1182; 1351 1180, 1453 909| 1494| 691 Total 47460 89116 231 86ote 40U20 i '^ ST702 84828 125 85984 8267e 1 8352S 287B2 FUlraoreover Buchanan, 81845 ', Pierce over Scott, 4,^54 ; Taylor over Cass, 8,174 ; Clay over Polk, 8,308 *, Harriaon over Van Buren, 4,7T6. I3BLA.-WA.jRE COUNTIES. Hep. FiU'ra. Dem. IJuc'an i 'Am. Frem't Whig. Scott. Dem. Pietco. F. So«. Hale. Whig. Taylor. Dem. Oaas. FieeD. Van B. Whig. Clay. Dem. Polk. Ahn. IM.ney Whig. Ua'aoii Dem, Tana Kent Newcastle Bussex 1580 2625 2020 2038 8677 2344 - 1591 2768 1084 1422 8038 1853 ,, 62 1497 8090 , 1834 1886 -2717 1845 1 79 1573 2816 1369 1416 2678 1877 -^ 169S 2S21 2058 109« 2195 16»3 Total 6175 8004 880 6298 esisl (2 6421 6893 80 6258 5971 — 696T 4884 Eachanan over Fillmore, 1,829; Pierce over Scott, 26; Taylor over Oaas, 623; Clay over Pol^, 287; Harriaai sr Vail Buren, 1,088. POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIBiBXT. 2!S» SOUTH CABOLINA GE0OSE8 ELECTORS BY LEQISLATVUS. COUNTIEa 1856. Balker — Baldwin .. Ben-ien . . . Bibb Bryan Bulloch.... Burke .... Butts GE^oun .. Glaftnden .. Campbell . OarroU i . . Catoosa '. . . Coffee '^atliam Ghattabpochee . Cherokee Charlton 'En^ke Clay Clinch 'Giibb ^Colquitt Columbia Coweta Crawford Decatur — . DeKalb Dade 'Beherty Dboley Early Effingham Elbert . ; Emanuel Fannin Tayette Floyd Borayth Franklin Fulton Gilmer -Glynn Gordon C^reene Girinnett . Habecsham E|alL Blancock Haralson Harris Hart Seard Henry Houston Irwin.. : Jackson Jasper ..-. Jefferson ^. . Jones Laurene Lee Liberty Lincoln Lowndes ; ]^umpkin Hacon VMadison ;,Marian M&Lntosh Merriwether . . . . Jfiller Monroe . Montgomery ... Morgan ./j^mray Muscogee. Dem. 99 ITS. 866 79 774 94 84 183 283 66 28 443 4S5 846 751 16 971 231 886 666 88 60S 188 187 764 T5 842 684 22S 484 .463 165 197 2oa 149 189 854 269 162 455 812 4S8 183 911 191 91 593 676 749 266 461 427 66 7S3 162 41« 769 576 80 468 882 876 186 496 22S 133 212 ■292 468 885 215 648 20 666 201 1852. IIV.iV/. hcolt. 240 268 453 BOO 220 959 1S3 460 940 887 251 186 754 1176 866 1205 16 1446 820 606 1146 129 487 279 171 1251 106 456 882 873 896 666 240 266 419 299 111 524 ?f3 5T1 784 847- 798 972 832 820 119 890 283 1092 868 696 806 272 528 610 616 691 604 165 773 418 858 SOS 70 260 191 219 - 448 786 274 . 415 494 156 708 168 605 26 234 667 TIO 13 101 17T Unorga 818 60 15 11 tJnorga 81 158 185 Unorga Dem. 1848. 77 630 272 ■ nlzed. 780 66 m. 287 177 484 nized. 2U 833 850 nized. £54 nized. 1175 nized. 816 660 nized. Unopga 806 TJnorga 114 •81 Unorga 139 Unorga 4 807 Unorga 110 216 161 220 565 65 Unorga 175 129 18 159 6 Unorga 267 867 106 66 Unorgalnized. 116 ' — TITiiff. Taylor. _ Cat>!9. nized. 48 975 nized. 269 650 867 295 1016 126 nized. 474 874 64 107 174 nized. 582 494 689 40 684 172 427 264 811 6t 98 64 No Unorga 463 Unorga inized. 410 626 603 192 103 186 Retui'n. nized. 273 12 49 132 91 166 67 18 23 178. 861 16 823 Unorga 379 14 189 237 840 63 223 133 155 886 69 426 90 634 nized. 631 85 2B6 823 875 144 841 705 123 693 106 281 475 843 402 660 108 634 805 60 877 215 420 220 682 884 1518 741 495 1844. Unorga nized. 862 - 1261 619 822 402 49B 799 849 200 188 991 155 521' 680 629 363 250 662 484 S5S 1097 258 671 505 99 161 207 717 673 747 965 402 855 132 22 Unorga nized. 827 189 745 636 425 778 621 664 473 288 879 403 415 478 989 8^ 69T 674 86 855 661 409 607 404 567 823 171 238 607 652 610 117 111 Wltiq. 01»y. 512 111 415 25 132 120 897 109T 2'n 32% 477 98 791 664 281 24 467 800 799 1072 1330 8H) I'.olk, 162 223 706 103 17 656 244 104 205 355 655 817 284 61T 698 658 :492 ■777 877 "46 211 198 999 107 412 850 461 876 780 779 822 439 616 845 868 659 21 579 897 696 835 179 286 427 665 331 847 517 127 798 288 442 303 1190 1840. WMg. IliirritiOn. Jlan. Von B. 142 506 80T 72 ,410 411 218 648 768 1189 824 813 943 807 644 4S4 34fl- 967 247 507 419 36 1S6 241 706 425 786 1088 511 28 132 763 964 696 436 819 664 686 108 465 15 121 190 179 862 1264 246 827 256 114 708 84 848 162 781 768 ■ 80- 25 693 186 166 163 276 661 690 186 869 617 470 792 485 482 666 226 258 158 957 ■80 337 275- 848 863 127 745 290 445 481 653 315 981 667 69 572 495 468 461 566 804 144 317 422 866 869 857 404 119 785 796 167 478 273 1044 437 705 643 201 416 81S 633 223 768 4^ 208 769 168 65 108 113 642 267 457 681 161 14 126 624 24t 121 642 495 69 862 77 78 123 IBS 185 703 e76 811 S26 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. aSOBOIA-iOcmtiimed.) 1856. 1852. 1848. 1844. 1840. COUNTIES. Am. FillmoL-e. Dem. Bueh'an. TF7m*7. Scott. Dem. Pierce. WIn'ff, Taylor. Z>em. Cuss. Whig. Claj. Sein. Polk. WJiiij. HnrriHOn. Dem. Von a. Newton Oglethoi'pe 910 894 191 491 193 240 294 871 72 ■ 450 1143 167 698 865 640 547 109 186 121 813 833 312 60 1005 178 261 617 665 460 6 260 699 89 268 . 279 282 598 83 844 451 776 680 425 417 353 259 407 656 890 263 653 ■ 701 545 442 238 191 110 233 463 429 265 412 287 454 805 824 684 125 689 664 181 213 428 681 783 227 836 60 44 184 Unorga 83 229 119 4 862 411 8 826 325 866 430 19 121 47 Unorga 8U 105 Unorga 696 118 97 856 372 111 1 25 286 10 Unorga 12 94 298 Unorga 886 179 827 609 nized. 281 284 147 144 677 625 171 491 452 877 441 76 65 83 nized. 259 264 nized. 422 267 223 338 786 399 36 806 451 65 mzed. 198 602 644 nized. 1045 686 852 828 820 899 Unorga 55 780 903 265 926 783 Unorga 819 888 861 160 526 Unorga 1122 331 412 657 784 544 193 614 692 58 452 473 502 193 420 892 428 . 294 oized, ' 207 724 695 228 6^6 5&7 nized. 738 65 44 150 250 nized. 884 414 641 844 965 741 161 860 %l 293 493 1025 626 218 659 247 430 34 606 903 256 892 650 865 394, 338 177 348 1055 889 237 643 447 655 187 641 629 138 480 887 553 241 394 877 457 351 253 785 647 278 813 444 912 67 64 193 267 487 467 554 884 686 763 126 868 595 95 889 560 988 654 227 560 241 468 80 509 939 180 882. 449 912 481 253 203 426 1071 411 107 632 387 516 215 552 593 74 438 428 851 127 207 Pike...-. Pickens 624 Pulaski Putnam Polk TSabun...... 275 810 212 519 .Richmond 407 Bciiven Stewart 199 639 176 Talbot 80T 47 TatnaU 28 Telfair 68 Tirrell Thomas 60 , 386 Twiggs 87R 86C 29S Walker 641 Walton Ware 61C 36 248 Washington 468 Bl Webster •■'t 'Wilkes 352 Wilkinson 474 Worth Total 42228 66578 16660 34705 41544 44802 45100 44177 40261 31921 Buchanan over Fillmore, 14,350; Pierce over Scott, 18,045; Taylor over Cass, 2,742; Polk over Clay, 2,077; llaniijon over Van.Bui-en, 8,340. In 1852 a Webster Ticket received 5324, and an Independent Pierce Ticket, 6,811, •V I E, O-I IM I A.. COUNTIES. Am. Fillmore. Accomac . . . . Albemarle . . Alexandiia , Ajleghany . . Amelia Amherst . . . . Appomattox Augusta ...*. Barbour , . . . Bath Bedford Berkley Boone Botetoort . . . Braxton .... Brooke Brunswick ,. Buckingham OaieU Oallioun . . . . Campbell ... Carolino . . . . Carroll . Charles City Charlotte . . . Chesterfield . Clarke ..... Craig Culpepper .. Cumberland Dinwiddle .. 1026 946 188- 150 449 162 1904 326 180 1044 846 113 341 494 261 131 27 1065 414 260 190 247 850 225 108 480 184 146 Drm. Buch'nn. 1092 677 276 431 1499 1015 997 273 904 260 451 566 463 598 ' 116 896 617 687 106 463 845 404 850 612 274 851 Wliig. Scolt. 676 11 63 784 93 145 450 192 1664 324 157 1189 751 117 421 887 231 187 438 451 Unorga 1101 443 218 176 337 409 363 92 447 256 819 Dam. Pieice. 664 1106 577 206 237 659 352 1888 692 179 965 924 212 783 290 46C 462 630 424 nized. 879 621 483 89 869 854 461 Whiff. Taylor. 104 163 416 190 1354 287 152 886 608 68 462 78 m 227 213 844 .287 794 867 179" 142 290 Unorga 354 236 X)em, Oasa. 296 619 225 149 198 413 822 728 484 124 534 544 123 683 i- 276 887 861 233 554 425 267 53 308 605 201 nized, 318 162 ^28 Whig. Clay. Dem. Polk. 666 917 Part of 114 159 451 Unorga 1398 221 196 941 063 Unorga 394 186 427 194 ' 543 476 121 202 837 883 199 274 270 472 702 Dist. C. 180 274 461 nized. 665 468 250 639 539 nized, 695 156 548 403 596 346 666 463 268 43 846 604 ao7 818 Wlijg. Iliin-ibon. Dem. Van B. 739 714 84 166 872 1204 919 . 599 407 With 350 261 475 481 718 399 Unorga 173 818 298 174 851 262 517 171 240 ,■ 454 218 568 872 575 Lewis. 516 880 520 nized. 487 167 SO 827 580 191 395 POPULAR YOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 227 TimiNIA—( QmUmiud.} COUNTIES. 1856. Am. Fillmore. Doddridge Elisabeth City Essex Fairfax Fauquier Fayette feyd FlUTanna Franklin Frederick Giles Gilmer Gloucester Goochland Grayson Greenbrier Greene '.Greensville Halifax Hampshire Hanover Hancock Hardy Harrison Henrico Henry Highland Isle of Wight Jackson James City Jefferson Kanawha King George King "William King and Queen.. Lancaster Lee Lewis Logan Loudon Louisa Lunenburg Madison Marion Marshall Mason Mathews Mecklenburg Mercer Middlesex Monongalia Monroe Montgomery Morgan Nansemond Nelson New Kent Nicholas Norfolk City Norfolk County . Northampton. .. Northumberland . , Nottoway Ohio Orange Page Patrick Pendleton Petersburgh Pittsylvania Pleasants . Pocahontas ... . Powhattan Preston Princess Ann — Prince Edward . . Prince George . . . Prince AVUliam . . Pulaski .Putnam Raleigh Kandolph Bem. Hiich'un 1T3 184 888 650 884 813 271 268 699 898 275 127 268 198 266 792 67 64 829 747 815 190 842 840 755 891 287 142 488 122 845 1149 127 78 163 160 888 299 60 1979 247 117 67 470 981 708 186 271 214 128 609 781 468 829 44S 620 169 866 787 1003 835 249 140 1464 287 67 885 424 6T2 1227 178 115 92 719 1852. Whig. Scolt. 441 190 293 727 1081 869 483 809 1168 1851 489 267 883 877 662 668 472 207 1178 1168 615 820 637 1221 709 605 479 644 605 67 946 668 208 274 438 160 916 712 411 863 682 486 750 1632 931 661 270 867 492 249 1447 747 658 819 416 418 198 298 644 1230 266 840 293 1682 437 1034 694 6«0 836 1365 80S 417 244 893 897 214 429 74 806 2SR 709 200 881 891 896 223 141 218 441 Bern. Pieice. 86 156 273 60S 928 265 884 440 620 1024 287- 114 267 195 222 "644 87 6T 405 649 450 241 858 601 646 880 170 171 489 97 968 1226 132 99 169 186 403 224 178 1818 856 159 107 660 743 686 177 96 688 497 501 270 600 691 174. 282 767 921 298 208 122 1452 290 110 489 875 615 864 152 116 122 647 409 227 91 190 174 848 128 801 881 2e6m 211 283 606 1045 243 801 878 802 1421 860 824 872 896 267 493 416 168 1096 1116 664 648 882 481 645 459 45 898 776 166 246 849 122 778 566 808 783 503 874 646 1197 721 476 255 680 2S9 167 1308 499 490 269 462 414 143 167 792 1224 144 279 185 1186 848 870 899 881 769 877 237 240 243 928 842 534 223 870 68 337 486 1848. Wllin. Tajlor. Bern. Ottss. 109 120 135 820 603 134 226 190 606 884 842 178 197 254 200 803 270 130 848 657 427 216 271 i 611 893 251 1844. Whig. Chi J. 183 186 489 686 267 271 271 608 T95 274 77 185 168 193 658 63 79 895 681 410 161 625 448 692 815 101 105 239 99 738 742 149 93 224 137 824 831 99 1453 807 169 69 324 653 349 186 842 191 116 434 438 840 188 811 894 167 218 662 629 170 161 117 977 296 69 887 285 892 884 Unorga 106 154 460 873 211 127 207 181 192 Unorgalnizerl. 201 I 213 804 I 289 37 694 272 112 284 258 107 621 522 117 420 441 272 486 669 527 274 189 497 184 125 809 469 806 201 280 229 101 90 44S 650 95 284 148 478 281 695 272 809 333 689 nized. 212 202 627 299 268 215 412 141 188 Unorga 188 229 410 761 249 216 806 619 80S 267 Unorga 233 165 160 709. 66 Bern. i'olk. 844 675 658 Unorga 683 479 578 806 Unorga 93 247 108 725 983 165 109 250 139 287 829 123 1506 864 196 65 2S6 624 416 172 276 178 131 893 425 864 183 861 443 193 170 634 627 240 185 187 897 239 50 369 409 nized. 123 186 891 607 168 297 244 674 887 850 nized. 220 819 831 851 300 146 1011 604 482 nized. 272 760 405 253 nized, 470 1840. Whig. IluitlhOli. 804 39 624 442 117 837 828 99 573 684 177 474 686 ,833 612 677 664 363 222 613 177 118 780 460 845 216 244 291 177 127 408 691 116 276 182 402 662 886 635 Ban Van li. 81 227 107 216 210 176 8S2 604 896 829 251 402 264 877 2GS 189 226 124 159 467 16T 166 174 143 Unorga nized. 207 199 450 359 814 SIS 141 241 866 683 199 143 834 669 755 226 247 120 466 • 663 62 110 422 729 450 497 823 446 811 89 258 141 667 827 168 116 282 170 275 202 186 1269 875 228 68 Mftgnftlinii 468 405 180 319 146 101 681 408 338 179 383 404 198 173 629 661 334 183 182 923 231 45 842 8S9 245 876 89 125 221 683 188 279 168 515 743 179 833 689 803 280 166 964 605 280 1841 898 191 683 211 9 692 824 129 806 808 67 469 109 189 881 476 802 632 4 Hftr'5<,n. 462 304 220 661 124 328 1236 420 261 146 269 237 156 130 298 478 24 800 190 287 235 628 274 463 262 616 210 210 464 274 361 287 893 161 321 800 228 A -POLITICAL IEX'PBOOK FOK 18(60. YIBQIlflA—iOontiiilied). COUNTIES. 1856. Am. Fillmore. Dem. Buch'ao 1S52. Whig. Scott. Dem. Pierce, 1848. Taylor. 2>em. Cass. 1844. tl- Hem. Polk. 1840. WMg. HarritioD, Bern. Tan B. Richmond Cltj . . . Richmond County Bltchie Roane t , . . Roanoke Rockbridge Rockingham Russell Boott ghenandoali Smyth Southampton,..., gpottsylvaoia .... Stafford Surry Sussex, Taylor Tazewell Tucker Tyler Upshur Warren - . Warwick., ..^..., Washington Wayne Westmoreland ... Wetzel Wirt Wise Williamsburgh ... Wood JWyoming Wythe yorfc Total 1758 m 25S 223 1086 610 888 406 458 448 102 119 18 145 51 644 296 439 80 191 ,42 56 758 81 681 194 1474 225 606 212 603 1124 2738 765 810 2839 572 570 622 639 230 86T 61& 1140 137 656 634 668 1« 1115 362 181 704 822 18 57 875 116 887 114 1854 284 183 Unorgei 208 1081 575 801 851 291 484 498 440 269 14T 107 851 243 Unorga 840 324 169 66 715 225 280 102 222 Unorga 37 649 42 833 129 1012 181 881 nized. 884 1084 2478 275 677 2094 479 45^ 665 447 201 612 nized. 883 439 620 14 924 488 2S8 nized. 607 29 615 90 1064 182 124 183 665 895 482 296 176 418 230 94 82 Unorga 215 £24 845 143 501 1655 816 452 1404 809 807, 405 255 153 278 niced. S4S 290 Unorga nized, 122 ■ 62 485 105 Unorga 47 480 Unorga 847 118 15: 679 lift 60 818 nized. 84 825 nized. 847 202 104 177 697 290 414 276 170 275 825 118 124 100 I 441 126 67 871 190 805 Unorga 533 309 ,113 154 254 i!79 643 1716 416 681 1372 871 890 442 846 163 627 611 723 184 67 nized. 50 653 109 680 177 Unorga 159 264 284 102 269 878 358 265 95. 109 lis 110 92 864 Unorga 176 161 nized. 1444 298 44a 1216 806 872 196 847 300 e nized. 613 279 192 81 I 892 474 ■12 60310 89T08 63572 73868 45124 465S6 43677 49570 42501 Buchanan over FUbnore, Van Buren over Harrison, 1^ 196; Pierce over Scott, 1S,286; Cass over Taylor, 1,462; Polk over Clay, 5,898; Fremont received 291 voles in this State, in 1856; and Van Bui'en 9, in 1840. A.Tj A.'BA.T^/LA.. COUNTIES. Autauga,, . . Barbour ,., Benton . . . , Bibb 'Baldwin... Blount, Butler Covington. Chambers., Cherokee ., Clark ;, Coosa , Choctaw.,., Conecuh , . , Coffee Dale Dallas DeKalb.., Franklin , . . Fayette , , , , Greene . , . . Henry Hancock... Jackson ... Jefferson . . . Iiawrence , . Lauderdale Ximestone . Lowndes,,, Marengo.,, Morgan, . . Mamson . , . Monroe Marion , . , . Marshall, , , Am. Fillmore. 475 857 443 479 219 87 792 238 967 455 404 40,1 801 419 67« 130 711 440 784 471 14 97 196 681 555 231 708 667 222 401 469 198 Bilch'mi. 621 1445 1687 5S9 144 770 777 801 1141 163T T54 116T 648 425 70S 945 831 900 1056 799 694 066 221 1790 697 699 1141 790 699 789 808 14T6 604 70C 88S ScoU. 196 29T 74 55 84£ 227 '216 118 162 888 136 462 81 694 94 114 612 441 227 126 450 208 851 264 118 111 Vem. Piei-ee, 809 913 846 78 422 £31 117 616 785 479 709 834 28T 239 406 440 501 993 616 655 184 65 1151 138 1800 467 668 Whiff. Taylor, '658. 1205 566 474 100 134 772 248 13.23 '630 120 626 Unorga 426 860 257 510 272 1038 6014 Unorga 136 695 874 7a 789 861 465 479 193 246 Dejn. - CnHS, •471 614 1272 416 138 526 277 92 689 921 327 388 nized. 231 174 655 618 650 795 841 712 496 nized.' 1639 886 656 434 553 835 1835 216 614 T08 Whig. Clay. 475 1113 878 450 149 84 666 148 1168 856 232 400 441 142 209 864 20T 498 158 1090 367 87 264 469 474 825 710 726 271 857 567 120 162 Dem. Polk. 638 ,£60 1332 596 120 774. 405 139 936 955 631 796 277 8141 616 f 722 700 1079 796 819 646 1761 , 685 783 919 965 678 634 682 1720 859 633 875 Whiff, Elarribon. 691 1028 483 633 187 105 710 1S3 1039 877 S80 316 541 867 1024 167 637 208' 1366 57 315 649 64S 856 896 842 853 893 646 198 142 Dem, VanB, ,674 642 1248 478 118 720 274 65 678 769 596 672 771 819 788 2147 682 782 987 897 622 C95 804 1986 861 635 924 POPULAK VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 229 ALABAMA— iConUnued.) 1856. 1852. 1848. 1844.: 1840. COUNTIES. Am. Fillmore, Dem- Buch'an. TPTiiV. Scolt. Don. Pierce. Whig. Taylor. Detn. CasG. Whig. Clay. Dem. Polk. Wing. EllU'llHDIl, 1168'- 1771 1289 824 1178 669 865 683. 468 68, 682 973 896 1276 146 448 152 1100 1888 1089 803 1262 , 1087 994 1460 787 818 703 680 1134 1478 449 813 194 717 1123 772 261 879 568 434 90 817 44 482 527 872 351 64 286 52- 567 1880 658 512 708 , 752 622 707 813 465, 497 475 612 845 217 898 . .66 1176 • 1819 1464 826 985 . 1Q44 970 . 4j61 657 160 620 976 869 972 231 639 72 66S , 1078 632 631 668 981 677 770 368 466 771 694 820 920 ■ 883 479 83 , 1016 1403 ' 1087 169 862 892 ©6 238 611 46 927 902 683 728 170 626 278 836 1847 626 S49 768 967 624 ' 747 472 .644 1061 961 8pl ■70S ■442 629 279 . I1S4^ 1481 781 973 658 1062 691 279 ■ 578 42 1808 1276 669 412 244 778 263 811 Me^l f. ■.■.:: ■.:::: 1121 MiKPon. ^Sy, Iji^A Bteltens tW BjuBeU m I^dolph : 624 Shelby. 4tj7 atuCl^ 619 11 SO 988 786 436 Walker 867 487 Washington 277 Total 28562 46789 15038 26881 '" 80482 31363' 26084 87740 28471 38991 JSuchanan over Piilmore, 18,187; Pierce over Scott, 11,843 ; Cass over Taylor, 881 ; Polk over Clay, 11,666 ; Van Buren over Hai-rison, 6,520. a.^ISSISSIFE'I. COUNTIES. Am. Fillmore. Dem. Bucli'au , Wing. Scott. Van. Pierce. Wiiiq. Taylor. J>tm. Cass. Wltig. Clay. J)em. P,lk. Whig. UanisoD, VanJJ. 605 601 440 168 846 837 226 413 890 639 629 83 263 709 216 Hi) , 1122 BOO 162 109, ]l4 T15 872 6ft , 80S 70 : 489-^ 129 . 653 446 889 629 1250. 676 612 69 476 ' 167 20'J 263 113 279 60T 1121 409 120 187 D25 66 176 983 44, 880 z 106 988 88T 111 781 622 1127 861 887 840 1159 842 return. 751 585 414 186 76 1289 599 826 856 , 286' 665, 604 801 815, 863 976 1466 341 1065 265 601 464 427 595 185 6.38 661 1892 646 89 841. 433 44S 276 1862 f 314 816 825 67 . 828 270 169 272 187 83? 478 4l& 781 .153 61 973 419 . 156 ^44 48 402 243 13 202 38 817 97 499 198 810 401 1078 440 467 48 87T 61 107 211 94 14? «! %\ 98 143 760 20 442 673 264 •88 t88 858 : Z: ' TIS 8D3 ■ 467 _S88 254 114, 889 4S4 276, 112 iM ■ 213, 817 !»11 896 T45 885 688 069 1804 497 971 207 413 248 217 844 112 412 883 1080 851 48, 244 270 2-17 186 1S12 34 643 4fc0 426 89 883 464 189 491 211 642 846 135 Unorga 886 226 184 1206 643, 165 157 65 667 843 82 882 i95 416 |g- $28 474, 821 ,99 SIT 241 143 277 678 75T 866 ,88 286 210 152 206 840 SI 865 663- 809 ,49 921 368. 130 687 282 743 948 846 nized. 723 249 79 822 620 172 116 68 880 808 166 290 135 460 488 780' 269 667 760 1844 497 1062 162 667 254 197 424 69 898 844 999 870 22 264 287 273 219 1190 25 763 2T6 429 55 678 434 143 447 115 426 886 98, 671 172 62 1199 678 108 57 Unorga 868 21d itv 864 291' 94 644 190 256 642 108S 612 649 68 619 166 148 241 123 282 48? 884 811 T 178 94 112 179 480 86 452 803 861 61 74^ 429 162 649 868 624 632 808, 709 220 176 915 498 . 169 127 nized.- - 825 463- 216 888 117 860 286 681 .682 1184 466 911 264 67T 286 270 336 71 444 408 709 406 14 800 249 ■259 218 1004 24 862 272 500 62 711 688 181 671 124 888 142 116 871 186 91 1207 566 281 170 289 26 412 66 826 • 128 620 145 289 882- 1006 691 462 186 614 118 • 109 195 110 814 832 287 881 201 89 41 186 821 76 488 'Attala Amite Bolivar. 806 294 44 527 Glaibome Coahoma 89» 109 546 ^la^k 288 480 Chickasaw 204 283 GaJfaoun .... 849 138 Greene 125 658 818 — Hancock. « . 107 894 268 172 229 106 400 46J 626 XeaJse 444 Lafayette 866 Marshall... u.. 614 312 4S7 175 872 164 NSf^ton 194 219 94 Pike S'i6 829 Rdnkin . . • 262 — 219 gl^th 179 108 Sallabatetaie 124 ■unica.. D3 330 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK fOE 1860. ♦ Ml.'iirfiSIPPI-iOmtimnd.) 1856. 1852. 1848. 1844. 1840. COUNTIES. Am. Fillraofe, ' jDem. Biich'an, Whig. SCOLt. Dem. Pierce. WMa. layjor. Dan. Cass. Whig. Clay': Sem. Polk. Whig. I^airison. Dem. VonB. Tippah '. Wilkinson 816 872 No 890 148 301 T85 716 601 400 return. 447 135 7T6 608 848 569 271 71 728 129 218 453 549 1232 865 61 494 90 448 669 633 981 465 97 890' 179 807 641 843 1286 291 62 478 71 425 497 846 692 441 102 922' 209 201 678 719 ^1170 • 855- 95 607 108 475 580 898 • 681. ■ ■ 663 ••94-. 1006. . 162 262 561 789 S84 14S 8T Warren...' Waahington Winston 482 64 288 860 Yallobuslia...... 643 Total 24195 85446 17548 26876 25922 26537 19206 ,25120 19518 1699S Buchanan over Fillmore, 11,251 ; Pierce over Scott, 9,328 j Cass over Taylor, 615 ; Polk over Clfty,-5,& son over Van Buren, 2,528. >; Haiti- 3Sr O E. TH O .A. It O Xi I 3?T A._ CODNTIES. Am. Dem. Wldg. Dem. W7tig. Dem. Whig. Dem. WJng. Dem. Fillmore. Buch'an. Scott. Pierce. Taylor. Cass. Clay. Polk. HarribOD Van B. Alamance.', 452 717 With Orange. . Unorgs nized. Alexander. 822 814 219 98 Unorga nized. Anson 723 811 ^2 869 1084 859 1012 481 1194 895 Ashe 617 531 658 896 660 858 622 477 578 460 Beaufort 796 525 910 674 923 463 982 627 7«1 809 Bertie 511 453 498 444 524 802 475 489 496 885 Bladen 367 463 871 582 230 841 280 486 846 • 414 Brunswick 8S4 864 852 801 319 287 851 283 350 230 Burke 811 878 761 889 1210 286 1234 228 1623 809 Buncombe 731 778 657 876 996 484 961 412 1486 452 594 374 865 864 642 493 871 146 766 508 877 96 718 598 874 219 891 Fr. Mnrke 864 Caldwell * Wilke.. Camden 474 89 608 107 498 70 556 101 612 100 Carteret 889 463 414 . 883 474 817 •484 816 464- 186 Caswell 212 168 Sl7 653 226 With 931 Lincoln. 298 Unorga 1087 nized. 288 1182 276 1169 Catawba. Chatham 787 761 1008 725, 1038 619 1186 729 1124 668 Cherokee 522 448 634 290 549 175 390 226 414 118' Chowan 212 255 225 219 295 171 805 166 880 168 Cleveland 71 796 211 494 814 421 866 624. From and But liBColn herford. Columbus 212 627 178 357 '169 274 185 368 204 SIS Craven 475 767 695 1257 683 811 694 1488 696 812 616 •1191 632 70S 222 ■ 1101 666 612 640 Cumberland 950 Currituck 128 638 184 490 193 466 157 651 143- 468 Davidson 964 634 1019 497 1087 620 1091 610 1441 890 Davie 477 279 414 259 448 251 529 282 687 225 Duplin 117 1178 186 930' 818 939 223 986 268 807 Edgecombe 151 1581 89 1454 143 1335 126 1508 185 1874 Forayth 772 1048- With Stokes. Unorga nized. Franklin 255 798 363 704 841 653 836 im 874 '«83 Gaston 68 697 With Lincoln. Unorga nized. Gates 805 888 ■ 368 868 879 289 855 S55 - S7« S2S 756 218 1060 875 991 82S 945 826 969 818 831 287 9S6 802 276 ■983 297 ■ 778 Greene 215 Guilford 1515 418 1662 845 1714 878 2134 Sl5 •2300. ' 414 Halifax 509 688 497 424 682 446 692 456 ■604. 866 Haywood 191 413 814 802 413 213 842 267 . 431. 221 406 875 484 801 493 290 210 286 641 816 116' 144 655 809 141. 253 InBun 896- Hertford 199 Hyde 898 248 835 227 495 286 818 164 481. 89 Iredell 1241 802 909 280 1187 211 1682 880 1780.. 828 Jackson 65 404 With Ha ywood. Unorga nized. Johnston 619 968. 708 870 646 746 695 650 597.. 649 Jones 1S7 261 211 424 191 282 201 897 242 232 136 834 203 225 142 . 856 248 No 132 return. Lincoln ... . ^ 226 614 621 1418 828 1598 790 1736 1000 1963 808 247 809 240 427 207 874 224 438 . 168 Madison 182 811 460 725 With 289 Tancey. Unorga 361 nized. 645 810 630 291 Martin 696 Mecklenberg 578 1031 680 , 1116 775 946-' " 909 1201 1000 1246 McDowell 274 880 With Burke. 559 161' With Burke. Unorga nizod. 646 489 108 440 620 646 182 484' 683 683 82 406 658 640 189 500 1186 629 105 '495 Nash 61 1068 88 . 1030 ' 113 798 74 894. 78 797 New Hanover 6T7 1472 883 1400 464 1255 832 1122 298 1043 466 621 45S 630 493 488 619 864 650 838 146 638 178 597 211 636 194 717 14-3 690 Orange Pasquotank Verquimans 747 909 . 1441 1307 1667 1585 1686 1689. 1639 1448 532 299 639 316 570 244 663 232 693 149 846 254 824 270^ 484 258 440 228 696 184 POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 2a] SOBTB OABOLnrA—lfionUmutd.) COUNTIES. Person Pitt Polk Randolph . . Richmond. . . Robeson HocUingham Rowan Rutherford.. Sampson . . . Stanly Stokes Surry Tytirel ...... Union Wake WaiTen Watauga . . . Washington.. Wayne WUkes. Yadkin Yancy Total . . . . 1856. Am. JDmn. Pillmoi-e. Uuch'an 2T9 6T0 124 1025 500 566 412 858 781 881 362 27r 236 TB9 78 863 864 208 992 694 548 730 158 836 176 678 1001 779 576 927 108 658 706 92 655 1472 841 148 286 1172 830 433 616 1852. Whig. Scott. 6^9 Unoi'ga 1086 678 660 842 886 761 604 ,714 1081 1046 2S6 With Me 1032 167 With 1073 With 89058 Dan. Pierce, 471 602 nized. 277 146 672 801 867 58 1287 987 87 cklenb'g 1357 691 Ashe. • 210 1067 242 Surry. 857 1848. Whig. Taylor. 846 686 1196 699 612 725 1014 1132 800 775 1028 156 Unorga 8T8 258 1060 Unorga 81m Sen. easy. 518 479 71 545 766 660 126 741 14 43550 945 1247 067 nized. 149 908 121 nizsd. aj. 84SC9 1844. VMa- Oliiv. 276 634 1171 802 589 430 833 1810 1034 996 288 Unorga 1044 128 264 1208 48282 : 89237 Dem. rollt. 649 476 ;117 599 1022 636 290 878 48 1153 830 92 nized. 1874 810 124 911 181 427 1840. ^'hig, Dcm. [I»ni^nll. Van 11. 214 627 1344 820 679 547 942 1802 663 In Mont 1212 1101 1026 105 1450 415 46S70 597 ,891 102 506 906 602 540 741 gomery. 1061 812 83 1149 754 54 731 114 290 S3782 Buchanan over Fillmore, 11,360 ; Kerce over Scott, 686 ; Taylor over Cass, 8,681 ; Clay over Polk; 3,946 ; Harrison over Van Bm-en, 12,694. Ml'. Hale received 69 votes in this State, in 1852, and-Mr. Van Buren 36; in 1348. T B I^ ]Sr E S S B E. COUNTIES. Am. Dem. Whit,. Dem. Wlitg. Dem. WMg. Dm. WMg. Dem. Fillmore. Buch'an, Scott. Pierce, Taylor, Cass. flay. I'olk. Haniiion, Vai. 'H, Anderson 649 348 602 267 ■ 602 250 620 826 625 «2T Bledsoe 854 271 464 209 608 229 629 269 644 202 Blount. 1246 623 827 566 965 663 104-6 , 735 1193 640 Bradley 653 1078 547 778 760 927 672 95y 467 791 Bedford 1567 1873 1390 1356 1497 1331 1466 1526 1ST3 2166 Benton' 468 632 840 485 392 459 292 431 269 801 Campbell ^ 845 484 813 252 478 279 337 313 481 328 Carter 728 228 635 140 745 129 739 177 837 99 Cheatham 428 465 Unorga nized. Claiborne 643 785 603 519 700 744 678 867 681 733 Cocke 795 489 743 196 818 1S9 844 187 917 80 428 307 809 990 463 205 727 722 469 832 827 948 818 280 761 . 1000 Unorga Unorga nized. Coffee niied. • GatTolI 1710 863 1498 649 1493 560 1366 624 1361 85a Guinberland 243 261 Unorga nized. « 8259 554 882 468 2074 795 816 496 2623 559 1013 400 2069 583 769 816 2698 671 886 Unorga 19'76 678 674 nized. 2266 483 339 1688 491 706 1960 Unorga 896 1274 De Kalb nized. 653 I>yer 666 118 831 1032 599 •583 1427 - 1080 603 163 830- 1006 411 414 1138 . KI34. 383 118 890 1217 271 432 1207 1060 856 60 868 1205 272 466 • 1123 1151 446 140 645 1140 206 823 Franklin 1461 Payette 902 1117 380 786 1352 : 852 : 780 477 1807 1094 968 489 1488 998 1081 548 1701 1096 . 11032 449 Greene 1559 1236 28 1332 916 1064 241 1684 425 1284 1144 1051 626 1303 44 1570! 778. 774 241 1447, 827 901 831 648 886. 1.389 Unorga 1423 1262 635 Unorga 1511 nized. 6S8 1248 634 nized. 1301 1820 1173 644 1387 611 1388 624 1190 1272 3063 606 1242 41& 1251 473 748 288 906' 1086 1 6J3 211 808 839 621 801 770 ' 988 5051 255 732 1034 662 298 581 952 280 691 1818 897 842 1871 469' 1261 695 1888 805 1827 920 567 178 1180' . 268 716 1193 899 799 lim 365 1118- 471 1024 611 1616 782 312 93 708 809 728 1236 860 800 1468. 882 1269 482 1016 460 1849 672 215 66 801 305 689 1209 885 756 1563 870 1211 523 1077 492 1312 668 247 19 807 in : 676 1313 362 307 lau 590 1802 883 860 277 1079 576 181 49 591 2561 ■ 614> 25 431 398 9T0 . 125 883 876 242 2670 411 1059 63S 1368 649 43 606 230 796 141 565 588 186 2297 277 866 442 2140 696 Unorga 680 279 ; 960 150 489 544 nized, 2534 274 1024 534 2015 489 658 286 878 120 507 647 2494 211 1061 1 620 1 2096 637 881 Unorga 1022 119 814 87a 2531 nized. 897 Meigs 1. 6se S32 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOB 1860. TENlTESSBE—iConiiim^d). COUNTIES. 1S56. 1822. 1848. 1844. Am. Hem. Wliig. Bern. Whig. Jlem. vniig. ,Dem.. Fillmore. Buch'nii. tiCOLC. Pitrco. Tai'lor.. Cass. Clay. I'pllt. 523 444 453 292 662 336 603 ' 881 SOT 1041 805 847 962 eeo 839 1086. 162 263 2-10 222 229 187 211 282 1816 1823 18'34 1799 1616 1970 1292 ■ 1988 1868 944 1260 993 1283 969 1271 1029 649 1278 666 1840 T30 1408 635 1338 ■ 539 626 616 374 Unorga nized. 9t;» 1123 956 067 939 786 773 741 1601 981 1426 619 1562 737 1337 768 322 1503 345 1039 467 •- 1112 836 1145 538 930 481 644 8S7 :■ 487 282 336 402 798 272 470 867 517 260 488 862 623 825 814 4B8 • 287 744 . 618 811 448 800 807 298 . 824 232 363 1028 829- 820 678 '998 ■ an 900 735 1089 928 1013 769 12^6 ' 839 1193 871 1469 1368 1495 IBIS- 1754 ^1? 1780 1500 921 164 621 80 787 738 78 136 224 804 100 Unqrga □jzed. 648 1477 260 1114 436 1875 850 1533 1396 729 1742 520 2380 • 719 2328 788 606 893 823 607 574 705 ■ 519 704 859 1894 823 1668 922 1994 ■881 2017 2114 2044 1824 1628 1828 1607 1623 1352 424 668 867 665 862 482 860 602 103 263 107 165 130 198 116 190 . 828 1334 663 858 S62 1016 881 1223 411 1130 •844 922 407 1101 385 1190 114 563 666 880 673 866 665 446 808 740 949 513 1064 603 857 468 1646 ■ 775 1583 763 1883 793 19S6 859 2186 1184 2248 923 2517 998 2607 1042 869 1628 783 1149 669 1080 660 10S4 60178 7S688 .68898 57018 64705 5S419 60030 59917 1840. wing- Hai't'ibOn, Han. Vnn B. Marion Monroe Morgan Maury Montgomery . Marshall -. Macon McNairy , . . . Mudison . . . , . Overton Obion Polk Perry Bhea lUlOffne RobertaoD . . . Rutherford... SeVier...... . Sootft 'Sulllraa Smith Stewart Sumner Shelby Tipton Tan Buren... Washington . . Warren. Wayne White WilliamBon... Wilson Weakley 928 211 1497 1101 Unorga] 906 1312 829 267 Unorga 781 209 1047 1167 1706 2657 457 794 950 578 Unorga 892 513 760 1201 2017 2650 528 868 928 161 202S 790 nized. 477 687 888 86T' nized. " 60391 546 650 1475 45 1886 688 642 1788 631 688 nized. 1088 1944 266 886 681 870 Buchanan over Fillmore, 7,460; Scott over Pierce, 1,880 ; Taylor over .Cass, 6,286; Clay over Polk, 118 ; Harrison over Van Buren, 12,102. ijOmsiA.3xr A.. COUNTIES. Am. nem. Wliig. Dem. Whig. Bern. FiUiuore. liucU'iin. Scott. Pierce. Taylor. Cass. 276 479 296 360 288 286 195 837 611 353 469 286 823 584 800 387 299 859 296 706 172 813 114 189 202 475 180 248 17 493 458 844 342 281 300. 25 296 84 221 41 181 102 808 54 168 90 149 678 852 830 606 221 823. 288- 441 219 261 268 235 411' 448 280 810 820 886 163 135 121 86 183 96 200 610 241 288 i 149 217 640 693 484 485 400 406 846 464 842 448 849 394 183 264 110 192 124 162 265 617 818 426 429 2S5 8S7 588 174 841 127 193 987, 128* 122- 928 943 717 660 458 117 277. 108 220 800 753 676. 135, 739 161 281 891 159 SS7 : 144 ?ll: 239 210 171 147 283 851 832 106 137 173 101 420 688 289 407 884 495 5S58 2475 4668 4662 5551 4579 194 131 67 161 Tnorga nized. 260 890 190 240 168 176 205 248 151 872 187 830 266 621 242 864 238 370 584 763 401 628 883 643 189 84C 287 261 246 271 128 12:- 180 120' 124 89 807 110-5 692 563 764 876 809 272 209 246 109 183 804 227 254 2'18 273 188 WJiiff. ClHy. Wliig, HarrifaO'ii. JDem. Van H. Ascension Assumption AvoyeMes Bienville , Bossier Caddo Calcisieu , Caldwell Claiborne Carroll Cattkhoula Concordia De Soto E. Baton Rouge . . E. Feliciana . Franklin Iberville Jackson Jefferson liafayette "La. Fourche Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Orleans R. B. » . . . Ouachita Plaquemine l?t. €oupee ]&apides ^ablne St. Bernard St. Landry St, Helena fit. Tammany 2B5 189 Unorga 59 2^10 42 lat nized. 403 399 137 206 1007 175 .199 218 289 250 Unorga WithNa With No No 96 259 269 Unorga 324 860 Unorga 218 840 223 nized. tcliito'es Landry. return. return. 114 231 118 nized. 808 430 nized. 183 No 538 127 147 , Unorga 667 40 147 473 Unorga 173 886 172 204 return. 44 207 111 nized.' 610 1748 130 250 ISO es2 nize'l. 91 484 80 POPULAR VOTE POS PRESIDENT. 233 Lo msiAMA-iapemmtA.) CO'OTTIES. Bt. Charles St. James £t. John Baptiste . . St. Mary et. Mavtin Tensas Terrebonne ...... Union Vermillion West Baton Rouge . Washington West Feliciana Winn Total 207109 22164 1856. Am. Fillmoi-c 67 380 1196, 449 541 157 397 645 ljl6 aoo 142 1S6 157 Jtim, Ruch'an 104 172 217 874 147 804 290 814 1853. Scott. 17255 Eiovco. 153 160 243 298 IF 47 4«5 126 lis 18647 1848. whn. lajlor. Unorga 18217 Difln. :85 117 128 166 240 111 129. 2*7 62 109 190 261 nized. 15370 1844. WJliq. Cluy. 861. J42< 3S2 479 157 265 206 176 209 127 MS 18088 Jfem. Pdlk. 42 181 118 142 803 108 164 213 104 104 230 308 18762 1840. wMa. lliinihoii 879 183 Unorga 818 74 Unorga 188 150 263 11296 Dem, Van B. nized, 8T 4fi 8T 108 nized. 20 70 84 184 Buclianan over Fillmore, 1,455 ; PierQe over Scott, 1,S@2 j layllor over Oass, 2j847 ; Polk over C!lay, £ over Van Buren, 8,680, t ; Harrison JE E IsT -r TT-O K -!2-. COUNTIDS. Am. Filimoi-a. Deou , Bueli'ari. Whig. ■ Scott. ', Dam. Pierce. '. Wilis. ■ T»jlo.ii Cuss. :W}tig. Clay. ■ Polli. Jflng. Hiiiiibon, Dtm, Vnii B. Adair.... AUen Anderson Ballard -. " 299 828 ■ 1581 6^2 r 967 957 876 §r6 ]a2 1M3 645 671 468 206 906 "^4S9 298 601 1880 946 421, 261 506 635 161 474 1404 949 85. 883 340 SIO 866 639 475 477 408 866 4S5 1226 831 965 509 ?g 244 867 4982 614 14., 1248. 583, 646' , loss 713 787 655 1282 , 1028 818, 601 862 742 502 6528 ■ 561 .. 451 607 , 1209 1219 611 787 415 1098 418 869 622 .6M 885 963 421 648 1006 848 939 794 460 269 423 676 1880 651 ■ 689 865 407 982 . 264 1096 816 767 1050 681 ■ 1188 2972 66S 708 1648 271 489 467 280 292 260 ■ 1119 687 1 800 , 978 , 603 688 96 842 408 812 781 189 B77 446 180 474 978 842 278 277 896 1027 " 208 858 1876 888 165 888 152 872 863 4^7 446 483 422 687 1067 802 465 616 7^7, 8665 656 64 975 487 417 597 464 606 323 967 785 7«9 , 528 , 828 517 234 440 446 2()9 874 815 1098 47s 497. 230 186 84S, 486 157 711 218 822 809 «98 222 769 233 411 572 971 894 487 660 205 : , 619 65 , 947 678 685 988 879 809 8791 4T6 ■ 299 1384 ■ 668 433 884 27T 1462, 724 985 1172 778 795 143 1006 499 , 849 ^6 227 511 4B8 248 . ,629 1182 1046 877 2B6 342 642 - 986 249 485 1641 1159 Unprga 860 1187 485 468 607 517 850 ■ 891 586 781 827 169 796 1161 6S2 106 986 648 478 549 653 647 281 104s ■ 782- 769 4«6., 347 472 161 422 899 204 841 ' 664 814, 428 510 196 786 319 125 294 899 153 605 209 288 781 700 225 664 nized. 868 191 ,, 529 ' 772 845 612 F 516 166 1 681 , ■, 66 896 528 569 1022 858 766 • 970 489 ' 214 , 1228 ■ 159 34S 4)01 281 282 1806 611, ; 888 ,1208 , 617 , 753- JS' . 760 204 358 862 148 468 1122 996 ( 885 262 284 590 80S 174 892 1695 ai43 190 616 84S IIS8 8^6 886 482 827 698 277 ■ 095 834 869 579 , 719 708 804 701 .092 616 687 689 882 685 562 400 , 1108 788 712 621 11 231 464 436 290 966 772 6l8 ., 370 608 214 825 314 8l5 399 107 622 251 216 824 - 771 840 6^ 861 229 4S3 884 386 1042 385 218 \1 975 553 688 1044' 740 814 1042 469 252 920 164 883 223 201 181 Unorga 7S7 485 580 992 486 Unorga 755 209 184 802 99 484 Unorga 404 878 876 nized. 825 Bath 470 4ISi 416 fiojrle 276 Breathitt Sreckenrldge BulUtt i 176 319 Butler , 184 497 780 Campbell 1026 nized. Unorga nized. Casey 176 670 883 -202 No 804 445 122 No 1266 898 . 80 509 , 483 . 814, 247 . 163 268 274 857 152 698 174 , 445 216 364 62T 19S 403 610 613 Unorga 220 470 Qlark 226 168 return. 144 Jfaviefe 844 144 return. Fayette 689 464 649 Franklin Fidton Gallatin Garrard. ..J, , firant Graves ... - 560 - 626 218 225 86S 16S Green 890 265 72 fiardin , Harlan Harrison kart 626 53 714 887 860 794 521 881 584 889 nized. Unorga nized. Knox tarue 809 95 234 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. KENTUCKY— {Oontwrned.) COUNTIES. Laurel liawrence . . . Ijetcher Lewis Lincoln Livingston . . Logan Lyon Madison . . . . Marion MafL'shall.^ . . . Mason McCracken . MeLeau . . . . Meade., i... Mercer Montgomery Monroe Morgan Muhlenburg. Nelson . . . . Nicholas . . . . Ohio Oldham Owen Owsley Pendleton. ,. Perry Pike Powell Pulaski Rock Castle. Rowan Russell Scott Shelby Simpson . . . . Spencer Taylor Todd Trlgff Trimbl* .... Union Warren . . Washington . Wayne ..... Whitley.... Woodford... Total IS 56. Am. Fillniort 408 4G6 79 686 796 457 1618 263 1087 413 104 1303 ceo 404 714 616 546 661 798 . 663 818 8S7 554 885 746 178' 161 167 956 417 106 448 674 1262 487 891 81T 762 581 275 653 1354 441 .615 572 672 -«- 67416 Huch'ftii. 365 478 287 631 459 372 606 390 882 1154 943 994 605 476 402 1121 451 661 1063 747 1041 709 901 628 157D 401 782 295 706 177 1886 184 287 429 1049 778 587 434 672 673 869 599 925 695 1145 420 74642 1852. Whir/. Scott. 872 885 68 400 674 812 1294 Unorga 976 782 91 1887 386 Unorga 647 694 518 877 816 814 958 592 701 888 505 294 262 180 221 111 707 826 Unorga 487 729 1184 652 560 800 499 982 637 463 No 706 67068 Pierce. 187 862 78 603 888 267 884 nized. 541 768 425 896 416 nized. 280 914 889 850 609 658 487 721 624 486 1186 826 670 77 194 183 622 97 nized. 195 888 768 527 491 612 600 680 842 return. 410 53806 1848. Whig, Tiijlor. 488 414 No 621 882 408 1402 1818 766 120 1631 407 718 784 688 686 413 746 1149 673 718 476 875 No 225 Unorga 947 437 619 797 14.34 448 460 Unorga 808 588 861 501 1226 721 689 584 778 67141 Dem. Cass. 145 818 - return. 666 825 265 664 629 496 9S8 808 1088 648 879. 490^ 437 464 704 642 488 810 24S 699 return. 140 nized. 734 95 180 734 716 428 851 nized. 409 632 486 678 406 387 49720 1844. WMg. Olay. 847 29 506 769 424 1407 1202 715 94 1603 650 557 673 451 247 mi 1826 678 601 426 485 165 287 113 251 727 451 481 803 1441 466 469 784 657 263 507 1182 660 5.35 481 750 Vera. Polk. 124 845 161 643 886 827 874 787 600 799 195 985 697 478 612 489 608 708 513 625 937 129 680 84 708 73 178 938 796 418 608 406 661 607 584 687 709 842 99 478 1840. Whig. Harrison. 171 68 Unorga 845 618 226 902 972 No 1231 149 622 Unorga 57 844 765 428 813 854 174 Unorga 183 514 400 544 1827 327 650 . 271 Unorga 205 763 263 615 6&4S9 I>em. Vmi B. nized. 100 207 81 T 801 289. m return; ', 608' 106 128 983 888 nized; 836 227 425 489 247 500 649 nized. 172 213 443 158 127 998 586 257 347 212 nized. 80 825 32616 Buchanan over Fillmore, 7,226 ; Scott over Pierce, 8,262 ; Taylor over Cass, 17,421 ; Clay over Polk, 9,267 ; Harii- BOn over Van Buren, 25,873. A.H1S.A.T^SA.S. COUNTIES.' J Am. ; Fillmore. , Dem. IsncU'an. Whin. Scott. , Bern. Pierce. Tilylor. Van. Cass. WMsf. Clay. Dan. . Polli. Wliin. Harrison. Deni. Van B. Arkansas Ashley Benton 224 No 75 848 56 ' 184 167 192 604 147 161 No 218 225 192 116 « 51 No 415 181 226 return. 753 398 ' 291 666 ' 166 528 676 408 371 return. 336 834 377 449 210 return. 610 4T8 120 88 91 188 62 124 85 136 Unorga 110 153 95 150 185 118 106 18 , 94 298 12£ 140 146 ZU 180 161 833 ■! 118 205 nized. 269 286 97 194 199 ^ 185 224 77 211 S60 li59 80 Unorga 90 237 Unorga 189 146 193 149 845 ■ 104 203 208 198 Returns 62 18 875 141 74 nized. 290 124 nized, 261 110 228 171 ' 457 ' 68 265 ■ 149 ' 249 rejected. 98 46 830 178 80 96 144- Ino 210' 1?4 885 109 Unorga Unorga 146' No 87 814 ' 120 93 861 154 return. 153 217 283' 565' 129 nized.' 55 nized. 261 return. ■ 206 . 859 237 120 72 68 191 119 177 835 95 173 Vole rcj.'Q roruwillly mrtj. for V 18 210 55 78 245 223 Chicot 43 Clark Columbia Conway Crawford 201 847 71 Dallas Desha ...'■ Drew Prinklin Fulton Greene , 78 ted Tor in> . It wDa GO An Buren, lOB 251 103 Hot Springs ... POtULAE VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 235 ARKANSAS— i donUnued.) 1856. 18S2. 1848. 1844. 1840. Am. Fillmore. Dem. liuch'ftii. Scott. Dem. Pierce. Wliig. Taylor. Dem. Cuss. Whig. Clily. Devi. I'olk. vring. Flarriaoii. Dem. V»ii B. Independence Surd 612 94 486 881 118 120 282 79 126 121 129 45 82 601 44 464 , 47 78 No 163- 229 666 67 213 98 61 892 286 808 516 78 867 201 147 ■860 495 691 615 458 176 717 649 898 188 238 863 182 701 125 626 ,296 ;248 ■ return.; ,668 ' ;898 ,789 ;416 404 ;2i5 808 802 528 498 626 805 917, 403. 883 452 69 292 224 198 148 299 76 40 44 57 28 8 462 15 883 40 48 17 183 78 286 82 137 28 75 160 60 172 884 No 826 97 166 612 226 835 806 884 170 417 274 137 88 92 111 79 496 88 878 168 182 94 826 170 419 95 277 88 197 288. 125 807 681 return. 495 139 825 422 No 194 195 194 85 289 87 49 118 118 Returns 2 571 29 No 67 44 17 240 41 438 ,60 i47 61 No 108 208 653 95 877 48 408 return. 235 177 . 860 ■ . 98 : 291 214 • 49 110 98 , rejeotefl! 64 428 80 return. 138 116 59 : 292 . Ill 455 129 ■ 244. 180 return. 195 260 635 186 480 60 278 124 180 il41 ! 81 112 68 No No 92 With Ho 16 220 88 280 No 29 No 241 835 184 147 481 70 267 ?66 returix. return. 78 ts^rln^g. :1S4 .65 276 ■ return. 171 return. 303 870 79 107 17? 160 43 138 135 21. 80 124 238 23 4 183 606 46 . 14^ 82 76 82 124 28 422 82 198 174 J^kson 143 JefTerson Johnson 109 824 LaLfayette 25 , 214 MadiBon Marion MiBsiBsippi 268 112 73 Monroe 44 Newton Perry Phillins 24T like...::::::;:;::::: 87 Poinsett .". 180 Polk Pope 263 Prairie Unorganized. Fulaski 488 69 ISO 85 114 99 214 46 % 80' 628 .801 219 16T 801 269 409 121 729 128 249 499 252 Saline . 185 112 maj. 60 Sebastian;. 197 246 %ziion 178 151 WBsnmgion.......... 620 40 Yell....: 187 ] 186 Total 10787 21910 7404 H178 7888 1 9300 5504 9546 6160 6766 1 Buchanan over Fillmore, 11,128; Pierce over Scott, 4,7 Van Bui'en over Harrison, 1,606. Case over Taylor, 1,712 j Polk over Clay, 4,042; I«IISSOTJEiI. COUNTIES. Am. Fillmore. Adair Andrew Atchison Audrain Barry Barton Bates Benton Bollinger Boone Buchanan Butler Caldwell Calloway Camden ■ . ; Cape Girardeau Carroll Cass..'. Cedar Chariton Clark 1.... Clay Clinton Cole Coopei" Crawford Dade Dallas Daviess,, Dent .De Kalb Dunklin Dodge Franklin Gasconade Depi. Gticli'an 428 132 565 148 58 265 159 199 1829 768 84 237 1095 210 664 440 T21- 756 406 269 787 460 880 77 172 Ml No 581 220 410 889 845 621 488 64 409 467 418 958 1036 148- 295 , 805 269 898 669 661 891 569 687 6T5 397 147 return. 846 Wliiff. Scott. 118 466 106 200 72 Unorga 104 167 28 1112 712 16 167 670 67 828 65 848 652 216 7T8 645 484 240 418 176 464 102 672 296 896 74 N SI 277 8£ Dem. Pierce. 201 784 160 160 , 263 nlzed. 116 828 112 618 867 » 26 209 493 109 487 286 887 162 493 289 406 290 462 585 278 276 844 851 96 . 167 return. 86 619 804 wing. Taylor. 884 77 185 65 146 203 Unorga 1102 704 Unorga 128 849 165 486 266 No 116 417 284 626 290 277 818 -268 166 l(iB 269 tJborga 87 42 Unorga 889 87 689. 136 1«6 217 186 _ 882 nized. 583 1055 nized. 168 681 Dem.. Cass. 709 298 return. 271 577 242 418 286 631 688 275 806 288 368 nized. 146 849 Wliig. Clay. 364 Unorga 175 142 206 252 1190 940 70 618 242 257 Unorga 371 225 765 810 418 901 -237 255 76 816 Unorga nized. Unorganized. Mim. .Polk. 450 941 nized. 163 4T8 807 664 602 1162 793 247 914 811 443 nized. 602 220 652 567 1122 783 867 690 845 446 889 71 796 WMg. HiinisOD. Unorga Unorga Unorga 150 1112 840 188 881 Unorga '458 112 Unorga 246' 240 457 187 848 778 '240 Unorga Unorga 170 855 186 Dcm. Vhij K. nized. nlzed. 122 486 ed,. 601 £00 1128 154 626 nized. 764 182 nizedk. 649 694 264 nized. " nlzed. 264 552 836 A POLITICAL gBEXT-BOOK TOE" 1860. MISSOUBI—iConHmted). 1856. 1853. 1848. 1844. 1840. COUNTIES. Am. Fillmoi-e. i?fi7n. iuch'an. Whi!,. Scott, Sejn. Pierce. WUg. ■ TRylor. Bern. Cass. WMg. Ulay. Dem. Polk. WIrig. Ilarijson, Bern. Van H. Gentry (Sreen Grundy 896 1008 8SD 818 402 130 240 798 894 294 528 844 891 225 1298 858 ' 642 572 888 480 01 . 485 865 67 1321 417 108 817 887 1012 608 227 296 286 188 87 61 111 207 432 1131 1040 412 68 267 684 606 744 82 41 588 210 401 808 6384 858 287 862 845 14 482 161 8 260 84 91 172 878 487 100 189 64 757 . 1029 885 : 495. 869 '• 888 ■ 409...' 867- .' 1168 898 887 ' 54» 471 821 654 574 ■ 761 846.- 400 501 290i' 934 418 ■ 2416 727 466 224 827 427 7S2 865 408 284 628 483 412 : 824 - T49 ' 119 686 819 1113 1263 662 268 , , 488 869 595 874 114'' 806 772 847 641 8g6 6584 699 472 682 222 40 873 815^ 187 558 888 479 802 869 578 m 468- 267 138 484 215 111 266 75 189 676 728 169 172 860 210 71 808 168 898 440 249 251 68 , 865 117 Unorga 894 186 62 117 189 760 836 138 98 107 61 143 11 82 67 171 245 803 910 260 ■ 89 104 841 476 488 6 16 878 149 250 122 4298 614 177 216 69 207 116 17 127 11 96 63 801 860 Unorga 288 920 184 164 245 194 291 762 . 858 866 810 466 268 184 632 890 408 687 282 821 194 478 269 nized. 751 186 279 168 853 611 265 278 82 823 111 872 95 67 84 213 801 763 1060 504 169 121 ' 278 602 613 98 83 598 226' 529 166 6826 448 222 288 97 9 828 177 94 277 163 167 168 801 884 1-44 nlzed. 1 M7 152 401 223 83 274 98 148 801 695 181 246 834 196 Unorga 916 170 4T9 666 230 196 Unorga 360 281 1046 144 76 188 161 807 879 167 323 161 43 92 Unorga 69 Unorga 822 230 793 1102 281 124 74 897 607 509' 21 14 477. 148 285 142 4827 686 204 181 147 S5 175 97 Unorga 164 64 82 Unorga 851 , 478 91 72 896 826 187 144 239 224 248 888 964 294 311 . 451 197 nized. 585 374 479 696 297 878 . nized. 470 877 797 183 878 181 466 661 186 842 168 461 148 812- nized. 113 nized. 389 265 784 1494 616 241 120 299 608 628 148 154 569 2«3 274 168- 4778 488' 192 240 217 64 263 196 nized. 260 325 185 nized. 386 428 245 181. Unorga 851 846 Unorga 280 Unorga 185 1013 614 115 827 867 Unorga 820 Unorga 380 578 869 827. 188 1017 Unorga 74 Unorga Unorga 792 859 262 298 189 .Unorga 120. 67 885 228 861 900 273 86 Unorga 422 696 699 Unorga 81 480 177 801 198 8688 691 Unorga 817 258 67 244 115 Unorga Unorga 864 613 86 ■ 97 nized. 817 865 nized. 2S3 nized. 878 969 862 242 849 511 nized. 576 nized. 403 683 494 851 467 899 721 nized. 369 nized. nized. 678. 282 644 2U8 665 nized. 434 208 ' 463 819 809 18 S6 . 686 825 nlzed. 832 671 734 nized. , 266 603 342 234 245 8829 446 nize^., 442 4SP 271 209 328 qlzed. 297 i)ized. 841 588 S66 486 171 Unorga 299 Unorga 753 457 Unorga 29S 226 Unorga 542 462 93 249 874 162 827 21 815 844 167 8.63 178 . Unorga Unorga 1,56 733 469 241 - 196 400 515 432 15 530 Unorga 221 170 2515 875 432 nized. Henry Hickory Holt Howard Jackson Jasper Jefferson Tohuson Knox 421 nized. 901 711 nized. 8»1 OT4 nized. Lewis 602 S43 285 487 £00 W5 584 Merc%r Miller 817 Mississippi 618 262 mi New Madrfd f M4 660 Ozark mmA, nized. Pettis 262 Pike 746 Platte 968 Polk PulasM _ . 860 729 Rolls 885 Randolph Ray .485 663 Ripley 825 St. Charles St. Claii- St. Francois . . , St, Genevieve St. Loms Saline 469 nized. 199 222* 1874 822 Unorga'nized. gcott 284 I 600 Unorga.nized.- Shelby 283 69 41 842 479 & TJnorgs 226 808 Stone . Taney 263 Warren «... Washington, 848 514 Wayne , 211 Webster Wright nized. Total 48524 5S164 29984 88368 82671 40077 31261 1 41869 22972 29760 Buclianan over Fillmore, 9^640 ; Pierce oyer Scott, 8,869; Cass over Taylor, t,406; Polk over Clay, 10,118; 'Van Curen over nanison, 6,788, POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 23T I o-^WA.. -^ar IS003STSIIT. 1856. From. Bach. Fill. Adair Adams Appanoose Ajtl^makee, Audubon . . Benton Black Hawk Boone Bremer ... Butler... . Buchankn. . Cedar Chickasaw. Clarke .... Callioun . . . Cass ClUkton.. . . L Clayton . . . Cmo G'rdo Crawford . Davis .... Bccatur , , Dallas Delaware. Desmoiaes.. Dubuque Fremont . Eayetto . Floyd . . . Franklin. (xreene Guthrie (Jriindy ... Hardin Har-i-ison .. Hdnry Howard . . . Iowa Jaokson . . . Jasper Jeffereon . . Jobn&on . . . Jpnes Keokuk . . . Kossuth . . . Lee Jjinn Louisa Lucas Menonft . . . Marion Madison;. . . Mahaska . . Marshall . . Mitchell . . . Monroe MontgomV Mills Muscatine . Polk Pptawato'le Page Ppwesliiek Binggold .. ffielby ... Scott Story Sac Tama Taylor Umon . t . . Van Buren ■^Vapello . . Warren .. Wayne . . . Washington Webster . Wiimesliiek Wright . . . 72 113 191 680 23 SEiS 66G 208 82T 228 TOO 1016 861 846 9 182 IMS 1420 101 86 201 248 487 801 1888 1822 .166 1048 224 120 78 196 65 688 170 1767 207 492 1163 878 1188 1210 964 605 85 1780 1652 41 No re 1284 581 814 Total. te7 1091 1085 259 100 .459 92 62 1675 282 26 470 119 102 1092 1098 855 183 1188 . 889 770 91 27 7S 854 500 81 426 282 819 172 141 848 701 1! 84 889 754 40 8 1014 683 819 500 1418 2427 208 452 124 ■88 117 205 2 195 124 767 63 826 1882 455 1028 964 12 2153 971 643 855 66 turn. 519 940 199 185 603 68 163 895 171 265 62 ■19 1119 272 85 296 188 121 1396 1175 613 863 620 209 209 24 142 67 1 752 183 20 149 522 256 103 114 14 18 No re No re 247 142 Uno 80 No re 40 Uno 1852. Scott. Fierce Hale turn. turn. 886 123 rg'd. 89 tui-n. 84 rg'd. ITnovg'd. 123 888 No re 20 TJno No re 278 471 Uijt) T7nb 6S2 65 79 283 984 600 815 167 No re Urio No re 7 Uno Noi?e No re 882 Woo 112 554 160 767 415 266 826 Uno 1879 522 46S 80 No re 411 103 599 81 No re 204 No re 42 562 401 111 29 61 Uno No re 517 No re Uno No re No re 981 4895486170 148 354 turn. 82 rg'd. turn. 886 461 rg'd. rg'd. 614 188 89 204 1154 1150 96 117 turn. rg'd. turn. 89 rg'd. turn. turn. 618 rg'd.. 101 739 118 796 631 883 403 rg'd. 1703 592 868 85 turn. 4S9 150 641 52 turn. 295 turn. 91 605 439 182 40 45 rg'd. turn. 641 turn. rg'd. turn. I turn. 1028 26 12 473 No re 15856 59 turn. 68 Unojrg'd. 17768 Tayl'r Caaa. 13 1848. 1604 Uno Uno 44 Uno 22 Uno Uno rg'd. rg'd. 118 rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. 21 205 Uno Uno Uno 168 134 Uno 80 107 956 365 Uno Uno Uno Uno Uno Uno Uno 655 25 897 66 687 286 164 281 1189 1856. Frem. Bucb. Fill. Uno Uno 277 Uno 402 Uno Uno HI Uno Uno 896 185 Uno uno Adamb ... JBadAx... Brown Buffalo . . . Chippewa... Calumet.. . . Clarke ... Columbia... Crawford . . Dane S7i Dodge 276 Door rg'd. > Douglas ... rg'd. J Dunn FondduLac rg'd. j'Grant.... 207! Greene... leSJIowa.... Jackson . Jefferson _ 875 S Juneau rg'd. (Kenosha... 26 (Kewaunee . 104) La Crosse.. 1070! Lafayette.. 764 < Lapointe .. rg'd. \ Manitowoc. Marathon.. Marquette. Milwaukee Monroe Oconto . . . Ozaukee . . Outagamie Pierce Polk Portage . . Racine . . . Richland . Rock.. .... 78? Sauk Shawana^r.. Sheboygan St. Croix.. Trempeleau Walworth... Washington Wauke^a . WsLupacca.. Waushai'a . Winnebago Wood 1691 697 499 08 No re 4^6 78 2950 521 399b 8455 No lie No re 890 rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. 59 659 207 365 1614 388 286 rg'd. rg'd. Uno 885 Unb Uno Uno Uno 926 570 Uno Uno 840 Uno Uno 11034 2004 1497 806 3290 With 1608 89 987 1416 No re 1177 269 2518 2798 722 No re 860 602 414 95 4707 2015 68 1891 417 190 8618 818 2875 1636 1292 625 281 1004 168 turn. 408 87 1289 ..29 8448 2784 iurn. turn. 119 2511 1419 ,1087 1474 144 3484 Ada 681 206 641 1722 turn. 1907 207 1032 7188 264 turn. rg'd. 400 i-g'd. rgil. 195 rg'd. rg'd. 877 234 rg'd. rg'd. 20 rg'd. 866 rg'dr Total. 27 6 6 ms. 1852. 763 106 54 861 1688 465 1965 993 21 1921 252 45 1297 2641 2020 75 215 1415 95 Scolt. Pierce Hale 66090 111 No re 326 Uno Uno 149 Uno 1183 mifl. 1004 1205 Uno Uno Uno 1065 1341 659 895 Uno 1208 Uno 483 6 260 860 No re 209 No re maj. 2019 Uno iJ) 145 579 urn. 615 rg'd. rg'd. 246 rg'd. 1288 42 2188 2264 rg'd. rg'd. •g'd. 1686 137^ 865 948 rg'd. 1698 rg'd. 590 28 826 1389 turn. 874 turn. 800 8640 rg'd. 101 rg'd. 429 Uno rg'd. Uno No re 848 166 1509 ■611 Uno 662 mi- Uno 965 1166 989 No re 147 707 Uno 81 Tayl'r Caafl. UnoJrgM. Uno rg'd. 238 809 With 66 rg'd. turn. 1308 166 1691 696 rg'd. 1815 62 i;g'd. 114J 2350 1582 turn. 174 949 rg'd.' 1848. 109 va 627 Cra'f 79 143 215 757 797 22240 527 44 776 376 1483 188 1186 116 676 8S6S8 8814 1649 479 884 718 Uno Uno Uno ■921 No re 77 Uno 214 1189 Uno 216 907 With 1300 149 872 No re 804 855 806 Uno -Uno 18747 1148 891 848 840 rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. 1001 turn. 150 rg'd. 174 2161 rg'd. rg'd. 225 685 Iowa 491 158 449 turn. 650 1720 961 rg'di rgW 15001 Fremont over Buchanan, 18,247; Pierce over Scott, 11,418 ; Cass over Taylor, 1,264. In 1848, Mr. Van Buren received 10,418 votes in this State. rg'd. rg'd. rg'd. 978 684 rg'd. rg'd. 295 i-g'd. rg'd. Alameda...... Amador Butte Calaveras Colusi Contra Costa. . Del Norte .... ElDorado.... Fresno ....... Humboldt Klamath Los Angeles . . ? Marin ) Mariposa 1^098 j Mendocino Merced Fremont over Buchanan, 7,734; Pierce over Scott, 1,907; • Monterey . Cass over Taylor, 1,009. In 1848, Mr. Van Buren received j Napa^, 1,126 votes in this State. ' Nevada.. 1856. BucVii. 657 744 562 18 188 Uno 1391 1 103 82 521 151 165 With 14 220 157 FiUm'e. 729 1784 2501 2615 289 457 rg'd. 4048 218 204 832 721 .860 1254 Sono S49 267 444 8500 213 1.557 1702 1604 305 2958 123 191 440 tS5 ■ 82 ,■772 ma. 124 .169 341 2238 1852. Uno Uno 1478 2390 225 418 5146 Uno Uno 217 498 145 864 Uno 64 ,208 2618 rg'd. rg'd. 1741 690 6106 rg'd. rg'd. 210 574 187 rg'd. 278 270 2856 S3S A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK. FOB :860. OALIFOItNIA-^Ckmtiimea..) _ TEXAS— {Continued.) Placer Flumaa Sacramento . , , San Bernardi'o San Diego San Francisco. San Joaquiti . ] SanLuis Obispo ^an Mateo . Santa Barbara Santa Clara.. . Canta Cruz. . . . Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Sonoma Stanislaus Butter Tehama Trinity '.-'. Tulare and Buena Vista . . Tuolumne Yolo Yuba 1S56. Frem't. Bnch'n. FiUm' 992 217 941 93 18 6089 548. lOT 288 183 809 196 169 693 464 1S9 882 21 92 44 188 \ 23 1066 ISO 650 1124 3433 314 173 5332 1285 88 283 176 676 820 1587 2506 2078 ■7a9 1515 436 491 486 1011 248 2936 653 8451 Total 20691 I53S65 86165 86407 40626 1693 1040 15 113 10 6V8 283 10S3 2206 1791, 684 498' 228 847 811 882 189 2112 538 aosi ias2. Scott. Pierce. Hale. 2295 Uno 8644 Uno 107 4167 115a 112 Uno T8 827 186 75T 1348 459 Uno 214 Uno 2.541 400 2077 rg'd. 8280 rg'd. 105 4241 1198 11 rg'd. 104 799 806 971 1619 492 865 474 rg'd. 205 rg'd. 785 40 8182 850 2199 100 Buchanan over I'remont, 32,674; Pierce over Scott, 6,219. T E.2C A. S. IS 46. 1852. 1848. COUNTIES. Flllm'e. Buch'n. Scott. Pierce. Taylor. Oaa.. Anderson .... 325 612 160 412 88 229 Angelina No re turn. 28 •56 29 52 i^tascosa 58 87 Uno rg'd. Austin 120 858 7 22 45 175 .Bowie ' 88 171 Uno rg'd. Bandera 12 9 Uno rg'd. Bastrop 230 403 94 248 42 191 Bell 161 818 812 747 26 299 157 804 Uno 189 rg'd. 'Bexar 332 Bosque 20 64 Uno rg'd. Brazoria 74 225 48 143 83 1:2 Brazos 74 66 9 84 — 83 Drown Uno rg'd. Burlejson 168 261 19 108 9 64 Burnett .76 141 — 21 Uno rg'd. Camanche . . . 11 40 Uno rg'd. Cass 352 514 681 845 80 248 75 696 107 110 228 Cherokee 802 Collin "302 564 58 185 43 99 Cooke — 58 5 14 — — Caldwell 196 395 84 235 27 99 Calhoun maj. 85 94 125 71 76 Cameron 123 492 242 829 . — — Colorado 183 253 80 92 20 68 Comal 26 284 6 li2 14 105 Coryell 69 118 Uno rg'd. Dallas 245 608 122 288 5T 209 Benton 132 803 — 87 7 46 Be Witt 108 258 — — 16 HI Ellis 176 239 48 90 Uno rs'd. El Paao, Earth maj. 1023 Uho rg'd. Fannin 283 657 68 203 88 245 Falls 74 899 158 667 Uno 165 rg'd. 841 92 Fayette....... 175 Fort Bend 136 196 81 .86 89 185 Freestone . . . 144 341 ,8 188 Uno rg'd. Galveston 814 431 141 824 71 76 Gillespie 25 115 2 74 — Goliad 135 98 — — 27 34 Gonzales. ... 863 510 120 209 63 92 primes 260 828 63 142 68 186 Guadaloupe.. . 258 859 68 154 81 72 Grayson 182 415 68 198 47 is4 Harris 449 645 195 468 289 448 Hays 128 180 21 65 12 43 Hidalgo — 169 48 119 Uno rg'd. Hill 131 175 Uno rg'd. Fillm'e, Buch'n. Harrison Henderson . . . Hopkins Houston jHunt [Tackson Johnson Jack \ Jasper. Jefferson Kaufman Karnes Kerr Kinney L^amar. Lapassas... . Lavacca Leon Liberty ., Limestone .... Live Oak Llano McOullock . . . McLennan . . . Madison Matagorda Maverich - Medina Milam Montf^omery. Nacogdoches , Newton Navarro Nueces Orange Palo Pinto . . Panola Parker..."... Polk Presideo .... Red lUver... 1856. Robertson Rusk ?abine San Augustine San Patricio . . San Saba . . . Shelby Smith Starr .... ... Tarrant Titus ., Travis Trinity Tyler Upshur Uvalde Van Zandt . . . Victoria Walker Washington . . Webb Wharton . i . . Williamson Wise Wood Young 605 77 288 170 188 S3 79 Uno 99 49 63 119 Uno Uno 285 61 116 235 103 119 Uno 28 Uno 201 125 43 Uno 89 196 168 182 88 210 mag, 60 Uno 135 Uno 71 No re 285 87 96 659 80 72 maj, 21 77 870 17 92 257 467 100 No re 255 22 48 117 848 ■481 maj. 40 240 11 124 11 580 400 186 rg'd. 186 109 191 103 rg'd. rg'd. 565 77 160 887 180 101 rg'd. 55 rg'd. 298 118 111 rg'd. 136 211 179 657 188 300 123 T3 rg'd. 458 rg'd. 285 turn. 1167 118 182 810 874 490 502 651 161 tura. 683 18 228 141 887 664 882 76 807 67 Total 16689 '81169 1852. Scott. Pieree. Uno 74 116 126 121 90 rg'd. 80 121 Uno rg'd. Uno rg'd. Uno rg'd. 57 Uno 5 Uno Uno 76 Uno 86 Uno 53 242 18 29 Uno 19 68 100 118 8 5 187 Uno 5 9 72 121 16 17 124 87 176 rg'd. 45 rg'd. 74 119 120 312 111 220 52 89 rg'd. 157 rg'd. 238 rg'd. 95 590 81 158 30 rg'd. 106 76 61 240 870 17 52 861 rg'd. 48 519 117 59 148 rg'd. Uno 15 , Unolrg'd. 4995 1 18552 1848. .Taylor. Caqs. 864 43 70 24 11 13 63 186 18 26 68 40 Uno 69 66 177 5 202 38 70 6 99 57 881 63 227 161 66 64 118 86S 84 ,142 144 154 rg'd. 79 45 119 168 813 66 124 66 rg'd. 194 lOT 844 5T 466 181 284 144 Uno rg'd, 123 I 296 29 I 219 Uno rg'd. 26 63 87 80 119 207 123 878 Uno rg'd. 26 B1 16 41 Uno rg'd. 4609 I 10863 Buchanan over Fillmore, 16,680; Pierce over Scott, 8,557 ; Cass over IJaylor, 6,169. I" Xi O E. I n A.. Thb vote of this State, in 1856, was : For Fillmore, 4,888 ; for Buchanan, 6,868 ; maj. for Buchanan, 1,526. In 1862, Scott received 2,876; Pierce, 4,818 ; maj. for Pierce, 1,448. In 1848, Taylor received 8,116; Cass, 1,847; maj. £oi Taylor, 1,268. POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 239" niay. 0rav7ford. Jackson. Adams. Jackson. Adams. «5 M on Jackson, Democrat. Clay, J^at. Repuh. Van Buren, Democrat. Harrison, etc.* Whig. Van Bui-en, Democrat. Bu-ney, AhoVist. Harrison, WMg. Birney, AboliiionUt. Polk, Democrat. Clay, Whiff. Van Buren, ^ree Dem. Casa, Democrat. Taylor, Whig. Hale, Free Soil. Pierce, Democrat. Scott, Whig. CO V gS" to o I I ss TO :0 COCO tm in OL— ail— 03"* O ■* caco tHCO t- .-H O «i-lCO I S3 CM ryj cS G-) i-l CO OC0.-H CO CO CO C»0(M OS-* w Oco o I U(0 '33 BSSS to. Tito Smt-cocft OCIt-— ( O CO (79 lO O Oa ■^ CO "^ to CM t- CO 31 to t- 0> t- O CO rl O t- I— 50 T-i -^ O lO Ci CO iMO»C^ t-* o» 1-1 eD (ft "^ I" 3a IQ tB M O CM r-llfS Ca 01 o to O CO jO SJ -H o COCM r— Oico I too I c5 » OS I I (O a)— I t too rH r^ S ^ C4C4 TOCO T iHjWr-lCO -11— o >, ®3>f toooo»meoi£5ct>igo I— cMtooii— cnotoa tOCOOT-iOl—l— ^ 01— t-tOW -tDCOiH.-i!OOa2qiH(M00-^03C0 D !M t— OS -^ Cl I— t- OitOcM00THe0C30«jn»-(t-tot— T-(co COCSi-tCM^-OO — ►— It— ■*—<«icomi-io« OOT-itOCOiTqcMCSCNtOCOmtOCO-^ia U3T-C4- CM ■^ t- o oej cM-^ t- lO 1-1 1-1 f- I 1^2=° I |gSS CO CatOrH D^JCO 40 04 (M lO -^ T-< ■ ISgi I |g l! i-HCOtOCsCOtXJiOt— ■rvi- o» -* ■-' ri -" "" --cyiww _ CO to t- OS O (B CM to CO t— >0 I oos^too-^OiMaS'^t— 'Oc»o t— lOCOt— COtOtO O^COW'"'^'^ O CO O t» 0-1 T« CO CD (M 53 CO . i-( O Tji JC3 lO (MiOt— ajOiOOQOSO OIOSOSCWCO Ht-COCOCOCO ^-SlSMtb-^Tj'OlOt-COCOrHOTjtr-ltOCOCSTtJOlOSCTICWCO Ht- COCOCOCO «3^c3 SMOsSlSrHTj('*'^tt*o»K3'3;totg' m-io >,ot s lo o p ^^Sm— ili-^.-S'^COCOT-IOOItOO'ItOOajMCMlHOCQGflfr^fr-jall-CO'^i-tl- a.S^S-^COMl^M-HS^PcO-^tOtOrH&'^i-ltOMrHTHtO'^i-ltDOCOlO ^COcS 5w 9tH «^ SSoOacO StOr-( to CO O 2 01 to -* 22 tr i^Ti^.mSmiOCOtOi-» '• »a' lis 1^ 1^' 1 •a -3 .- §32 1 lit n4 i (S^'oa o^>^ V," •* 3 *33 s g^^ -1. ." goo H 5 S^ a ST No S V... 6 5 >.a,.i3 S -2 "^ t v~ oco^ ag- ia^^ §S^ °^ll 5_o _ * -K no X POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOE 1860. LATEST ELECTION RETURNS. Maine— 1859.. GOVERNOK. Countien. Rev Morrill. Androscoggin 8090 Aroostook . . . 740 Cumberland . 6ST6 Franklin 2831 Hancock 290T Kennebec... 6298 Lincoln 8868 Oxford.'. . Penobscot . Piacataquis Sagadahoc. Somerset. K9ua Vv-aldo 4429 Washington.. 8168 York 6036 4113 6235 1488 1885 Dcm. Smitli. 2261 808 S861 1949 1955 S288 4180 8.348 4569 996 996 2812 8141 27T2 544T Total 66361 44378 Maj. for MorriU, 11,988. Ifew-Hampshire— 1859. Bj/ Congressional Dintri/As- GOVERNOR. Districts. Bep. Derm. I. Gondwia. Cat«. Belknap 1724 1860 Carroll 2248 2880 Rockingham. 6799 6055 Strafford .... 8498 2679 Total 18269 11914 Maj. for Goodwin, 1,356. II. Goodwin. Cate. Hillaborough.. 6476 5461 Merrimac... 4885 4788 Total 11811 10249 Maj. for Goodwin, 1,062. in. Goodwin. Cnte. Cheshire 3448 2268 Coos 12.56 1472 Grafton 4797 4789 Sullivan 2245 2165 SCsiSaolmsetts— 1869. ■ _ GOVERNOR. (huntiee. Rep. Dem. Am. Banks. Butler. Bxiges. J Barnstable 1457 760 188 Berkshire. 8276 2605 837 Bristol . . . 8860 1881 2017 Dukes.... 22T 195 94 Essex .... 8049 4632 1887 Franklin.. 2672 1470 200 Hampden. 8808 2646 458 Hampshire 2659 784 886 MidSlesex 10688 6483 2609 Nantucket 249 107 98 Norfolk... 4478 2988 1911 Plymouth. 8284 1548 899 Suffolk . . . 5473 4434 2165 Worcester. 9605 4899 1221 Total. . .68780 86834 14365 Banks over Butler, 23,446. irew-York-1859. Connecticut— 1860. Bj/ Congressional Districts. GOVERNOR. Districts. ' Rep. Dem. I. Backinghom. Seymour. Hartford .... 8758 8972 ToUand 2658 2210 Total 11311 11182 Maj. for Buckingham, 129. IL Buck. Say. Middlesex . . . 2942 8490 New-Haven.. 8709 9765 Total 11661 18265 Maj for Seymour, 1,604. III. Buck. Soy. New-London. 6672 6102 Windham . . . 8700 2586 Total 9372 7688 Maj. for Buckingham, 1,684 IV. Buck. Sev. Fairfield 6921 7186 Litchfield..,. 6208 4666 Total .. ..11746 10639 Maj. for Goodwin, 1,107. Total 12124 11792 Maj. for Buckingham, 832. Buckingham's majority in I the State, 641. Vermont— 1859. By Congressional Districts. GOVERNOR. Districts. Rev. Pern, I. Hall. .B«ie. Addison 8042 643 Bennington.. 1866 1268 Rutland 3008 1070 Washington.. 2997 1676 Total 10911 4642 It. Ilall. Saxe. Caledonia . . . 2217 1337 Orange 8052 2185 Windham.... 8137 950 Windsor 8428 18 Total 11834 8802 III. Hall. Saxe. Chittenden .. 2587 819 Essex 541 428 Franklin 2022 1280* Grand Isle... 294 245 lamoille 1513 546 Orleans 1715 88T Total 8022 4165 Total State 31367 14499 Ma.i. tor Hall, 16,863. Bhode Island— 1860. GOVERNOR. Counties. Rep. Union. Fadeltord. Sprague. Bristol 622 644 Kent 1012 1460 Newport 1647 1542 Providence . . 6007 7237 Washington.. 1647 1412 Total 10885 12295 Maj. for Sprague, 1,460. The opposition to Mr. Padelford was composed of Democrats, Americans, and disaffected Repubbcans, calling themselves ConseiT- atives. Rep. Leaven. worth. Albany Allegany Broome Cattaraugus . . Cayuga Chautauqua . . Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson .... Kings Lewis Livingston . , . Madison Monroe Montgomeiy. . New-Tork . . . Niagara Oneida Onondaga. . . . Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego. Putnam Queens Rensselaer , . . Richland Rockland Saratoga Schenectady . Schoharie Schuyler Seneca Steuben St. Lawence.. Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins .... Ulster Warren Washington.. . Wayne Westchester . . Wyoming Yates Sec. state. Comptrolleh. Phisom lasr. Dem. * JoDoa. 7263 4771 8491 8973 6180 5590 2452 4482 8252 8946 8018 8600 5237 7466 2895 2600 218 4426 6860 7971 2359 8215 4676 7065 2690 1S2T2 3688 10288 ■8883 8671 4056 281S 7004 6469 1018 1815 6002 678 749 4352 1779 26C3 1884 1903 5769 7846 1694 1670 4034 2188 4735 4658 4830 8123 9216 2138 2915 2900 8641 8211 2414 8614 2184 4123 20S4I 8484' 6070 9416; 1519; 2294 2446' 896 2661' 5004 18042 1918 2676 2805 4798 8069 3846-2 SSC3 7806 6032 8104 4988 2230 4850 4912 1210 8640 7933 1659 1761 4417 1780 8605 1821 2863 4860 8847 2632 8102 2580 2614 6696 1683 2974 3210 6543 1812 1208 Rep. Dem. 8371 48S6 8697 4044 6410 6241 2432 4706 8382 4654 8120 4143 5684 9666 2448 2344 2782 8588 2691 218 4610 6902 9446 2359 8591 4925 6970 8013 22088 4128 1O400 9087 4877 4381 2849 8067 2022 2811 2T96 8311 4659 2381 8898 8104 8513 1978 2934 4675 7204 1471 2248 2374 1750 8058 396 2572 4948 11431 1920 2299 2662 4882 2800 34654 2839 7209 5S97 5502 1088 1907 7424 1002 1051 4752 1981 2702 Sep. Forrest. 4618 2196 4869 4879 1141 ■29.57 5516 1300 1429 401 T 1517 8402 2143; 1590 2240! 2026 6089; 4516 6009; 81S6 2110 2463 8147 8501 5039 2187 6185 4S04 5172 8148 2247 2221 2S04 24S8 2-296 4617 1680 2669 3057 6690 1787 1196 Total 261139 252689 275952 227804 251784 261194 Dem. *Eld8r- kiu. 7391 4766 8489 8970 6072 6588 2431 44«2 3228 3977 8017 8604 6247 71 2397 2292 2672 3809 2600 218 4438 6859 7910 2346 8220 4685 7108 2179 1*331 8097 10822 6742 8871 4048 29141 2160 7006: 4845 84T2: 4903 1029 119_ 1385! 8464 4950 7902 9033 2186 8219 2488 8611 3206 4085 2082 8476 6063 9*82 1517 2296 2437 2038 8260 896 2648 6006 12950 1921 2668 2691 4742 3030 85276 8282 7284 6202 3098 4986 747 782 4360 2244 2608 1940 1919 6753 7701 1706 1679 8015 8284 4040 2182 4737 4660 4848 8115 2281 1558 1746 4889 1311 3696 1796 2-342 4S48 3464 2625 3088 2686 2512 6622 1685 2969 8210 6522 1816 1209 Delaware— 1858. GOVERNOR. Counties. 0pp. Dem. Bucktnaater. Burton. Kent 1867 2( New Castle . . 8457 8416 Sussex 2240 2318 Total 7654 7758 j Bui-ton's maj., 204. Jones' maj., 1460 ; Denniston's, 48643 ; Forrest's, 590. AGGEEQATE VOTE FOR OTHER STATE OFFICERS. I'r«Murer...Dersheimer,» 276,587; Vanderpoel, 226,785— 18,832 ^(('ve«n'I. -Myers,* 276,792; Tremaln, .- ,22?,346— 49,447 StaJe -Eno'i-.Storoy, 260,880; Richmond,«.252,312— 1,433 CtiiMiCom.-Chapln 251,449; Skinner,*. . -251,7i7— 328 Judoeo/^p-DavTes,* 272,275 ; Johnsou 227,171—45,104 atric of jlp.Hughes,* .... 276,286 ; Lewis, 227,355—47,931 The abcve are the actual returns sent from the various coun- ties of the State to the Stale Department at Albany ; but la ; consequence of Informality in 'some of tlie returns, tlie officially I declared result, on a number of candidates, varies fl-om the ; actual- The vote tor Forrest is declared at 243,430 ; Blderkin, ■ 237,579 ; Storey, 246.041 ; Richmond. 250,'247 ; Chapin, 24%e76,' ; Davtos, 265,608 ; Jolmson, 223,525 ; Le\vls, 221,081. • Nominated and aupported by the American, or " Balance of Pow«* Party. ELECTION RETURNS— N. JERSEY, PENN,, MARYLA^fD' AND VIRGINIA, ih New-Jersey— 1859, GOVERNOR. Dintt'icte. Opp. TJem. I. OlSn. Wrislit. Attantio 853 74,0 Camden ... 2824 2S3D Cape May . . 67tf 497 Cumberland. 18S0 1635 Gloucester.. 1477 1206 Batem 2051 19S1 Total 9105 889S Majority for Olden, 70T. II. Olden. Wrirtt. Burlington. . 4748 8892 Mercer SoS7 2981 Monmouth.. SOOS S4S1 Ocean 1841 T80 Total 12681 10561 Maj. for Olden, 2,120. III. Oldon. Wriglt. Hunterdon... 2726 8445 Middlesex.. 8253 249T Someraet... 2011 1888 Warren .... 2116 2842 TotaL.... 10106 10622 Maj. for Wright, 516. IV. Oldsn. Wright Bergen 1262 IBIS Morris 8076 8138 Passaic 2463 1870 Sussex J 1842 2628 Total. ... 8643 9054 Maj. for Wright, 411. V. Olden. WriRht Essex 7883 T454 Hudson .... 8131 3726 Union 1766 1899 Total 12780 13079 Maj. for Wright, 299. TOTAL VOTE OF STATE. Olden, 63,815 ■Wright 61,714 Maj. tor Olden,. . 1,601 PBNNSYLTAmA. CONGRESS— (CrniHniiKi.) DiRlticta. Ui'ion. Deiii. IV. Millwiird. PMllips. Ward 18.... 1691 846 " 14.... 1940 864 " 15.... 1976 1323 " 19 part 606 750 " 20 ... 1820 1129 " 21 part 820 240 " 28 part 40ft 816 " 24.... 1091 978 Total 9749 6451 Broom, Am ., 253. MUlw'doverPhiU's 8,298. V. Wood. Jones. Ward 21 part 923 660 " 22.... 1643 777 " ,,23 part 1203 763 Montg'ryCo. 8032 5034 Total 9701 7209 Maj. for Wood, 2,492. Broomall. ManleT. . . 2388 4021 . . 2288 1164 VL Chester. . Delaware. Total 4676 5185 Hickman, A. L. D., 6,786. Hick^n over Manley 1,601. VII. Longnecker. Roberts. Bucks 5285 5122 Lehigh 3089 2954 Pennsylvania— 1858. CONGRESS. Sintrids. Union. Dem. I. Kyan. Florence. Wardl 1527 1431 " 2 1481 1414 " g .... 878 1027 " 4 720 1337 " 5 part 812 ' 449 " 7 1574 1115 Total 6492 6823 Nebingev, AnU-Leeamp- ion Sem., 2,442. Florence over Ryan, 831. IL Morris. Martin. Ward 5 part 618 637 " « .. . 926 817 '( 8...'.. 1184 8i8 " 9 .... 1162 896 " 10 1818 802 Total 5663 4030 Maj. for Morris, 1,628. III. Verr'ep. Landv. Ward 11.... 967 872 " 12.... 1132 881 " 16.... 1234 1126 " IT.... 984 1336 ' 18.... 1667 978 ■' 19 part 973 696 Total 697T 6634 Reed, Am., 62. ^erree over Landy, 1,143. Total 8324 8076 Maj. for Longnecker, 248. Vin. Schnrartz. Jones. Berks 7321 7302 Maj. for Schwartz, 19. IX. Stevens. Hopkiiis, Lancaster. . . 9513 6341 Maj. for Stevens, 3,172. X. Killinger. Weidle. Dauphin 8265 2281 Lebanon ... 2713 1460 Union 1318 787 North'ld, pt. 160 27 Snyder 1452 1084 Total 8897 6589 Maj. for Killinger, 3,308.' XI. Campbell. Dewart. Northumb'ld 1602 1825 SchuylkiU... 661 8085 CONGRESS— 9 Bedford .... 1859 1974 ; Franklin.... 8384 8060' Fulton 675 713! Juniata 1235 1165, Total... . 9343 9031 Maj. for McPherson, 257. XVni. Elair. Pershing. Blair 2798 1667 Cambria ... 1700 2278 Huntingdon. 2116 1261 Somerset . . . 2501 1578 Total., .. 9114 66T9 Maj. iFor Blair, 2,435. XIX. Covode. Foster. Armstrong.. 2425 2001 Indiana .... 3085 1585 Westmorel'd 8797 4629 Total 9257 8165 Maj. for Covode, 1,092. XX. Knight. Montgo' Fayette 1275 S2S9 Sreerie.. . .1. . 781 2166 Washington. 8792 8799 Total 7153 4860 Coke, A. L. D., 3,141. Cam'l over Dewart, 2,766. XIL Scranton. McReyn's. Columbia.... 1907 1442 Luzerne.... 6193 3262 Montour.... 990 684 Wyoming... 983 898 Total 10023 6186 Maj. for Scranton, 3,887. XIIL Sheemnker. Dimmlck. Carbon 1538 1126 Monroe .... 7S3 1261 Northampton 2276 2992 Pike 179 491 ■Wayne 1791 2189 . Total..... 5798 9264 Maj. for Montgo'ry, 3,456. XXI. Moorhead. Biirke. Allegheny, pt. 6589 4S79 Maj. for Moorhead, 1,660. XXH. McKnight. Birmin' Allegheny, pt. 2985 21T Butler. 2503 285 Total 5433 602 Williams, AnU^Tax.Z^a McK. over Wms.', 1,636. XXin. Stewart. McGnflin. Beaver 1871 1126 Lawrence... 1951 615 Mercer 2899 2 Total 6721 377T Maj. for Stewart, 2,944. XXrV. Hall. Gillit. Clarion 1563 20W Clearfield... 1028 1445 Elk 395 479 Forrest No return. JefTerson . . . 1871 1049 McKean.... 836 479 Venango . . . 1958 1671 Warren 1765 Maryland-1859, CONGRESS. VMiiclji. Ujip. Sem. I. Cux. Sitewart , Caroline 814 T9S Dorchester .. 1163 122( Queen Anne's 901 , 96t Somei-set .... 1500 1426 Talbot 709 989 Worcester . . . 1278 1584 Total 6334 6934 Maj. for Stewart, 650. II. Webster. licHenry. Bait. Co.,pt.. 1690 1760 Carroll 2433 229T Cecil 2044- 1970 Harford 2095 1647 Kent 886 709 Total 9098 8443 Maj. for Webster, 655. III. Harris. Preston, Bait. .City, pt. 8026 2664 Bait. Co., pt.. 1591 1672 Total 9617 4226 Maj. for HaiTis, 5,891. .IV. Davis. Harrison, Bait. City, pt.lOlOS 27S6 Maj. for Davis, 7,373. ■ V. . Hoffman. KunkcL . Alleghany... 2201 22Si9- Frederick.... 3678 3718 Washington . 2S42 2S43 Total 8716 SS49 Maj. for Kunkel, 183. VI. Hagner. Hiigiies. Anne Arundel 1107 1083 Calvert 4-39 442 Charles 675 032 Howard 763 SIS Montgomery. 1177 loU4 Prince Geo.'s 842 9S5 St. Mary's... 452 1014 Total 5354 6302 Maj. lor Hughes, 948. LEGISLATURE — 1857. , Senate,. Amer , 15 ; Dem., 1 Honii£...Amer.,44; Bem.,29 Total 6566 8009 Maj. for Dimmlck, 1,443. XIV. Grow.Parkhurst. Bradford.... 4774 920 Susquehanna 3180 18-59 Tioga 3211 580 Total 11165 8359 Maj. for Grow, 7,806. XV. Hale, While. Centre 2651 1911 Clinton 1370 1294 Lycoming . . 2484 2028 Mifflhi ■ 14T1 1139 Total 8905 8111 Maj. for Hall, 794. XXV. Babbitt. Marshall. Crawford.... 8140 2033 Erie 3220 2080 Total 6860 4113 Maj. for Babbitt, 2,24T. In 1859, the Opposition, or People's Party Ticket for State officers, was elected by 17,000 to 1,800 majority. LEGISLATURE — ^1859-60. '} Senate .Opp., 21 ; Dem., 12 ! House.. Opp., 67; Dem., 33 Virginia-lSSa GOVEKNOP.. i)i»(ijds. Opp. Dm. I. iiogf^in. Letcher, , Accoraac 768 67S . EUzabeth City 214 164, i Essex 325 270 Gloucester... 388 369 James City . . 111 81 King and Queen 271 429 Lancaster . . . 158 107 Maltthews.... 315 233 Middlesex 179 214 New Kent... 239 132 Northampton. 227 153 Northumber'd ■103 194 Richmond Co. 296 261 Warwick 60 81 Westmoreland 444 l-'.6 Williamsburg. 40 » York 171 102 Total 4307 35?3 Maj. for Goggin, 725. Muscoe H. R. Gamett, Dem., elected to Consress" without opposition. < IT. Goprpin, Letchor < Charles City. . 2^5 66 5 Greensville . . 93 142 ; Isle of Wight. 14S 5S2 (.Nansemond.., 463 371 ) Norfolk City.. 836" 527 242 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR »860. YIBOIWIA. GOVBKNOK— (Coniinuei.) J>ifitricl8. Opji, Bern. n. Gop^in. Letcher. Norfolk Cn.... B91 881 Povtsmouth... ms 68t; Prince George 187 267 1 Princess Anne 867 864 ' Southampton S36 493 ', Barry 184 167' Sussex 127 291 Total 4404 4033' Maj. torGogpn,366. John S. Millson, Dem., \ elected to Congress without ] opposition. Ht, Goc^n. Letcher, Caroline 619 503' ChesterEeld. . 581 779 ', Goochland... 234 259' Hanover .... 572 C Henrico 1248 850 i King WilUam. 148 818 Louisa 496 897 Richm'dCity. 2043 1583 Total 5941 5882 i Maj, for Goggin, 559. Daniel C. Dejarnette, Tnd. i JSem., elected to Congress, over John S. Caskie, regular \ Dem.f by 100 majority. TV. QoEffiu. Letcher, Amelia 208 204 1 Brunswick.... 188 483. Charlotte 406 408' Cumberland. . 252 204 , Dinwiddle ... 230 267 Lunenburgh. .179 4 Mecklenburg. 884 606 i Hottoway.,.. 195 178' Petersburg... 944 636 1 Powhattan... 136 133' Pr'ce Edward 371 816 ; Total 8388 8861 Maj. for Letcher, 478, ■WilHara 0. Goode, Dem., elected over Flournoy, Jnd. JDem, Mr Goode ^ed be- fore taking lus seat, and his place was filled by the elec- tion of Roger A. Pryor, DeTii. V, Gopein. Letcher, Appomattox . 263 470 Campbell.,,, 1885 1129 Franklin 1010 884 Halifax 358 768 Henry 676 419 Patrick 508 593 Pittsylvania,, 1896 1107 Total 6491 5860 Maj, for Goggin, 181, Thomas S. Bocock, I>evi., reelected to Congress, with- out opposition, VL Gopgin. Letcher, Albemarle.,. 1308 931 Amherst -782 654 Bedford 1386 815 Buckingham.. 535 467 Fluvanna 483 826 Greene 136 887 Madison 133 586 Nelson 739 883 Total 6435 4649 Maj. for Goggin, 886. Kielton F, Leake, Ind. D»m.^ elected to Congress, fcy 1,550 maj, over Powell, tegular D&m. VII. GofT^lD, Lotclier. Alexandria .'. 874 620 Culpeper 497 475 FairfeJi 69; 717 YIBOmiA. OOVEBNOE— (ConKnueA) Vifh-icU, 0pp. Dem. VIT. Oofrcin. Letcher. Fauquier ... 931 1020 King George. 205 196 Orange,, ,. 436 879 Prince Wm,,. 261 712 Rappah'nock. , 509 463 Spottsylvania 49S 588 Stafford •299 607 Total 5181 5677 Shackelford 1. Ind. D&Tn,. received 480 votes for Con- gress. Maj. for Letcher, 496. Wm. Smith, P&m.. elected to Congress by 803 maj. viri. Gocein. Letcher. Berkeley 883 1057 Clarke 253 871 Frederick 888 1124 Hampshire ,, 701 . 1063 Jefferson 657 875 Loudoun ,, ., 1798 722 Morgan , 274 261 Page , 130 960 Warren , 215 456 Total 5998 6889 Maj, for Letcher, 891, Alex. K. Boteler, Om>., elected to Congress by 167 majority. IX. GoBrtrin. Letcher. Augusta 2170 1402 Bath 280 281 Hardy 771 854 Highland.... 229 478 Pendleton. . . . 3a3 411 Rockbridge . . 1230 1208 Rockingham . 700 2402 Shenandoah.. 273 1912 Total .5986 8898 Maj. for Letcher, 2,413. John T, Harris, Ind. D&m.^ elected to Congress, over Skinner, regular jPem,, by 931 majority, X, Go^in. Letcher, Brooke 213 869 Hancock ,...144 304 Marion 463 1197 Marshall..,, 823 683 Monongalia,, 641 975 Ohio 1323 1030 Pleasants,... 76 146 Preston 505 8)0 Taylor 630 651 Tyler 289 460 Wetzel 65 809 Total 5083 7384 Maj. for Letcher, 2,202. Sherrard Clemens. Dem., reelected to Congress, with- out opposition. XI. Goprpiin. Letcher. Barbour. 426 817 Braxton 849 817 Cabell 413 604 Calhoun 26 277 Doddridge ... 104 609 Gilmer 60 826 Harrison ... 780 1092 Jackson 888 510 Kanawha,.,. 1188 467 Lewis 259 649 Mason 588 448 Putnam 451 427 ( Randoli^..,. 236 480) Ritchie 137 422 Roane 802 261; Tucker 17 176 J Upshur, 292 422 < YIRCwINIA. QOVEENOE— (Qiniinuei) Difttictn. 0pp. Vein XI, Goetrin, Letcher, Wirt 136 803 Wood 886 660 Total 6938 9115 Maj, for Letcher, 2,187. Elbert G, Jenkins, Dwm.^ elected to Congress by 1,838 majority over Laidley, Opp. XII, Gofrgin, Letcher, Alleghany ... 210 856 Boone 160 292 Botetourt. ... 486 714 Clay 90 49 Craig 93 256 Fayette .?46 885 Floyd Un 889 Giles 468 852 Greenbrier .. l-O 779 Logan 9-1 480 Mercer 557 429 Monroe 845 672 Montgomery. 615 888 Nicholas 864 808 Pocahontas... 134 419 Raleigh 8S1 148 Roanoke 283 409 Wayne 269 820 Wyoming 170 73 Total 6960 7167 Maj. for Letcher, 207. No opposition to H. A. Edmundson, Dem,., for. Con- gress. XIII, Goggin. Letcher. Buchanan ... 73 164 Carroll 461 844 Grayson 884 497 Lee 688 624 McDowell.... 115 83 Pulaski 814 239 Russell 751 404 Scott 600 559 Smyth 693 454 Tazewell 541 621 Washington.. 966 670 Wise 203 226 Wythe 743 775 Total 6442 6810 Maj. for Goggm, 682. Elbert S. Martin, Ind. Dem., elected to Congress by 808 majority over Floyd, regular Dem.. i TOTAL VOTE OF STATE. OppOKition. ffosernor.. Goggin. . 71,543 jJ<«'y(?c»..Preston.. 64,868 VeninntUs. ffOT)6rnor..Letcher.. 77,112 AU'y ff«)i. .Tucker, ., 78,124 Maj, for Letcher, 5,569; do, for Tucker, 8,756, NORTH CAROLINA. CONGBESS— (CwiMnueA) BinliiitR. 0pp. Betti. II. Scntterinp. Rufflii. Beaufort 140 837 Carteret — 202 Craven 80 375 Edgecomb ... 4 867 Greene 60 285 Hyde 16 183 Jones 69 140 Lenoir 17 810 Onslow 88 897 Pitt 61 609 Wayne 11 827 Total 476 43S2 Maj. for Euffin, 3,906. in. »McDaffie. Wimlow. Bladen 193 888 Brunswick ... No return. Columbus 93 273 Cumberland.. 404 1039 ; Duplin 67 780 ; New-Hanover 90 789 'j Richmond ... No return. 'Robeson — 825 I Sampson 104 693 \ Total 949 4186 S Maj. for Winslow, 8,337. c * Independent Democrat. ( IV. Sanders, Branch. (Franklin 282 626 ) Granville 290 675 ; Johnson 546 860 SNash 66 879 (Orange 572 729 ; Wake 696 1405 >Warren 57 658 \ Total 2459 6827 I Maj, for Branch, 3,868. ( V. Gilmer. WUliame. ) Alamance ... 570 689 ) Caswell 188 886 .'Chatham 983 852 ; Guilford 2047 468 > Montgomery.. 639 179 ( Moore 529 559 ; Person 201 503 J Randolph 1208 .427 Total 6361 4513 Maj. for Gilmer, 1,849. VI. Leech. Scales. Alexander.. . . 689 866 Allegany .... 147 833 Ashe 789 452 Davidson 1470 793 Davie 681 879 Forsyth 955 1061 Iredell 1588 472 Rockingham.. 402 1417 Stokes 517 768 Surry 001 926 Yadkin 982 697 BTorth Carolma-1859. CONGRESS. Shtricta. 0pp. Dem. 1. Smith. Shaw. Bertie 665 606 Camden 583 109 Chowan.., . 294 286 Currituck 286 668 Gates 452 406 Halifax 562 769 Hertford .... 479 293 Martin 852 750 Northampton. 599 758 Pasquotank.. . 669 840 Perquimans.. 431 280 Tyrrell 897 131 Washington. . 471 255 Total 6045 5531 Maj. for SmLh, 514. Total 8566 7664 Maj. for Leach, 902. VII. Walkiip. Craigo. Anson 765 257 Cabarrus 617 358 ) Catawba 181 683 ; Cleveland.... 106 729 j Gaston 96 703 Lincoln 192 439 < Mecklenburg. 411 777 S Rowan 756 849 (Stanly 771 68 261 Coffee 41 279 Colquitt 84 144 i Eohota 49 132; Effingham 254 170 i Emanuel 131 465; Glyrin 41 176 , Irwin 9 Johnson 146 180 Laurens 187 235 Liberty 115 218 Lowndes 216 Mcintosh 72 144 Montsomery.. 259 65 Piercl 19 199 TattnaU 176 291 Telfau- 140 192 Thomas 428 47T Ware 44 231 Wayne 22 125 'Total 8831 T247 Maj. for Love, 3,366. 6487 8279 Bethune, Xnd., received 417 votes for Congress. Crawford over Douglas, 1,842. Hardeman. Spoor. 879 HI. Bibb . Butts 825 Crawford 248 Harris 683 Houston 534 Monroe CSS Pike 423 Spaulding . . . 445 TaJbot 664 Taylor 820 Upson 653 881 896 453 65S 580 618 474 492 Total 6636 5463 Maj. for Hardeman, 158. IV. WrlBbt. Campbell 889 Carroll 443 Clayton 288 Cobb 562 Coweta 477 De Ealb 863 Fayette 815 Pulton 899 Heard 837 Henry 653 Merriwether . 592 Troup 750 Gartrell. 777 1169 857 1180 775 708 544 1221 565 598 672 816 ghackelfbrd. Underw'd. , 151 1236. 80 V. Cass Catoosa. Chattooga ... 228 614 Cherokee .... 109 1121 Dade 13 Fannin 889 415 Floyd 127 989 GUmer 77 982 Gordon 25T 740 Haralson.... 23 866 MUton 132 890 Murray 118 712 Paulding 43 871 Pickens 72 751 Polk 48 481 Walker 190 T40 Whitfield 165 1129 Total 2162 12839 Majority for Underwood, ; 10,177. Vr. Lytle. Banks 6T Clarke 232 Dawson 65 Forsyth 293 Franklin 65 Gwinnett.... 283 Habersham... 836 Hall 692 JHart 73 ! Jackson 880 ? Lumpkin .... T2 \ Madison 152 >Kabun 17 '.Towns 19 lUnlon 43 ? Walton., 416 > White 96 Jackson. 504 611 652 655 851 537 768 702 739 465 641 252 637 632 868 GEORGIA. CONGRESS— (CtonKniKd.) JJiJiti icts. Opv. . Dem. VII. Hill. Harper. Baldwin 818 886 i Greene ...... 629 247' Hancock .... 891 S I Jasper 449 883; ' Jones 189 i Morgan 882 J Newton 723 745 ; Putnam 283 £ Twiggs 167 I Washington.. 678 ( WUkirison.... 893 557' Total 4492 4353; Maj. for Hill, 139. VIII. Wrieit. Jones. , Burke 8lfl 514' Columbia.... 417 407' Elbert. 418 618, Glasc6ck 64 S Jefferson .... 454 J Lincoln 186 220 Oglethorpe... 875 : Richmond ... 1108 920 Soriven 269 ! TalUaferro... 211 188' Warren 845 442; Wilkes 829 i Total 4607 4912; Maj. for Jones, ^5. TOTAL VOTE OP THE STATE. Opposition. Gov&mor .Akin 42195 ' Congress . .Oppoaition36419 ; Democrats. Governor .'BTo\fn 68E Congress. .Dem., . . . . 61134 < Majori's. — Brown, 21,611 ; ; Congress, 24,715. Total 6053 8877} Maj. for Gartrell, 2,824. Lomsiana— 1859. CONGRESS. Districts. __ Opp. ouligny. I. Bouligny. LaSere. — 128 708 , Total 8251 9644 Maj. for Jackson, 6,893. Dem. ouligny " Orleans, Rt. Bk. 197 " 2dDist. 999 " 8dDist. 904 Plaquemines. . . 67 814 St. Bernard.... 48 163 Total 2215 1796 Maj. for Bouligny, 419. Blenvenu received 497 votes for Congress. II. Nichole. Taylor. Ascension 885 418 Assumption 215 669 Jefferson 410 658 Lafourche 269 693 Orleans,] St Dis. 1239 999 " 4th Dis. 366 659 St. Charles.... 65 97 St. James 273 244 St. John Baptiste 175 186 St. Mary 169 601 St. Martin 476 664 Terrebonne 427 421 Total 4459 59ns Maj. tor Taylor, 1,449, III. Cannon. Davidson. Avoyelles — 654 OarroU — 753 Catahoula — 613 Concordia — 179 E. Baton Rouge 233 675 E. Feliciana ... 235 450 Iberville — 404 , Livingston — 437 jMadison 11 256 i Point Coupee . . — 575 ? St. Helena R^'ected, ) St. Tammany. . . 65 2S_ , ^Tensas — 250J LOUISIANA. CONGRESS— (CbiiltmuaJ.) Disti icts. Opp. Dent. III. Cannon. Davidson. Washington.... 60 420 W. Baton Rouge — 162 W. FeUciana!.. 22 268 Total 726 6288 Maj. for Davidson, 5,562. IV. Jones. Landram. BienvUle 127 799 Bossier 180 684 Caddo 820 822 Calcasieu . . .1. . . Rejected. Caldwell 65 198 Claiborne 90 957 DeSoto 38 648 Franklin 826 202 Jackson 160 754 Lafayette 8 278 Morehouse 808 412 Nachitoches ... 440 703 Ouachita 103 429 Rapides 662 889 Sabine Rejected. St. Landry Rejected. Union 893 1168 Vermillion Rejected. Winn 186 880 Total 3220 8823 Maj. for Landrum, 5,603. TOTAL VOTE OF THE STATE. OppoHilion. Gover7ior...'Wel\B. .. 15587 Lt. Gov Ray.... 16047 Seo. State .. Blake .. . 15166 Demonrats. Governor.. .Moore . . 24434 Zi. Gov. ...Hyams.. 24918 See. State.. lla.i-iy.. 25142 Texas— 1859, This State elected State Officers and Congressmen in 1859. The Congressional ^te was as follows : CONGRESS. Districts. Ind. Dem. I. OdiiUree. B«agbn. Anderson 214 884 Angelina 60 801 Bowie 10 870 Cass 252 75« Chambers 38 99 Cherokee 284 11B5 Colin 8 IHI Cooke 24 375 Dallas 70 894 Denton 12 62S Fannin 26 1118 Grayson 25 938 Harrison No return. Henderson No return. Hopkins 53 991 Houston 87 «S1 Hunt 18 798 Jack 8 115 Jasper 17 835 Jefferson 24 93 Kaufman 91 514 Lamar 25 996 Liberty 62 278 Nacogdoches... 226 63 J Newton 20 -318 Orange 46 1119 Panola 74 630 Polk 49 634 Red River 18 mi Rusk 178 1478 Sabine 62 I-JT San Augustine. . 13 863 Shelby 50 635 Smith 233 90<) Titus B" 95!i Trinity 94 »T4 iU A POLITICAL TEXT-»BOOK FOE 1860. TMXAS. CONGEESS— (CoiiMniuai.) DiHnds. Irid, Bern. I. Ochiltree. ReaKan, tyler 80 fe Upshur 162 YSO fanZaodt 86 -840 Wise 81 289 Wood 76 SSS Voung — 98 Total S464 2397T Maj. for Reagan, 20,518 ; do. for Houston, independ- ent candidate for Governor, 4,8M. n. Hamilton. Waul. Ataacosa 172 90 Austin 856 SS.') Bandera 18 26 Bastrop 853 424 Bee No return. BeU 818 2T4 Bexar 766 ■ 991 ! Blanco 118 42 - Bosque 12T 58 BraBoria 118 809 Brazos 118 Brown 27 1 Burleson 37S Burnett 235 Caldwell 295 Calhoun 146 179 Cameron '4 418 Colorado 857 278 Comal 86 39 Comanche 100 25 Coryell 208 101 Pe Witt 9«4 281 Ellia 808 271 El Paso 57 207 Earth 209 23 , Palls 218 112 Fayette 566 651 Fort Bend 178 172 Freestone 250 805 Galveston 837 400 Gillespie 69 147 Goliad 198 138 Conzales 450 427 Grimes 419 254 Guadaloupe .. . . 229 818 Hamilton 43 7 Harris 886 598 Hays No return. Hidalgo 8 227 nUl 216 170 Jackson 141 57 Johnson 849 134 Karnes 150 81 Kerr 81 82 Ijapassas 212 64 Lavacca 329 830 Leon.. 374 879 Limestone 218 835 Live Oak 36 60 Llano 81 76 McLennan 848 228 Madison 168 93 Mason No return. Matagorda 68 168 Medina -58 199 MUam 317 208 Montague — — Montgomery... 262 177 Navarro 3T0 801 Nueces 225 139 Palo Pinto 151 28 Parker 495 198 Presldeo No return. Refugio No return. Eobertson 229 185 Ban Patricio ... 17 81 San Saba 158 14 Starr No return. Tarrant 448 288 ' Travis 595 428 UvjLlde No return. Victoria No return. Walker 436 345 TEXAS. OONGEBSS— (Coniinuai) IHfftrictB, hid. Dem. II. Hamilton. Waul. Washington ... 641 678 Webb 116 Wharton 82 119 Williamson 458 204 Zapata 42 180 Total 17198 16007 Maj. for Hamilton, 1,191 ; do. for Houston, 4,878. Hamilton ran as an Inde- pendent Democrat. Hardin R. Runnells was the regular Democratic Candidate for Governor. Runnells beat Houston, for the same office, two years before; by 9,805 majority. TOTAI. VOTE OF THE STATE. ffowrnor.. Houston, 36227 Lt. Gov Clark,. . , 81458 6 ZWQ^oe Crosby... 28328 Congress. . .Iridep'nt Democrats. (?£>De;'?K)r.. Runnells, 27500 Lt 'Gov Lubbock, 80325 aZ'dQ^oeWliite... 83303 Congrp.sa. . .Dem., ... 399S4 Major's.— Houston, 8,727 ; Clark, 1,183; White, 4,975; Tennessee.— 1859. CONGRESS. SMrict.*. Omt. Dem. I. " Nelaon. Haynes. Carter 812 842 Cocke 945 687 Greene 1062 2026 Hancock ,867 641 Hawkins ' — 174 Jefferson 1602 664 Johnson 547 218 Sevier lOoS 261 Sullivan 542 1539 Washington.... 996 1835 Total .7S81 7827 Maj. for Nelson, 104. II. Maynnrd. Earoony. Anderson 889 814 Campbell 451 540 Claiborne 775 676 Fentress No return. Grainger 1206 7'48 Knox 2598 Sl6 Morgan 248 230 Overton 864 1481 Scott No return. Total 6476 4930 Maj. for Maynard, 1,546. III. Brabeon. Smith. Bledsoe 492 880 Blount 1278 723 Bradley 795 102S Cumberland — with Bledsoe. Hamiltpn 1284 918 Marion 481 893 Meigs _. 150 610 Monroe 943 1067 McMinn 1054 1094 Polk 879 742 Rhea 848 431 Roane 1044 889 Sequatchie 179 138 Total 88T2 8818 Moj. for Brahson, 59. TENNESSEE. CONGEESS-CCimSimued.) SieiTviB. , 0pp. Dem, IV. Stokea. Savage. Coffee 447 909 DeKalb 825 768 Grundy 66 886 Jackson 1426 1048 Macon 566 437 Smith 1693 674 VanBurea.... 158 166 Warren 528 1048 White 1034 750 Total 6633 6160 Maj. for Stokes, 473. V. Hatton. •Ready. Cannon 620 860 Rutherford .... 1462 1681 Sumner 810 1642 Williamson . . . .1609 728 Wilson 2828 10S3 Total 6719 6844 Maj. for Hatton, 875. * Independent,flupportedbyth6 Democrats. VI. Thomaa. Bedford „• 1460 Franklin -g 1540 Lincoln S 2898 MarshaU '. "g 1472 Ijfciury ]s 2168 Total §, 9023 Dem. maj. lor Gov., 4,278. VII. Gibbs. Wricht. Benton 29 682 Decatur 229 512 Giles 2.59 1569 Hardin 889 958 Hickman 89 1119 Humphreys 204 735 Lawrence 253 949 -Lewis 5 253 McNaiiy 831 1170 Jerry 208 655 Wayne. 210 678 Total 2711 9380 Maj. for Wriglit, 6,669. VITL Quarles. Menees. pheatliam — with Davidson. Davidson 8383 ^62 Dickson 447 887 Montgomery... 1870 1015 Robertson 1248 1120 Stewart 551 802 Total 6994 6286 Maj. for Quarles, 758. IX. Ellericlse. AtHna. Carroll .1720 1023 Dyer 736 665 Gibson 196T 1885 Henry 1019 1844 Henderson 1315 759 Lauderdale 464 419 Obion 682 1072 Tipton 875 .607) Weakley 1169 1616 Total 9437 9430 Maj. for EtherWge, 7. j X. Snead. Avery. ) Fayette 921 929 Hardeman 600 1108) Haywdod .778 903) Madison 1362 876 Shelby. 1987 2188) Total 5648 5954 J Maj. for Avery, 806. j Cui-rin, Ind.y received 286 \ votes for Congress. * ^ TENNESSEE. TOTAL VOTE OF THB BTATS. OppojHtion. Gov Netherland. .68218 Cong Opposition . .60921 Deniocrali. Gov Harris T6226 Oong. . . .Democratic. .78079 Majorities.— Harris, 8,008 ; Dem. maj. on Cong., 12,168. LEGISLATDRB — 1359. SEjiATE...Opp.,n; Dem., 14 House... .Opp.,84; Dem.j41 Kentnoky— 1859. CONGEESS. Districts. 0pp. ' Dtnn. I. Morro^..BQnult. Ballard 97 718 Caldwell 180 681 Calloway 118 liSl Crittenden 284 763 Fulton 140 443 Graves 277 1429 Hiclunan 45 671 Hopkins 166 1816 Livingston 251 426 Lyon 48 483 Marshall 84 916 McCracken .... 217 699 Trigg 128 9T8 Union 318 857 Total 2248 11540 Maj. for Burnett, 9,292. II. Jachaon. Peyton. Breckinridge... 921 708 Butler 509 585 Christian 987 1067 Daviess 1242 144.3 Grayson 565 5fi0 Hancock ... 421 47i Henderson 878 896 McLean No return. Mechlenburg . . S8S 1070 Ohio 793 1141 Total 7199 7989 Maj. for Peyton, 740. ni. Bristow. Sale. Allen 547 709 Barren 1697 1836 Edmonson No return. Hart 459 783 iogan 1468 464 Monroe 663 681 Simpson 407 567 Todd 726 426 Warren 12J2 789 Total 7164 6575 M^'. for Bristow, 1,589. IV. Anderson. ChriBman. Adair 647 1097 Boyle 789 803 Casey 696 448 Clinton 812 B78 Cumberland... 662 S63 Greene 4^ 681 Lincoln 935 440 Pulaski 1214 1375 RusseU 479 432 Taylor 367 648 Wayne 741 881 Total T204 T201 Maj. for Anderson, 8. V. Jewett, aBrown. Anderson 594 471 Bullitt 809 609 Hardin 783 965 Larue 493 861 Marion 540 965 Meade 837 500 • Independent Democrat. ELECTION RETURNS— KENTUCKY, MISSOURI AND OHIO. 248 KMNTUCKT. CONGEESS— (Q)n(iim«2.) Diitricta. ' 0pp. T)etru V. ■ Jewett, Brown. Mercer 85S 1168 Nelaon 49T 999 toencer 806 SSO Washington.... 90C C09 Total 5066 6927 Maj. for Brown, 1,861. VI. Adams. Garrard. Brcatlu»t 299 894 Olay 418 611 EatUl 566 493 Floyd 42T 678 Garrard 812 870 Harlan 490 213 Jackson 170 132 Johnson 64 760 Knox 807 814 Laurel 429 874 Letcher 223 227 Madison 1267 943 Owsley...- 456 814 ^erry 265 270 Pike 277 664 Book Castle.... 499 246 Whitley 715 84S Total 8164 7241 Maj. for Adams, 923. VII. Mallory. Holt. Henry 646 1029 Jelferson 4266 8324 Oldham 853 686 Bhelby 1161 786 Total 6416 5675 Maj. for Mallory, 741. YIII. Harlan. Simms. Bourbon 965 684 Fayette 1410 986 Franklin 868 819 Harrison 926 1817 Jessamine 598 687 Nicholas 737 1009 Bcott 782 1062 Woodford 684 468 Total 6866 698! Maj. for Simms, 67. I.T. J.w. IX. Moore. Moore. Bath 743 1040 Carter 484 882 Clarke 935 "412 Fleming 952 928 Greenup 1163 854 Lawrence 809 496 Lewis 664 781 Mason 1274 876 llontgomery... 587 502 MorgSn 562 1147 iPoweli 190 166 Rowan 142 244 Total 8505 8227 Maj. forL. T. Moore, 2 X. Jones. Stoyenson. Bracken. .J 754 773 Boone 826 970 Campbell 689 1242 Carroll 866 528 Gallatin 882 492 Grant 663 800 Kenton 950 1706 Owen 415 1439 Pendleton 615 871 Trimble 179 474 Total..'.. ...5839 9296 Maj. for Stevenson, 3,456. TOTAL TOTE OF STATE. Pp7)i«7t0Ti. eovernor. .Bell 67,271 Congress... Ovp.,... 64,670 Bern'"' nf.t. ffovej'nor . .Mnf^of&n 76,187 CtoB^rtfi-a.. .Dem.,. .. 76,553 Missouri— 1858. COifGBESS. Hi^tiicts. Reji, Sem. I. Blair. Barrett St. Louis 6681 7057 Breckinridge, Am., 5668. Barrett over Blair, 426.* • Contested by Frank Blair, who finally obtained the a^at ; but re- eigned'and referred the matter back to the Feoplc. Histricts. 0pp. Dein, II. ' Henderson. Andorsr-n. Audrain 412 599 ISoone 481 1836 Calloway 367 1696 Lincoln..;... 462 1038 Marion 956 1063 Monroe 536 1240 Montgomery.. 441 601 Pike 1122 1283 Kails 878 592 St.' Charles... 659 902 Warren 290 677 Total 6089 10902 Maj. for Anderson, 4,813. In the Thu-dDistriot, John B. Clark, D&m., was Uected without opposition. IV. Adame. Craljr. Andrew 598 1021 Atchison 158 511 Buchanan ... 730 1997 Caldwell 270 83S Clay 998 836 Clinton 604 546 Daviess 507 843 DeKalb 195 512 Gentry 464 , 1266 Harrison .... 694 .852 Holt 460 650 Hodaway. 162 825 Platte 1128 1-112 Kay. 1066 891 Total 7834 12489 Maj. for Craig, 4,615. V. Kcid. Woodson. Benton 503 253 Cass 449 617 Cole 744 116 Cooper 727 853 Henry 231 762 Jadtson 1447 1073 Johnson "616 850 Laftyette 840 936 Miller 450 176 Moniteau ... 391 '649 Morgan 285 868 Pettis 207 466 Saline 669 882 Total 6947 7942 Smith, Ind., 2,038. Woodson over Reid, 995. VI. EichardBon.^heIps. Bates 10 826 Barton 59 198 Barry 282 687 Camden 241 242 Cedar 220 628 Dade ^IS 652 Dallas 462 272 Gasconade... S4t 245 Greene 1135 1029 Hickory 168 850 Howell 166 97 Jasper 844 48( Laclede 855 878 Lawrence 508 566 Maries 80 472 McDonald ... 158 846 Newton .... 410 779 Oregon 137 189 ( Osage 427 451 / Ozark and ) „^ „.„ ^ Douglas, f '^ '*'* MISSOUTil. I •CONGRESS— (ConHnued.) ', DiKtricts. 0pp. Item. \ VI. Richardson. Fhelpe. Polk 672 630 Pulaski 118 265 St. Clair 114 721 '• Stone 118 178 Taney 206 486 Texas 124 678 Vernon 41 409 Webster 536 679 Wright 84 889 Total 8030 18434 Maj. for Phelps, 5,374. VII. Zc i-lfr. Nooll. Bollinger .... 188 628 Butler. 98 211 CapeGirard'u 784 648 Crawford .... 160 423 Dent 52 463 Dunklin 883 53 Franklin .... 1012 767 Iron 858 174 Jefferson .. 864 630 Madison 81 554 Mississippi... 126 8T7 New-Madrid . 227 337 Pemiscot 53 263 Perry 150 759 Phelps 71 498 Eeynolds.... 173 187 Ripley 66 412 Scott 298 893 Shannon , 12 197 Genevieve 278 897 StJ Francois . 849 608 Stoddard 217 472 Washington . . 273 703 Wayne 200 458 Total 5808 10404 Maj. for Noell, 4,596. At" the same election a vote was taken for Superin- tendent of Public Schools, at wliich Starke, D&m., was chosen over Provines, jl7»., by 88,884 majority. 01iio-18S9. GOVEENOR. List' if't-^. Bfp. Bern. I. & 11. Dennison. Ranney. Hamilton 18385 14178 Maj., for Eanney, 898. III. Den. Ran. Butlei- 2233 8479 Montgomery. 4747 4615 Preble 2261 1496 Total 9316 9590 Maj. for Kanney, 344 IV. " Uen. Rnn. AUen 1574 1636 AuglMze .... 696 1277 Darke 2201 2464 Mercer 540 1057 Miami 2722 ' 1L_. Shelby 1SS2 1517 Total 9085 9800 Maj. for Eanney, 715. V. Den. Ran. Defiance 778 1088 Fulton 1037 707 ; Hancock .... 1674 1796 ! Henry 670 841 > Lucas 2235 2073 Paulding .... 441 ■ ; S Putnam 785 1087 ( Van Wart ... 887 865 j Williams 1191 1013 J-ftood 1439 1021 Total 11017 10812 ) Maj. for Deunison, 205. OHIO. OOVERKOR— (Cbnhmirf.) JDintricts. Jiep. J}m\. VI. Donnison. RannPr. Adams 1405 ITS'S Brown 1667 227.') Clermont.... 2689 2!ll-8 Highland.. . 3163 2173 Total 7919 9191 Maj. for Ranney, l,27ti. VII. Den. K-ii. Clinton 1721 1019 Fayette 1093 761 Greene 2466 1363 Madison 1018 92!) Warren 26S9 161f Total 8987 5036 Maj.'for Dennison, 8,301. VIII. Den. Kan. Champaign.. 17.32 1612 Clarke 2249 1574 Delaware 2353 1776 Logan 1650 1283 Union 1241 910 Total 9230 Maj. for Dennison, IX. Den. Crawford 1550 Hardin 1132 Marion 1338 Ottaway , 828 Sandusky.... 1473 Seneca 2461 Wyandotte .. 1295 7110 2,120. Kjin. 2253 1127 1891 678 1823 26(!1 1890 Total 9597 11237 Maj. for Ranney, 1,680. -X. Den. Ran. Gallia 1865 1837 Jackson 1198 Lawrence 1450 Pike 669 Ross 2587 Scioto 1608 Total 8877 Maj. for Ranney, 162. XI. Den. Ran. Athens 1848 Fairfield 1394 Hocking 976 Meigs 1912 Perry 1898 Vinton 979 1287 2821 1397 1487 2281 1049 Total 9003 10222 Maj. for Ranney, 1,220. XII. Den. Ran. Franklin 8762 4&'4 Licking 8080 84S3' Pickaway . . . 1710 2147 Total...... 8602 10219 Maj. for Jlanney, 1,717. XIIl Den. Ran. Erie 1988 1585 Huron 2924 1363 Morrow 1919 1770 Richland .... 2735 2953 Total 9361 ,7825 Maj. for Dennison, 1,736. XIV. Den. Ban. Ashland 1834 1914 Lorain 3891 les^S Medina 2413 14.J7 Wayne 3944 328.") Total 10383 sS45 XV. Den. Rn-.- Coshocton ... 3198 2461 Holmes 1241 lOSf Knox 3(103 e.i.'^a Tuscarawas.. 3&ol 27TS Total SS73 V~3i Maj. for Kimney, 36S. 246 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOE 1860. OHIO. GOVERNOR— (CbiKiniiei.) Dtsi irtx. Jfrp. Bum. XVI. Dennieon. Raimey. Morgan 1835 1803 Muskingum... 8004 8467 Washington.. 2198 1781 Total 7637 6556 Maj. for Dennison, 1,081. XVir. ,Den. Ran. Belmont 2280 2691 fluernsey 2103 1663 Monroe 757 1E85 Noble 1443 1355 Total 6588 7194 Maj. for Kanuey, 606. XVIIL Dm. Ran Portage 2620 - 2088 Starke 8725 4005 Summit 2560 1734 Total 8905 T7T7 Maj. for Dennison, 1,128. XIX. Dan. Ban. Cuyalioga . . . 5834 4115 Geauga 1881 529 Lake 1807 S88 Total 9522 6182 Maj. for Dennison, 4,340. XX. J)en, Ran. Ashtabula . . . 8737 1049 Mahoning ... 2424 2041 Trumbull.... 3148 1791 Total 9804 4881 Maj. for Dennison, 4,423. XXr. Den. Ran. Carroll 1600 1265 Columbiana... 8125 2285 Harrison . . . 1764 1SS4 Jefferson 2294 1822 MICEJGAiir. CHIEF JUSTICE— (Con(i'A) ! Tiixlricti, Rep. X)a)l. Ill, Martin. Folch. ' Kalamazoo . . 2826 1513 Kent 3199 2443 Mason 73 Montcalm ... 469 814 \ Newago 287 245 1 Oceana 124 182' Ottawa 1643 1070 ; VanBuren... 1598 1807 ( INDIANA. INDIAJSTA. CONGRESS— (CimMnaed.) District. Ji^. Drm. CONGEESS— (CbiirtniiaJ.) DiH7-ic!s, Jtep. Dem. III. Dunn. Hughes. } X. Coae. DflWBon. Lawrence . . . 1095 880 ( Noble 1273 1080 Monroe 1075 964 j Steuben 1113 441 Switzerland.. 1121 1083 5 Whitley 776 868 941T 8. Cofirotb. Total 8783 6696 < Maj. for Dennison, 2,03T. TOTAL VOTE OF TUB STATE. Dennison, Eep., 184,502 ; Ranney, Z)em 171,2"" Maj. for Dennison, 13,2 Total... . 22804 17837 Maj. for Martin, 5,407. IV. Martin. Fclcb. Alpena . 38 Bay . 145 184 Cheboygan . 1 111 Chippewa... .. 40 86 Emmett .... . 21 147 Genesee . 2122 1676 Gr'd Trarerae 235 187 Houghton . . . 152 878 Ingham .... . 1861 1719 Iosco . 48 4 IsabeUa . 42 25 Lapeer . 1476 1098 Mackinac... . 27 158 Macomb . 1932 1671 Manistee... .. 62 47 Manitou . 14 23 Marquette.. . . 120 159 Midland.... . 123 16 Oakland . 8479 8896 Ontonagon . . 154 141 Saginaw . 989 911 : Sanilac . 908 817. Shiawasse .. . 1160 1069' St. Clair.... . 1932 1668 : Tuscola . 621 299. Total .17707 15100 1 Maj. for Martin, 2,60T. ; TOTAL TOTC OF THE STATE. 1 Martin, Sep. , 65,916 ' Felch, Dem.. 63,681 : Maj. for Martin,.. 12,235 ; Total 9363 8885 Carr, A. Z. Dem., 1,482. Dunn over Hughes, 978. rv. Hackleman. Holman. Dearborn.... 1472 2835 Decatur 1672 1444 Franklin 1264 2135 Ohio 424 492 Ripley 1881 1464 Rush........ 1643 1565 Total...... 7856 9425 Maj. for Holman, 1,569. V. Kilpore. Devlin. [Delaware 1293 718' I Fayette 1069 i Henry 1956 M2i Randolph.... 1572 1068 Union 748 640 Wayne 2750 1666. Total 10780 Maj, for Case, 1,86 XI. Peiut. . Adams 474 Blackford.... 251 I Grant 129T Hamilton 1471 Howard 1009 Huntington . . 1218 1 Jay 847 Madison 1209 \ TiiJton 505 Wabash 179T Wells 670 Total 9388 5921 Maj. for Kilgore, S,462. VI. Porter. Hancock 8T6 Hendricks 1662 I Johnson .... 1114 Marion 3956 Morgan 1590 : Shelby 1579 Rav. 1040 1174 1415 8064 1402 1631 879 978 1003 622 1395 772 1461 1126 848 Total 10T48 10038 Maj, for Pettit, 710. AGGREGATE VOTE* OF STATE. liirptHtliritnu. Sea. S 756^ Total 14541 12610 Maj. for Colfax, 1,981. X. Caae. Dawann. Allen 1949 2707 DeKalb 104T 1157 Elkhart 1971 1649 Kosciusco 1534 1057 La Grange... 1062 400! Total...... 15811 645T Jackson, A.L.D., 870. Washburne over Bright, 9,354. II. FarnswoTtll, Dyer. Cook 10108 8278 DeKalb 2067 612 DuPage 1280 « 496 Kane 81T2 1121 Lee 1638 669 Rock Island.. 1642 1302 Whiteside 1990 700 Total 2179T 13198 Blackman, A.L.D., 701. F'worth over Dyer, 8,699. III. Lbvejoy. ArmBtronfS, Bureau 2546 60T Champaign.. 1271 '900 De Witt 992 758 Grundy :. 999 7l6 Iroquois 1199 744 Kankakee . . . 1366 862 Kendal! 1423 405 La Salle 4040 8488 Livingston.... 986 794 M'Lean 2670 2150 Putnam 682 299 Vermillion.... 1661 1126 Will 2678 2193 Total 22818 14988 LeHoy, A£.Z)., 1,828. L'joy over Armst^g, 7,325. ELECTION RETURNS— ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, OREGON VND IOWA. 247 ILLINOIS. OONGEESS— (Co«HnK«i.) DUt'icte. 7tep. J''em. IV. KclloL^e. Davidson. Pnlton 2930 ' 3224 Henry 2242 1101 Knox 2905 1820 5 Marshall .... 1203 1054 Mason 822 1038 Mercer 1419 898 Peoria 2601 2628 Stark 929 584 TMewell 1T83 1960 warren 1T33 1406 Woodford... 811 1152 Total 194ST 16S6Q Sale, A.LD., 653. Kellogg over D'son, 2,627. V. Grliraha^vi Morris. Adams 3004 3280 Brown 590 849 Calhoun 171 607 Hancock .... 2034 2284 Henderson .. 1001 755 McDonald... 1774 1944 Pike 1991 2471 Schuyler 1063 1-4S9 Total.. ., 11648 13529 Davis, A.LD., 504. Morris over G'sha.w, 1,831. VI. Matbeny. H.irri9. Cass 748 1068 Christian 691 928 Greene 765 1517 Jersey 574 1059 Macoupin 1615 2098 Menard 780 S.51 Morgan 1789 2054 Montgomery.. 786 1222 Sangamon ... 2893 8010 Boott 650 1002 Shelby 550 1894 Total .... 116.16 16193 McConnell, AX D., 277. Harris over Math'y, 4,547. VII. Oglesbv. RoMnsnn. Clay 424 712 Clark lore 1405 Coles 1859' 157d Cumberland. . 4S8 696 Ci-awford 698 923 Edgar 1446 1481 Bfiingham.... 214 803 Payette 605 842 Jasper 469 619 Lawrence ."* . 4.:i5 662 Logan 1315 1174 Macon 1168 989 Moultrie 518 570 Piatt 546 480 Eichland 499 755 Total 11760 185SS Baldwin, A.L.B., 36. E'son over Oglesby, 1,823. vm. Baiter. Foulio. Bond 731 700 Clinton 877 838 Jefferson 283 1198 Madison 20.'54 2185 Marion 575 1142 Moni-oe 569 1149 Randolph.... 917 1090 St. Clair 2464 20,58 Washington.. 435 1090 Total 8410 11490 Hope, ^. £./>., 198. Eouke over Baker, 3,030. IX. Phillips. Lojrnn. Alexander . . 41 873 Kdwarda 895 267 Pranklin 19 1080 ftallatin 207 815 JIamilton 6 1155 ILLINOIS. CONGEESS— (ConliiiiMd.) DiH'icta. Rfip. Hem. IX. FUlllpi. Locnn. Hardin 46 Jackson WISCONSIN. GOTERNOE— (Coiijinueii.) ' Suiricts. I^rf. JJim. IL Randall. Hobnrt. ^60 ! Dunn 192 175 1225 ) Eau Claire ... 320 238 1157? Grant 2496 17151 750) Green 1726 1141: 798 Iowa 1454 1820 774 ? Jackson 498 689; Juneau 1060 1148 > La Crosse.... 1219 819 (Lafayette.... 1102 623SLapointe .... 72 1250 > Maratlion 206 Johnson 7 Massac 15 PeiTy 474 Pope 18 Pulaski 67 Saline 8 Union 65 Wabash 896 White 611 , Williamson . . 43 1654 ' Wayne 804 1195 Total 2796 15878 Palish, A.L.D., 144. Logan over Phillips, 18,082. For Superin't of Public Instruction, Bateman, i^ep,, received 124,556 votes ; French, Doug., 122,418 ; Reynolds, Buck., 5,173. For Treas'r, Miller, .fffiy?., received 125,480 ; Fondey, Dotigiaa Dem., 121,609 ; Dougherty, £uch^n Dem., 5,071. THE VOTE FOE LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS. At this election, Messrs. Lincoln and Douglas can- vassed the State for U. S. Senator, to be chosen by the j Kewaunee Legislature then elected ;< Manitowoc Monroe . Pepin . . . Pierce... Polk .... Portage . Richland Rock.. St. Croix 516 Sauk 1659 Trempeleau . . 366 Wood 235 506 161 745 4089 874! 10S4i 1614 109 609 578 255 305 141 582 647 1578 660 799 184 280 Total 27191 21080 Maj. for Randall, 6,111. Eaadnll. la Brown Calumet 518 Columbia 2595' Dodge 3192 Door : . . . 72 FondduLac. 8214 Green Lake Jefferson 1438 2.527 167 704 588 and while Mr. Douglas car- i Marquette.. . . ricd a majority of the Legis- ( Oconto 352 latui-e, Mr. Lincoln had the ( Ozaukee . popular vote. The aggre- J Outagamie gate vote of the State for ( Shawanaw. members of the Legislature i Sheboygan was as follows : Lincoln, Bep., . . . 124,698 Douglas, Dem., . . 121,190 Muah. Dem., and Scattering, 4,683 Lincoln over Douglas, 3,508. In Five Districts of the \ State there were no Repub- lican Candidates for the ' Legislature. , In these five \ Districts, the Republican i State Ticlcet received 577 1 votes, which, added to the i vote of Mr. Lincoln (to which ' they clearly belong), makes | his majority in this State, i over Douglas, 4,085. S Washington.. \ Waupacca \ Waushara . . . J Winnebago .. 494 105 1772 684 1167 1126 Hotmrl. 1066 678 1646 8356 78 2530 662 2512 567 2134 792 446 1577 733 87 1S89 2106 624 880 1670 Total .... 24113 25883 Maj. for Hobart, 1,770. TOT,\L VOTE OF THE STATE. Randall, Rep., 6S4C5 Hobart, Dem. 69503 Maj. for Randall, . . 8957 Oregon— 1859. Wisconsin— 1859. Dvtricta. I. GOVEENOR. Rfip. Dem EanilflU. Hobart, Kenosha 18-1 Milwaukee... 2311 Racine 2111 Walworth sm Waukesha . . 27^5 906 6231 1634 14S9 2296 Total 12101 12545' Maj. for Hobart, 384. n. Rait dall. Hobart Adams 694 298 BadAx 995 619 Buffalo 264 414 1 ; Chippewa 156 243 ; Clark* 71 43 . Ci-awford .... 619 748 JDane S72r 8880 (Douglas 34 60 Counties. Benton Clackamas . Clotsop Columbia Coos Curry Douglass . . . Jackson Josephine , . Lane Linn Marion Multnomah . Polk Tillamook . . Umpqua Wasco Washington. Yamhill Sep. Lojran. 222 380 54 6-3 53 54 889 218 211 583 602 1062 563 254 10 182 115 856 412 Iowa— 1859. GOVEENOE. SiMHcts. liep. I. Eirliwofld, Adair 120 Adams 177 Audubon 58 Appanoose . 627 Cass 179 Clarke 462 Dallas 530 Davis 717 Decatur 390 Desmoines.. . 1704 Fremont 298 Guthrie 257 Harrison .... 29T Henry 1596 Jasper 946 Jefferaon .... 1282 Keokuk 1023 Lee 2159 Louisa 956 Lucas 621 Madison 651 Mahaska .... 1212 Marion 1256 MUls 262 Monroe 749 Montgomery.. 125 Page 877 Polk 1073 Potawa.tomie. 295 ; Poweshiek . . . 595 Ringgold 260 Shelby 78 Taylor 804 Union 151 VanBuren... 1397 Wapello 1016 Warren 987 Washington.. 1203 Wayne 416 Total 5631 Maj. for Stout, 39. jyp.m. stent. 422 879 84 72 68 87 493 663 411 685 723 296 434 284 5 48 255 201 313 5670 Drm. Dodge, 76 122 60 98S 152 851 443 1143 771 1928 504 260' 851 998 705 U92 1048 2892 679 457 729 1187 1486 246 665 115 383 1048 600 411 123 96 257 193 1402 1260 609 946 535- Total 26663 26755 Maj. for Dodge, 92. 11. Kirkwood. Allamakee... 743 Benton 914 Black Kawk.. 815 Boone 293 Bremer 417 Buchanan. . . . 816 Buena Vista. . 2 Butler 474 Calhoun 17 Carroll SO Cedar 1152 Cerro Gordo.. 117 Cherokee... . 12 Chickasaw. . . 4.39 Clay 3 Clayton 1680 Clinton 1605 Crawford 45 Delaware 844 Dickinson 81 Dubuque 1751 Emmet IS Fayette -102 Floyd 495 Franklin 201 Greene 126 Grundy 110 Hamilton."... 192 Hancock .... 19 Hardin 645 Howard 386 Humboldt ... 49 Ida 4 Iowa 765 j Jackson 1278 Johnson 1 603 Jones 1161 Kossuth . Linn Marshall ... Mitchell .... Monona Muscatine . . ■75 1771 795 516 105 1457 Dodge. 102S 7sa 650 413 438 570 6 246 17 30 1003 73 7 808 9 1429 1521 65 894 15 8153 5 849 231 51 146 17 105 14 458 279 29 3 649 1477 1395 1153 87 1345 442 204 l06 1864 248 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. IOWA. GOVERNOR— (Gi;.(mimJ.) DixtTicts. /i>;>. riem. II. KIrLwood, Dodge, , Palo Alto .... 3 44 Plymouth.... 24 11 i Pocahontas.. 16 17 1 Sm' 23 3T Scott 2208 1625 Stovy 895 858' Tama 500 295 i Webster 252 S Winnebago . . 11 24 ^ Winneshiek.. 1022 771 Woodbury... 132 163 Worth 98 26 Wright 80 52 ; Total .... 29741 2C656( Maj. for Kirkwood, 8,185. TOTAL VOTE OF TUB STATE. Kirkwood, Jlep., S6404 j Dodge, Z>«m., 53811 ] Maj. for Eirk^ood, 8C Minnesota— 1659. GOVERNOR. Counties. 2!ep. Bum. Bamaev. Becher. Anoka 888 165: Benton 143 9-1-; Blue Earth . . 784 560 ' Brown 843 800 ! Carver 473 5341 Cass 4 . No return. Chisago 284 156 i Crow Wing. . . S 55 1 Dakota 1007 1056 | .Dotlge 593 444' Parribault . . . 210 1091 Fillmore 1399 ll'Tl Freeborn .... 433 237 Goodhue 1220 7061 Hennepin ... 2018 1117 Houston 675 716] Isantt No return. Jackson 21 18 < Kannabec ... 9 Kandiyohi... 19 he Sueur 577 625 1 Manomin No return. Martin 18 10 i McLeod 197 95 1 Meeker 147 103 \ Mille Lac No return. Monongalia.. 47 80! Morrison 88 115 { Mower 412 488 NlcoUett 424 237 Olmsted... . 1119 7771 I'ine 6 28 ; F^mblna No return. < Ramsey 14S5 17731 KenviUe 8 37 ! MINNESOTA. GOVERNOR— (CbnHnaa!.) Butricts. Hep. rem , BatDBCy. Becker. . Rice 1046 828 Scott 553 917 1 Sherburne . . .■ 181 Sibley 8C8 6261 Stearns 876 Steele 448 , 178 1 Todd NcM-eturn. Wabashaw... 793 6121 Waseca 859 254 Washington. . 963 ' 707 Winona 1209 814 Wright 579 265 ! Carlton, 1 St. Louis, [-... 88 1191 Lake, ) Total.. .. 21335 1T588 | Maj. for Ramsey, 3,752. LEGISLATURE. Senate . Rep. , 23 ; Dem. , 18 ; i Independent, 1. HonsB. .Rep., 58 ; Dem., ! California— 1859. GOVERNOR. Cbuntien. Rep. Dem. A.L.J). Stanford. Latham. Carrey. Alameda.. 299 1066 664 Amador... 232 2023 986 Butte 854 1915 1666 Calaveras. 85 8276 1391 Colusa ... 15 541 166 Oon'a Costa 41 805 878 Del Norte. 18 892 126 El Dorado. 408 8096 2418 Fresno 1 869 11 Humboldt 63 897 872 Klamath.. 1 607 120 Los Ang'ls 220 1916 49 Marin.... 67 46T 76 Mariposa. 8 1462 212 Mendocino 11 730 85 Merced.... 1 281 82 Monterey.. 46 496 175 Napa 14 810 906 Nevada... 581 8186 2534 Placer.... 896 8226 1117 Plumas... 193 8S2 649 Sacram'to. 223 8526 2678 San Bern'o 89 582 6 San Diego. 17 269 1 SanFran'o8027 4747 2948 San Joa'in 209 1806 878 S.LuisOb'o 80 284 30 San Mateo 105 420 418' Santa B'ra 85 431 — Santa Clara 626 1407 867 Santa Cruz 150 499 451 Shasta.... 8 1456 432 Sierra .... 2»5 2S14 1666 CALIFOHNM. GOVERNOR-canKiiuei.) Couniic;. Sep, Oem. A.L.D. Stanford. Latharp. Carrey. Siskiyou . . 48 21b9 1803 Solapo 83 1172 827 Sonoma... 64 19H1 114er causes, good or bad, may be obnoxious to the views or marked by the suspi- cions of the President, or be thought dangerous to his or their elections or other interests, public or personal ; that tlie friendless alien has been selected as the safest subject of a first experiment; but the citizen will soon follow, or rather has already followed ; for, already has a sedition act marked him as a prey : that these and suc- cessive acts of the same chai-acter, unless arrested on the threshold, may tend to drive these States into revolution and blood, and will furnish new calumnies against repub- lican governments, and new pretexts for those who wish It to be believed, that man cannot be governed but by a rod of iron ; that it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights ; that confidence is every- where the parent of despotism ; free government is founded in jealousy and not in confidence ; itis jealousy and not confidence which pyeacribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power ; that our Constitution lias accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no farther, our confidence may go ; and let the honest advocate of confidence read the Alien and Sedition acts, and say if the Constitution has not been wise in fixing Umits to the government it created, and whether we should be wise in destroying those limits ? Let him say what the government is, if it be not a tyranny, which the men of our choice have conferred on the Presi- dent, and the President of our choice has assented to and accepted over the friendly strangers, to whom the mild spirit of our country and its laws had pledged hospitality and protection ; that the men of our choice have more respected the bare suspicions of the President than thesolid rights of innocence, the claims of justification, the sacred force of truth, and the forms and substance of law and justice. In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of tlie Constitution. That this common- wealth does therefore call on its co-States for an expres- sion of their sentiments on the acts concerning aliens, and for the punishment of certain crimes hereinbefore speci- fied, plainly declaring whether these acts are or are not authorized by the federal compact. And it doubts not that their sense will be so announced as to prove their attachment to limited government, whether general or particular, and that the rights and liberties of their co- States wili be exposed to no dangers by remaining em- barked on a common bottom with their own - but they will concur with this commonwealth in considering the said acts as so palpably against the ConstHution as to amount to an undisguised declaration, that the compact is not meant to be the measure of tlie powers of the Gene- ral Government, but that it will proceed in the exercise fflver these States of all powers whatsoever. That they will. view this as seizing the rights of the States and conso- lidating them in the hands of the General Government, with a power assumed to bind the States (not merely in cases made federal] but in ail cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against theii* consent; that this would be to surrender the form of government we have chosen, and Uve under one deriving its powers from its own will, and not from our authority ; and that the co-States, recurrii>g to their natural rights in cases not wade federal, will concur in declaring these void and of no force, and will each unite with this com- monwealth In requesting their repeal at the next session of Congress. On the 14th of Kov., 1799, the Kentucky Houae of Representatives, after having received replies to the above from the legislatures of several States, which replies seem to have been unsatis- factory, reiterated its position as follows : ResoVoedi That this commonwealth considers the Fede- ral Union, upon the terms and for the purposes ?psci&ed in the late compact, as conducive to the libery ami hap- piness of the several States : That it does now unequivo- cally declare its attachment to the Union, and tu that compact, agreeably to its obvious and real intention, and will be among the last to seek its dissolution : Tliat it those who administer the General Government be psnnit- ted to transgress the limits fixed by that cumpHct, by a tutal disregard to the special delegations of power there- in contained, an annihilation of the State goveruments, and the creation upon tlieir ruins of a geueral uunsuli- dated government, will be the inevitable consequence ; That the principle and construction contended for by sundry of the Slate legislatures, that the Genenil Govern- menr, is the exclusive judge of the extent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothiug short of despotism — since the discretion of those who administer the government, and not the Constitution, would be the meaaiu-e uf their powers—That the several States who formed tiiat instru- ment, being sovereign and independent, have '.he unques- tionable right to judge of the infraction ; tmd that a nul- lification by those sovereignties of all uuauLhorizeii acts done under culur of that insirument Is the rightful re- medy: That this coaimonwealth does, under the most deliberate reconsideration, declare that the said Alien and Sedition laws are, in their opinion, palpable viola- tions of the said Constitution; and, however cherirfnlly it may be disposed to surrender it-s cpiuiun to a m.ijority of lis sister States, in uiaUers of ordinary or dyidjiful policy, yet, in momentous regulations like the present, which so vitally wound the best rights of the citizt^ii, it would consider a silent iicqnitiscence as highly criminut : That although this commonwealth, ai; a pjiity t-i tlie fijde- ral compact, will bow to the laws of the Union, yet it does, at the same time, declare that it will n\<\. now, or evtrr hereafter, cease t^o oppose in a constitutional man- ner every attempt, at what quarter soever oCfdred, to violate that compact. And fijially, in order that no cre- text or arguments miiy be drawn from a supposed acqui- escence on the part of this cummonwislth in the coiiati- tuiionfility of those laws, and be thereby used as prece- dents for similar future vlohitions of the federal compact — this commonwealtli does now enter against them its sotanin protest. This resolution passed the Senate on the 22d Nov., ]-799. MR. DOUGLAS' OPINIONS ON SLAVERY, &c. On the 25th January, 1845, Mr. Douglas, then a member of the House of Representatives, offered the following amendment to the joint Resolution for the Annexation of Texas : " And in such State or States as may be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri Compromise^ line, slavery or involuntary servitude — except for crime — shall be prohibited."— 0)71?. Globe^ vol. 14, page 193. HE DEFENDS THIS MISSOURI COMPROMISE. On the 13th of March, 1850, Mr. Douglas made a speech in the United States Senate, from which the following is an extract: " The next in the series of aggressions complained of by the Senator from South Carolma, is the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise, an act of Northern injustice, designed to deprive the South of her due share of the Territories ! Why, sir, it was only on tills yery day that the Senator for Mississippi despaired of any peaceable adjustment of existing difficulties^ because the Missouri Compromise hne could not be extended to the Pacific. That measure was o.igiually adopted in the bill for the admission of Mis£Ou:i by the union of Northern and Southern votes. The South has always professed to be willing to abide by it, and even to continue it, as a fair and honorable adjustment of a vexed and didlcuit question. In 184^, it was adopted in the resolutions for the annexation of Texas, by Southern as well as Northern votes, without the slightest complaint that it was unfair to any section of the country. In 1S46, it received the support of every Southern member of the House of Representatives— Whig and Democrat — without exception, as an alternative measure to the Wilmot Pro- vislo. And again in ISIS, as an amendment to the Ore- gon bill, on my motion, it received th-.; vote, if I recollect aright — and I do not think that I can possibly be mis- taken — of every Southern Senator, Whig and iJemocrat, even including the Senator from South Carolina himself, (Mr. Callioun.) And yet we are now told that this ia only second to the Ordinance of ITttT in the series of aggressions on the South." — Cong, Glode, Appendix^ vol. 22, pari 1, page 870. £52 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. "The Territories belong to the United States as one people, one nation, and are to be disposed of for the common benefit of all, according to the principles of the Constitution. Each atate, as a member of the Confede- racy, has a right to a voice in formhig the rules and regulations for the goTcrnment of the Territories ; but the different sactions — North^ South, Bast and West- have no such right. It is no violation of Southern rlglats to prohibit Slave ry."~ObTCgr. Globe, Appendix, 'ool. 22, part 1, page HQQ. HE ADVOCATES THE "IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT." On the same day, aud,iiithe same speech, Mr. Douglas said : " I have already had occasion to remark, that at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, there were twelve (slave States), and six of them have since abol- ished slavery. This fact shows, that the cause of freedom has steadily and firmly advanced, while slavery has receded in the same ratio. We all look forward with con- fidence to the time when Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, and probably North Carolina and Tennessee, will adopt one gradual system of eman- cipation, under the operation of which those States must, In process of time, become free." And again, on the same page, speaking of a propoeition to amend the Constitution, so as to preserve an •'equilibrium " in point of numbers between free and slave States, he says : " Then, sir, the proposition of the Senator from South Carolina is entirely impracticable. It ia also inadmissible, if practicable. It would revolutionize the fundamental principle of the Government. It would destroy the great principle of popular equality, which must necessarily form the basis of ah free institutions. It would be a retro- gi-ada movement in an age of progress, that would astonish the world." — Q}ng. Globe, Appendix^ vol. 22, 'part 1, page 871. COKGKESS MAY RIGHTFULLT EXCLUDE SLATES FROM TUE TKRRITORIES. On the 18th of March, 1850, in the speech already quoted from, Mr. Douglas said: "But you say that we propose to prohibit by law your emigrating to the Territories with your property. We pi'jopose no such thing. We recognize your right,, in com- mon with our own, to emigrate to the Territories with your property, and there to hold and enjoy it in subordi- nation to the laws you may find In force in the country. These laws, in some respects, differ from our own, as the laws of the various States of this Union vary on some pqints from the laws of each other. Some species of pro- perty are e,xcluded by law in most of the States as well as Territories, as being unwise, immoral, or contrary ,to the principles of sound public policy. For instance, the banker is prohibited from emigrating to Minnesota, Ore- gon or California with his bank. The bank may be pro- p-^rty by the laws of New York, but ceases to be so when taken into a State or Territory w^here banking is prohib- ited by the local law. So, ardent spirits, whisky, brandy, and all the intoxicating drinks, are recognized and con- sidered as property in most of the States, if not all of them ; but no citizen, whether from the North or South, can take this species of property with him, and hold, sell, or use it at his pleasure, in all the Territories, because it is proliibited by the local law — in Oregon, by the statutes of the Territory, and-in the Indian country by the Acts of Congress. Nor can a man go there and take and hold his slave, for the same reason. These laws, and many others involving- similar principles, are directed against no section, and impair the rights of no State of the Union. They are laws against the introduction, sale and use of specific kinds of property, whether brought from the North or the South, or from foreign countries." — Cong. Globe, Appendix^ vol. 22, pari 1, page 371. And again : " But, sir, I do not hold the doctrine that to exclude any species of property by law from any TeiTitory,m a violation of any right to property. Do you not exclude banks from most of the Temtories ? Do you not exclude whisky from being introduced into large por- tions of the territory of the United States ? Do you not exclude gaming-tables, which are property, recognized as such in the States where they are tolerated ? And has any one contended that the exclusion of gambling-tables, and the exclusion of ardent spirits, was a violation of any constitutional privilege or right? And yet it is the case in a large portion of the territory of the United States ; but there is no outcry against that, because it Is the pro- hibition of a specific kind of property, and not a prohibi- tion against any section of the Union. Why, sir, our laws now prevent a tavern-keeper from going into some of the territories of the United States and taking a bar with him, and using and selling spirits there The law also prohibits certain other descriptions of business from being carried on in the Territories. I am not, therefore, prepared to say that, under the Constitution, we have not the power to pass laws excluding Negro Slavery from the Territories.. It involves the same principles." — Speech of Senator Douglas, June 3d, 1S50, pages 1115, a/nd 1116, vol. 21, Cong. Globe, 1849-BO. On the same day, and in the same speech, Mr, Douglas referred to the Wilmot Proviso resolutions, passed by the Illinois Legislature, thus : " My hands are tied upon one isolated point." " A Senator — Can you not break loose?" " Mr. Douglas — I have no desire to break loose. My opinions are my own, and I express them freely. My votes belong to those that sent me here, and to whom I am responsible. I have never differed with my consti- tuency during seven years* service in Congress, except upon one solitary question. And even on that, I have no Constitutional difliculties, and have previously twice given the same vote, under peculiar circumstances ; which la now required at my hands. I have no desire, therefore, to break loose from the instruction."— Confif. Globe^ Appenddx, vol. 22, part 1, page 313. SLAVERY IN NEW MEXICO, In the Senate, on the 12th day of February^ 1850, on the subject of Slavery in the Territory of New Mexico, Mr. Douglas said : "If the question is controverted here, I am ready to enter into the discussion of that question at any time, upon a leasoniible notice, and to sliow thdt, by the con- stituted authority and constitutionfil authority of Mexico, Slavery was prohibited in Mexico at the time of the ai:quisition, and that proliibition waa acquired by us with tlie soil, and that when we acqun'ed the territory, we acquired it with tli at/attached to it— that covenant runiiirig with the soil — and that must continue, unless removed by competent auihority. And because there WHS a pi-ohibit-ion thus attached to the soil, I have always thought it was an unwise,. unnecesRary, and un- juatifirtble course on the part of the people of the free States, to require Congress to put another prohibition on the top of that one. It has been the strongest argu- ment that I have ever urged against the prohibition of Slavery in the Territories, that it was not necessary for the accomplisliment of their ohject." — Cong. Globe^ vol. 1% part i; page 843. SLAVERT A MERE QUESTION OF DOLLARS AND CENTS. Shortly after the Illinois election of 1858, Mr. Douglas made a southern tour, stopping at St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans, and addressing tlie people at those places on politi- cal topics. He spoke at SIcraphis, on the 29th of November, and the following is an extract from his speech as reported phonographically in the Memphis Avalanche'* " Whenever a Territory has a climate, soil and pro- ductions, making it the interest of the inhabitants to encourage slave property, they will pass a stave code and give it encouragement. Whenever the climate, soil anu productions preclude the possibility of slavery being profitable, they will not permit it. You come right back to the principle of dollars and cents. 1 do not care where the immigration in the southern country comes from ; if old doShua R. Giddings should raise a colony in Ohio and settle down in Louisiana, he would be the strongest advocate of Slavery in the whqle South; he would find, when he got there, his opinion of Slavery would be very much modified; he would find on those sugar plantations that it was not a question between the while man and the negro but between the negro and the crocodile. He would say that between the negro and the crocodile he took the side of the negro ; but be- tween the negi'o and the white man, he would go for the wMte man." APPENDIX. 353 SLAVES ARE RECOQNIZKD A3 "PROPERTY" BY THE CONSTITUTION. On the 6th of December, 1858, Mr. Douglas spoke at New Orleans. The following quotation from his speech is taken from the report in the New Orleans Delta: "I, in common with the Democraoy of IlHnoia, accept the Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, in tl)e Dred Scott case, as an autliorita- tive exposition of the Constitution. Whatever limita- tions the Constitution, as expounded by the courts, imposes on the authority of a Territoria Legislature, we cheerfully recognize and respect in conformity with that decision. Slaves are recognized as property, and placed on an equal footing with all other property. Hence, the owner of slaves — the same as the owner of any other species of property— has a right to remove to a Territory and carry his property with him." In the Senate, on the 2Sd of February, 1859, in a debate with Jeflf. Davis, Mr. Douglas said: "I do not put Slavery on a different footing from other property. I recognize it as property under what is undei'stood to be the decision of the Supreme Court. I argue that the owner of slaves has tlie same right to remove to the Territories and carry his clave property with him as the owner of any other species of property, and hold the same, subject to such loc^l laws as the Ter- ritorial Legislature may constitutionally pass ; and if any person shall feel aggrieved by such leal legislation, he may appeal to the Supreme Court to test the validity of such laws. I recognize slave property to be on an equality with all other property, and apply the same rules to it. I will not apply one rule to slave property and another to all other kind of property." — Cl(?ams, Adrain, Allen Thomas L. Anderson, William 0. Anderson, Ashmore, Avery, Brirksdale. Btirr, IJiin-ett, Bocock, Bonhnm, Bnyce, BvAnch, Britstow, Burch, Burnett, John B. Clark, Cloi>' ton, Cobb, Juhn Cnrhrsme. Cooper, Cox, James Craig, Crawford, Cu-ry, TT Winter Davis, John Q. Davis, De Jarnette, Mheridge, Florence, Garnetc, Gartrell, John T. Harris, Haskin, Hawkins, Holman, Houston, Howard, Hughes, Jackson, Jenkins, Jones, Keitt, Kunkel, Lamar, Laudruni, Larrabee, James M. Leach, Leake, Logan, Love, Charles D. Martin, McQueen, Miles, Millson, Mont- gomery, Sydenham Moore, Isaac N. Morris, NiblacV-," Pendleton, Peyton, Phelps. Pryor, Pugh, Keagan. -Rey- nolds, RroGS, James C. K'-binson, Ruffin, SpifW-ARTZ, Scott, Simms, Singleton, William Smith, Stailirorth, Ste- venson, Stout, Taylor, Thayer, Thnma?, iTnderwood, Vallangdigham, VoMce, Wobster^ Whiie.'ey, Winslow, Woodson, and Wright— 89. Democrats, in roman, 74; Americans, in italics, 8; Anti-Lecompton Democrats, in small CAPS, 5 ; Independent (Keynolds, in romiin), 1 ; Republicans (Th»ycr, in rortian), 1. Total, 89. This bill failed to pass the Senate.