Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-09-20
Number 43.

"Irepeat It, SIR, never can and new
er will, and no earthly power Will make
me vote directly or indirectly to spread
slavery over any territory where it does
not exist. Never while reason has a
seat in my brain-nsper while my heart
sends the vital fluid through my brain
never"
| This passage has been given by all
the Freesoil papers as a quotation from
speech Of Mr.. Clay. 1t has been
used by them as conveying the idea
that Mr.. Clay meant to declare that he
would never give vote directly or in
directly to allow slavery to spread over
any territory where it did not already
exist. 1t has been used as implying
that Mr.. Clay would never, if in Con-
gress, vote to permit the people of any
State or Territory TO establish slavery
among themselves, and, that he would
never vote for the admission Of another
slave State into the Union.
Without closely scrutinizing the Ian
guage of the pretended quotation, we
consider it as bearing the construction
given to it by the Freesoil editors. The
language was not used by Mr.. Clay,
but. even if it were genuine, it would
not be susceptible of the construction
given to it. But we will give the Ian
guage which Mr.. Clay actually uttered.
In speech in the U. S. Senate on the
29th of January 1850, Mr.. O., in reply
to Mr.. Jefferson Davis, said:
al am extremely sorry to hear the
Senator from Mississippi say that he re-
quires, first, the extension of the Mis-
souri, Compromise line to the Pacific,
and also that he is not satisfied with
that, but requires, if l understand him
correctly, positive provision for the
admission of slavery south Of that line.
And now, sir, coming from slave State
as l do, owe it to myself, l owe it to
truth, owe it to the subject to say that
no earthly power could induce me to
vote for a specific measure for the in
PRODUCTION of slavery where it had not
before existed, either south or north of
that line. Coming as ] do from slave
State. it is my solemn, deliberate, and
well matured determination that no pow
er, no earthly power, shall compel me
to vote for the positive introduction of
slavery either south or north of that
line. = If the citizens of the
territories of California and New Mex
leo choose to establish slavery, and if
they come here with constitutions es-
tablishing slavery, am for admitting
them with such provisions in their con-
stitutions, but then it will be their own
work and not ours, &C.
This is undoubtedly the passage which
the Freesoil editors have had in mind
when they have given what purported
to be the language of Mr.. Clay. The
reader will see that Mr.. Clay's remarks
amount merely to this-that he would
not, as a member of Congress, vote for
a specific law to establish slavery where
it did not already exist, and that, if he
were a citizen of a free territory, he
would not vote to introduce slavery into
it; but that he would, at the same time
as Senator or Representative vote to
admit q territory into the Union as a
State, although its own citizens might
resolve and propose to establish slavery
in it. We have always known that these
were the principles of Mr.. Clay, but
most certainly they are nothing to the
purpose of the Freesoil party.-Louis-
UiLle journal.