The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-06-13


the fugitive slave law.
Question 2. desire him to answer wheth-
er he stands pledged to day, as he did in 1854,
against the admission OF any more Save States
into the Union, even if the people want them?
Answer. do not now, nor ever did, stand
pledged against the admission of any more
Slave States into the Union.
Question 3. l want to know whether he
stands pledged against the admission ola new
State into the Union with such constitution
as the people Of that State may see lit to
make?
Answer. do not stand pledged against
the admission of a new State into the Union
with such constitution as the people of that
State may see fit to make.
Question 4. want to know whether he
s ands to-day pledged to the abolition Of slave
~ in the District Of Columbia.
Answer. | do not stand to-day pledged
to the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia.
Question ). desire him to answer wheth-
er he stands pledged to the prohibition of the
slave trade between the different States?
ANSWER. | do not stand pledged to the
prohibition of the slave trade between the diff
ferent States.
stands pledged to prohibit slavery in all the
Territories of the United States, north as
well as south of the Missouri Compromise
line?
"Answer, l am implicitly, if not expressly,
pledged to belief in the right and duty ofCon-
gress to prohibit slavery in all the United States
Territories.
Question Z. desire him to answer wheth-
er he is opposed to the acquisition of any new
territory unless slavery is first prohibited
therein
answer. | am not generally opposed to
honest acquisition Of territory and in any
| given case, would or would not oppose such
acquisition, accordingly as might think such
! acquisition would or would not aggravate the
| slavery question among ourselves"
| Debates Of Lincoln and Dou,,glas, p SO
It is impossible, Mr. President, however we
may differ in opinion with the man Oincoln)
not to admire the perfect candor and frankness
with which these answers were given no
| equivocation-no evasion. The Senator from
Illinois had his questions put to him in his
turn. All propose to do new is to read his
answer to the second question:
1.-The next question propounded to me by
Mr.. Lincoln is, Can the people ola Territory,
| citizen or the United States, exclude slavery
from their limits prior to the formation of
State constitution answer emphatically
as Mr. Lincoln has heard me answer hun
dred times from every stump in Illinois, that,
| in my opinion, the people of Territory can,
by lawful means, exclude slavery from their
limits prior to the formation of State consti-
tuition. Mr.. Lincoln knew that | had an
1 hat
| He heard me argue the Nebraska bill on that
principle all over the State in 1854, in 1856
and in 1856, and he has no excuse for preten-
ding to be in doubt as to my position on that
question:
| All that was true but see the art the de-
cislon had not come yet f; now the decision has
| come now what?
| 1T matters not what way the Supreme
Court may hereafter decide as to the abstract
| question, whether slavery NAV or may not 20
| into Territory under the Constitution. the
| people have the lawful means to introduce or
exclude it as they please, for the reason that
slavery cannot exist a day or an hour any,
| where unless il IS supported by local police
regulations. These police regulations can on
| ly be established by the local Legislature :;
| and if the people are opposed to slavery; they
will elect representatives to that body who
will, by unfriendly legislation, effectually pre-
vent the introduction of it into their midst
II, on the contrary, they are for it, their legs-
lation will favor its extension Hence, no
matter what the decision of the Supreme
| Court may be on that abstract question, still
the right Of the people to make a slave Ter
rltory or free Territory is perfect and
complete under the Nebraska bill. hope
| MIR. Lincoln deems my answer satisfactory on
| that point"
He told US, few days ago, that he had
agreed that that very question should be sub
mitted to and decided by the court. He put
| 1t out to US here, when we all together advo-
Gated and supported the Kansas Nebraska bill,
that we were submitting a judicial question
| to the courts, and that when that question
was decided, the Democratic party should be
| a unit on the question thus decided but when
he goes home, and is pressed in local con-
test, and he sees the glittering prize of seat
| in this Chamber slipping from his grasp, he
| turns his back upon his promise he repudi-
ates his words he tells his people, as he says
| he has told them hundred times before
| that, even if the court decides against them,
he has in TIE Kansas Nebraska act, obtained
| for the free States perfect right to make a
free Territory ofevery Territory in the Union,
and yet the honorable Senator stands up here
and arraigns his Democratic brethren; accuses
them of breach of faith talks to them of turn
ing him out of the party; and triumphantly
appeals to the records Of 1910 to show his con-
sistency.
Now, we tell him that we will not stand
such promises any more. Once deceived
a wise man may be twice deceived, BY the
same person and the same means, he is dupe
and fool He tells US now again, "leave it
to the courts because, no matter what their
decision is, have fixed you on the Kansas
Nebraska bill, in spite of all decisions and of
all courts. Fellow-citizens of Illinois, have
got the South for you. / have got them so
that no matter, what the decision is, you can
have a free Territory, whatever the decision
is and keep their slaves out always"
Well, sir, what occurred further in that con-
troversy? His competitor was shocked at
the profigacy ofthe Senator. His competitor
said to him-and here is the argument
everybody knows that the bred Scott decis-
ion has determined the principle that a citi-
zen of the South has right to 60 into the
Territory, and there, under the Constitution,
his property is protected AMI yet you are telling
the people here that their legislators, when
they swear to support the Constitution, can
violate that constitutional provision" Mr..
Lincoln held up his hands in horror at the
proposition. He was bold in the assertion
of his own principles but he told the Senator
from Illinsis in that discussion that what he
was saying was gross outrage on propriety,
and was breaking the bargain he had made
But again sir, he told the Senator from ILL
nois that he did not believe in the bred Scott
decision, because said he, if the bred Scott
decision be true, and slavery exists in the
Territories under the Constitution Of the
United States, then it also exists in the States
it exists in Pennsylvania as well as in Kan
saS
The contest ended. On the popular vote
the Senator from Illinois was beaten; but ac-
cording to the Lewiston of the representative
and senatorial districts of the State, he was
reelected. The popular vote upon the cleo
ton of members Of the Senate and Legislature
was one hundred and twenty one thousand
in his favor, one hundred and twenty-five
thousand in favor Of the Republican candidate,
and five thousand votes in favor of what he
called the Danites. All the State Republi-
can officers were elected but there was a
majority Of the Legislature of Illinois elected
in favor Of the Senator from Illinois, and
he came back here in triumph.
Last spring was forced to leave my Coun-
try from an attack Of disease in the eyes,
which required attention abroad. / went to
get the attention of eminent Occulists abroad
For six or eight months was debarred from
reading or writing. came back just before
the opening of this Congress and found that
during my absence the honorable Senator
from Illinois had been engaged in a contro-
versy in the public journals and magazines
of the country in relation to the principles
that governed the Territories of the United
States, and that he had copied into those arti-
cles the very arguments that his Republican |
in Illinois had used against him. and |
was then using against the Democratic party. |
laughter. have got them here. First, |
that it may not be said that / originated this
charge, after these magazine articles printed,
md after the Senator's opponent, Mr.. Lincoln
had taxed him with want of good faith under
The Constitution for alleging the power of the
local Legislature to go through with this un-
friendly legislation, in subsequent speech,