The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-08-27
Views of the sSII1ustrIOus Dead, upon
the slavery Question.

the Slavery Question.
Many of the Douglas Democrats are in
the habit of referring to Clay and Webster
to support their creed on the slavery ones
ton. A few quotations from these gentle
men, placed in juxtaposition with the views
of the apostles of modern Democracy, will
illustrate their several opinions, and prove
a slight discrepancy between those of the
dead statesmen and the living demagogue.
In speech delivered in the United States
Senate, Mr.. Clay thus expressed his opposi-
ton to the extension of slavery into terri
tory still free:
$50 long as God allows the vital current
to flow through my veins, will never, neU-
er, NEVER, by word or thought, by mind or
will, aid in admitting one rod of free terri
tory to the everlasting curse ofhuman bond
age" ...
Again, In debate in the Senate in 1850,
he said:
"Coming, as l do, from slave State,
owe 1t TO myself l owe it to the subject,
owe it the truth, to say that no earthly pow
er could induce me to ask for specific meas
ure for the introduction of slavery where
it had not before existed, either South or
North of that line"
Again, he says:
Slavery is a social and political evil,
and 40 earthly power shall make
me vote to plant it where it does not exist
Mr.. Webster, in his celebrated 18th of
March speech, gave utterance 20 this sig
nificant language: .s.
Sir, wherever there is particular good
to be done-wherever there is a foot ofland
to be staid from becoming slave territory
| am ready to assert the principle of the ex-
clusion of slavery. l am pledged to it from
the year 1897; l have been pledged to it
again and again; and I will perform these
pledges" ...
In his Marshfeld speech, in l848, Mr.
Webster said
"If, my friends, the term free soil party,
or free soil man is meant to designate one
who has been fixed unalterably-to-day,
yesterday, and some days past-in opposi-
ton to slavery extension, then | may claim
to be, and may hold myself to be, as good q
: free soil man as any member of that Buff
falo Convention.
The above are the views of these great
men in regard to the extension of slavery
Here is what Mr.. Webster had to say in lS45,
in a speech in the U. S. Senate, when dis
cussing the question of property in slaves, in
its application to the Territories.
The real meaning, then, of Southern
gentlemen, in making this complaint, is,
that they cannot go into the Territories of
the United States, carrying with them their
own peculiar local law, law which creates
property in persons. . 1t will not he
contended that this sort Of personal slavery
| exists by general law. 1t EXISTS only By To-
cal lar. s. And wherever that local
law does not extend, property in persons
does not exist. Well, sir, what is now the
demand on the part ofour Southern friends?
| They say, we will carry our local laws
with us wherever we go; we insist that
Congress does us injustice, unless it estab-
fishes in the territories in which we wish to
go our own local law This demand l. for
one, resist, and shall resist"
Douglas claims that he occupies the same
ground on the slavery question that Clay
and Webster did. Here are the sentiments,
in brief of Mr.. Douglas on that subject
al don't care whether slavery is voted
down or up in Kansas"
Comment is unnecessary.