The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-07-18
SPEECH OF Mr.. BINGHAM, OF MICHIGAN,
ADMISSION CALIFORNIA.
DELIVERED
In the House Of Representatives June 4, 1850.
CoNCLUDED.l

DELIVERED
In the House Of Representative, June a. 1850
CoNcLUDEDl
Similar resolutions were soon after passed by
the States Of Virginia, Alabama, and Florida
one Of which declared, "tkat under no political
necessity whaeuer" would they support any man
opposed to the extension of slavery Mr.. Blu
chanaD, in his celebrated Berks county letter, had
already yielded TO the demands of the South
General Cass was known to have favored the two
million bill which passed the House with the
Wilmot Proviso, and TO have expressed his regret
at its defeat by protracted debate in the Senate
At the next session he contented himself with
voting against the Proviso, on the ground of its
being inappropriately applied to war bill but
he wrote private letter to one Of his consttu-
ents, which afterwards found its way into the
public prints, in which he declared that its pas
sage would be "ieath 10 The Rar, and death 10 the
Democratic yartyn On the 3lst of December,
ls47, there appeared in the Union newspaper in
this city, the celebrated " Nicholson Letter. in
which he took ground against both the constitution
atty and expedency of applying the provisions of
the Ordinance to the bills for the government of the
Territories. ! mention this remarkable coinci-
dence Of dates, without the least intention of
calling In question the sincerity of the dis
tinguished Senator from Michigan but for
the purpose of corroborating his own statement
the public mind his own as well as othersn The
Baltimore Convention met The delegates from
the free States submitted, without murmur
to the degrading conditions imposed upon them
by the South, and General Cass was nominated
The people of Michigan were dumb-founded with
horror at the reception Of the 4" Nicholson letter.
General Cas- had been sixteen years Governor
of the Territory of Michigan Yet notwthstand-
ing the prosperity Of the State greatly indebt-
ed to the ineffaceable marks of the wisdom
and foresight of his Administration, notwth-
standing his great and well-deserved personal
popularity, and the efforts Of his friends he was
left by the people at the election in minority of
3642 of the popular vote; and with the single
exception Of the State of New Hampshire, he
failed TO obtain majority Of the votes of either
Of the free States and at time when every
measure of the Democratic party was in full and
successful operation, with an overlooking Treasu-
ry, and our country in a state Of unexampled pros
perity, we were beaten. MIR Chairman, others
may speculate as to the causes of that defeat
have no hesitation in ascribing TO that fatal
Nicholson Letter. the doctrines of which were
received by the people with such perfect loathing,
the loss Of the North, while the Shareholders of
the South preferred to vote for the owner Of
sugar plantation, with three hundred negroes.
This was a Notifying defeat but IL may well
be borne if IL inoucates this useful lesson that in
this noon Of the nineteenth century, when the
down-trodden nations Of Europe are bursting the
letters Of tyranny, which have bound them TO the
earth for ages-when every breeze from across
the Atlantic watts with il the cry Of liberty and
the inalenabe rights of man from the uprising
masses-the Northern statesman to be successful
must prove true to the interests Of the free labor
which he represents instead of becoming an &c
cessory to the cupidity of the Southern slave
holder, who would doom his fellow man TO per-
petual bondage.
At the same election in Michigan, three men,
bers Of Congress wee chosen, pledged to oppose
the extension Of slavery, and also large MAORI
ty Of the members of the Legislature, who, upon
assembling in January, reaffrmed the oft-express-
ed opinion Of the people, that Congress had the
constitutional power, and that it their duty
to execute il in the exclusion of slavery from the
territories Indeed sir, | do not know of public
meeting or of a convention, or a newspaper in
the State which has sustained the doctrines of
that letter" But, MIR. Chairman, IL has been
heralded by the Union newspaper, that the last
Michigan Legislature has "repudiated the WI
mot PrOUisop Sir, they have done no such thing.
They have, indeed, by vote Of "a members out
Of 600 being accidentally ahsent-passed q
series Of resolutions but did they rsseMd the Oft
expressed deliberate judgment of the people of
Michigan, that the Constitution conferred the
power upon Congress 10 prohibit slavery in the
territories No, sir. On the contrary, the pop
ular branch had the impudence to reassert the
doctrine Did they reSeiRd the resolution that II
was the solemn duty Of Congress so to prohibit by
express enactment No, sir. Did they Yescind
the resolution that it was the duty Of Congress TO
break up the infamous traffic in human beings in
the city of Washington, and in sight Of the flag
that floats over the Capitol7 No sir they did
no such thing They dared to do no such thing
But they did pass set of resolutions Of the follow
ing import; "Whereas the people Of Michigan are
opposed TO the extension Of slaveryDyes sir these
are their very words, opposed to the extension Of
slavery therefore Resolved, That II our Senators
are very anxious 10 relieve their Nashville Con-
vention friends from the ridiculous dilemma In |
which they find themselves placed, or II they |
really believe "that the Union will be broken into
fragments unless slavery is allowed to cross the
Rio Grande, they are permitted, "by voice and
Vote,D TO do as they please. They may vote for
the omnibus bill they may vote for clause
allowing the people themselves to settle the ques-
ton OF slavery, or they may yots for the clause
prohibiting their action they may vote for the