E 440 .C19 Copy 1 A. D D R E S S OP THK CAMERON AND LINCOLN CLUB OK TilE CITY OF CHICAGO, ILL,, TO THE PEOPLE OF THE mWi\ WEST. Bi' a resolution of the ^Camerox and Lincoln Clit? of the City of Ciiicago, it was made the duty of tlie Executive Com- mittee to address you in referen-re:itesi of all iniquities, the African slave trade. To this policv, and such doctrines, we are unalterably opposed. Like the Father of our country, we are op]>03ed to t;he .spread of slavery into any new territory, and believe that Congress has entire control over the territories for their government, a doctrine which met the approval of the foundei's of our Republic, received their sanction, and was exercised by Congress from the oroaniiiatioa of the government imtil the repeal oT the Missouri Coin].ronu>=e in 1854. The heresy that slavery exists in the territories of the ITuited States, under the Constitution, is in direct antagonism with the Constitution, which declares that Congress shairmaLe all needful rules and regulations for the government of the territories and '/.- >'• \ '■'■that no person shall be deprived of Hf<', H.herlij or proptrly, ii-lthout due ■process of law.''' It is anti-Aiiieriean and anti-Re- publican, and should be frowned upon and repudiated by every iVeeman and lover of the principles jironnUgated in the Declara- tion of Independence. There is no po'wfir in the Constitution eonferring the right upon a citizen of a State to carry Slaves into any territories of the United States; and we maintain thaf ihe instant he does so, they become free. Such behig the fad', w hile tlie Constitution shall be maintained, Ave deiiy the right of any power in this government to plant slavery in any of our lerritories, or to give it legal existence there. In nrging the nomination of Gen. Cameron for the J^residency, we do so because of his devotion to the principles of free soil, his h'lcrh administrative ability, his advocacy of the protective indnslrv of the conntry, liis' availability, atid the l^u-t that lu- would, "if elected, administer the attairs of the government ui)on strictly liepublican principles. Ceil. Cameron is no ordinary man. He was born to toil. He is from the ranks of the people ; his sympathies are Avith theiu, and liis whole life is an exemplification ol' devotion to their in- terests. A Laboring man himself, he has always striven to dignify and elevate labor. He declared in the United States Senate in 18-i(J, when o))posing the reduction of the tarift'of 1842: " What 1 ha\ e done lias been with a view of showing the great import- ance of this trade, now threatened Avith destruction, witli no motive that I can see, nnless it be to build up in the Smith a lordly aristocracy, Avho have no conception of the dignity ol" lal)or. It shall liot be said hereafter that this calamity was tjrouirlit upon the kiboring men of my country without all the effort in mv ])0wcr to prevent it. My sym])athies are Avith the people. I came from among the children of toil, ami l)y constant application and honest labor, liave reached the proud position 1 occupy. The best legacy I could desire to leave my <'hildren, would be the fact, that J had eontrihiited to defeat a measure lVau«->-ht, as I believe this is, w ith calamiTy to those witli whom 1 have mingled all my life."' He is the descendant of the Camerons of Scotland, one of the ])ravest of the Highland elans, and of Conrad Pfout/,, a German Mugenot, who, beeausc of his religious belief, was driven from Ills native land, came to this country. ;ind greatly distinguished himself in the Avar with the Indians. On the Sth oi" March, ITDl), (ien. Cameron was born in May- tOAvn, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. His lather was a Avorking man, and was noted for his strict integrity. In ISOS he removed to Xortliumberland, upon the Sus(|uehanna liiver, where he shortlv after died. His mother being thus left a Avidow, with no me.'ius* for the edueation of her young and growing family, aUhouLointed to the Kane letter, as evidence of his soundness on the tariff, and he was elected. He called Mr. Buchanan, who was then in the U. S. Senate, into his Cabinet, Avhich left a vacancy in that body. The Democrats in the Legislature, in caucus, nominated Hon. Geo. W. Woodward, and as they had a majority of seventeen or eighteen in joint ballot, they were confident of his election. Mr. Woodward was known to be opposed to the Protective policy, and tbe Whigs and tariff Democrats resolved to elect a Senator whom they knew to be sound on that question, and Gen. Cameron was that man. He was elected, and fierce and bitter Avere the denunciations hurled against him by the Administration, and by the party press of the State. In 1S4G the McKay bill came u]> in the Senate, by which it was proposed to strike down the tariff of 1842. Gen. Cameron, true to his principles and pledges, in the face of his party, opposed it, and fought it so hard that it only passed by the casi'mg vote of Vice-President Dallas, of Penn., to whom he administered the following well merited and scathing rebuke : " We are told out of the House that this bill is to become a law by the cast- ing vote of the Vice-President. I am happy to saj^ that I have seen no evidence of such intention, nor will I believe that there is such a design, until I am con- vinced bj' the evidence of my own senses. To all the incjuiries that have been made of me I have said that it cannot be ; that no native Pennsylvanian, hon- ored with the trust and confideuce of his fellow-citizens, could prove recreant to that trust, and dishonor the State that gave him birth. His honorable name, and the connections of his ancestry v\''ith her history, forbid it. His own pub- lic acts and written sentiments forbid it. If, .ns has been said, this question is to be settled by the casting vote of the Vice-President, he will not, as a wise man, adopt a bill which no Senator will father; but will rather, taking advan- tage of his high and honorable position, make one which shall contribute to the happiness of our people and the glory of our common country. Let him not be allured by the voice of flattery from the sunny south. Iso man can be strong abroad, who is not strong at home. Before a public man risks a desperate leap, he should i-emember that political gratitude is prospective ; that desertion of home, of friends, and of country, may V)e hailed by tbe winning party when the traitor is carrying in the flag of his country; but when the honors of the nation whom he has served^ are to be distributed, none are given to him. " "Will any man believe that a son of South Carolina, occupying that chair, elected under such cireunastances, with the casting vote in his hands on this bill, would give that vote contrary to the almost unanimous wishes of his own State? And shall it be said that a Pennsylvanian has less attachment for his Commonwealtli than a son of Carolina? I have said that I will not believe it. and as evidence that it cannot he so, I give, in conclusion, the following elo- quent passage from a speech of tlie Hon. George M. Dallas, when occupying the seat I now hold, on a question precisely similar to the one now before us. * .Extract from a Speech of Mr. Dallas on the Tariff^ of 1832. " 1 am infle.xible, sir, as to nothing but adequate protection. Tlie process of attaining that may undergo any mutation. Secure (ha/, to the liome labor of this country, Hud our opponents shall have, as far as my voice and suffrage can give it tliem, a 'c«>7fi hlaiiche' whereon to settle any arrangement or adjustment their intelligence may suggest. It might have been expected, not \inreasonably, that they who desired change, 8ho\ild tender their prajet ; that they would designate noxious particulars and intimate their remedies ; that 8 take no thought for the political fate of any maa whomsoever — but come back to tiio truths that are in tlie Dedai'dtiou of ludependeuce. You muj' do aiiythiag wdth me you choose, if you 'will but. heed theae naci-ed priiicipled. Ymi may not ouly defeat me for the Senate, but y"U nuiy tnke luid put me to death. While i)roteuding no indift'ei'eace to earlhly honors, I do claim to be iietuated ill this contest by somothiiij!; hicfher than nn anxiety for otlice. I eharge yoii to drvp every palti'v and insignilleant thought foi- uuy ijuiu'm suceet-ses. It is nothing; I am nothing; Judge Ootiglas is nothing. Bui do not desli'oi/ that ciiiiitortid eiiihleiit of Hamaiiity — tlie Dt.claiatlun of A mcricau fiidrucudc/icc. We have thus brielly given a sketcli of the life, chuiaeter, and ]iublie services of our ca.ii)attle ground, as it was in ISoti. In point of administrative ability, Gen Cameron has few equals, and no superiors. He is a man of unquailing courage, and would !K)ld the helm of our ship of State with a firm and steady hand. A working man himself, he is untiring in his devotion to the interests of those he represents. The interests of the eoinitry, of freedom, and of the party, demands his nomination, and we ask you to give his claims to the Presidency the consideration lo which they arc justly entitled. With the history of Mr. Lincoln and his political record you are already familiar. He is a native of Kentucky, and like Gen. ('ameron, from the ranks of the people, the architect o\ his own I'ortune. He had not the advantages hi his youth of either schools or colleges, yet through his o^\'n exertions has obtained a most liberal and thorough education. Mr. Lincoln is an able lawyer, and stands at the head of hii* profession in the central part of tlie State. For more than thirty vears he has been a resident of Illinois, and although he has always taken an active part in politics, has never sought oHice. When elected to the House of Representatives of Illinois, and to the Congress of the United States in 18 MI, it was without ettbrt on his part. During the existence of the Whig party, he was an active and leading member o[' that party in this State, tbl- ■ lowing in the footsteps of the illustrious Clay, who declared in 18.50, "the Constitution neither created, nor does it continue Slavery,"* and on the organization of the Republican party, uni- tt?d with it, and is now regarded as one of tiie ablest among the ehami)ions of freedom and free soil. In his canvass in 1S.3S with Judge Douglas for the U. S. Senator- shii>, he proved himself an able ^ion of Shivery, proviso io tlieT'hroe Millioii Loan i>ill. In 1S4T, although strongly urged, lie declined being a candidate for Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, at a time Avheii he \voi)ld have been trimnphantly elected. In ISoT he became a candidate iov the U. S. Senate, and alfhongh the President elect Avarmly supported Col. Jno. W. Forney, and urged \ipon the Democratic party, who were in the majority in the Legislature, his election, such was the known devotion of Gen. CsMiieron to the industrial interests of the State, that three members of the Legislature, representing mining and manufacturing counties, although elected as Democrats, disre- garded party ties, voted for hiiu, thereby securing his elec- tion, and it is the fact that the county most deeply interested in those branches of industry, endorsed the course of her tv.'o Tiepresentatives in supporting General Cameron by casting her vote for the opposition party at the two last elections. Pending the passage of the Lecomptou Constitution, he stood by the side of Seward, Hale, and Sumner, and fought that iniqui- tous measure at every step of the proceedings. For weeks he resisted the attempts of Senator Green, of Missouri, the chosen champion of the Siavei-y propagandists, and the organ of the President in tlic Senate, to force it to a vote before its^ opponents were ready. The English Bill he denounced as " a trick to impose upon a weak man, or to enable corru[)i men. to make (he impression upf»n their constituents at hoiiu' that thev have acted honestly. Gen. Cameron is the warm and decided advocate of thePacilic liail Koad, a Homestead law, the improvement oi" Kivcrs and Harbors, and of all those wise and just measures which will be the means of building up the (ireat West, of developing its resources, and which will enable it to take the proud position it is entitled to occupy in the Confedcrac}' of States. Aside from politics, he is a nniu of generous and noble impul- .ses, and his liberality and dc\otion to friends is proverbinl. There are hundreds of men in Pennsylvania m horn he aided Mdicu ••ommencing their life's struggles, Avho are nvw pi-ospering in liusiness, .lustly is he entitled to the appellation ol" "'the poor man's frieiul, an<'l F*ennsylvania"s cliampion ot' the rights of labor." Pennsylvania, whose son he is, and to whose interest he lias l)een so faithful, will present his name to tlic Chicago Convention as her choice for the Presidency, and wilt urge his nomination with a confidence that should he be nominated, he will be triuni- )>hantly elected ; that beyond all (inestion lie will command the ur- t; ONGRESS thej ivould invoke the skill and assistance of practical and experienced ob?erv- pvn on ft subject, ■with which few of us are famiJiar, and point with precision to such parts of the extensive ej'stem as can be modified without weakening or endangering tho whole structure. They have forborne to do this. They demand an entire demolition. Fiiee Thai>e is tlie burden of their eloquence, the golden fleece of their adventurous enterprise; the goal short of which they will not pause even fo breathe. I cannot join their expedition for such object. An established policy — coeval, in the language of I''i-osident .Tack^on, with our Government — belicvey Congress with- ont a trcachermis dejmrture from duty, a ajxinirlr.ss dereliction of sacred trust and contidence. To expect it is both extravagant and unkind." It will he remembered tliat in 1811 our Government claimed that our title to Oregon avus clear and indisputable, and the whole country was for asserting it. "Fifty-foiu- forty, or fight I" was the Democratic battle cry during tlie canvass, yet the Presi- dent and his Cabinet backed down from that line to 49. Gen. Cameron in his seat in the Senate declared " he believed fully our title only terminates where the Russian line begins, at 54 40," and did not abandon his position and vote for the acceptance of the proposition of the British Minister to make the boundary on the line of 40, clearly showing that he Avould not, for the sake of basking in the sunshine of political favor, agree to surrender one foot of territory that he believed rightfully belonged to us. During that Senatorial term he made rcjtcated efforts to pro- cure the passage of a tariff protecting the different branches of American industry, but the Northern Democracy, fearful of offending their cotton growing masters, always united with them to defeat him. So faithfully did he labor for the interests of his constituents, that men of all ])arties united in doing him honor, and conventions of both political parties endorsed his course, The Whigs of Columbia County passed the folloAving resolution, which was endorsed by other counties. Resolved — ^That as citizens of Pennsylvania we have looked with ]'ride and satisfaction to the honora1)le, faithful, untiring, yet unsuccessful exertions of the Jlon. Simon Cameron, in the defense of his native Slate during the petidancy of iVfcKay's British Tariff Bill before Congress; and however much we may differ on othf-r questions of public policy, as regards this one, we hail him as Peiu)sylvania''s true friend and champion, standing in noble and honorable contrast to the silver-haired trickster, who, by his casting vote, sold his native State to the tender mer- cies of man owners. Pending the passage of the Ten llegiment Bill during the Mexican war, (ien. Cameron offered an amendment to it, grant- ing 160 acres of land to every officer, private soldier, and musi- cian who Toliniteered dtu'ing that war. Notwithstatiding the amendment was fiercely assailed, he forced its acceptance upon the Senator who introduced the bill, and as amended, it passed the Senate by oidy a majority of one or two. His position on the slavery <|"<'stion is clear and unmistakable. He has all liis life been opposed to tbe extension of Slavery, and more than thirty years ago, while editing the Pennsylvania LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 464 423 7 HoUinger pH8.5 Mill Run F3-1955