The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1860-06-28
ECH OF
HON. 4. S. BINGHAM,
OF MICHIGAN,
On Senator Ddcis' Resolutions.
Delivered in the u. 8. Senate, Friday,
f May 25th, 1850.
(COnczuded.'

AT State Convention in Pennsvlva-
MIA, Col. Samuel r. Black, of Pitts
burgh offered the following resolution,
which was adopted unanimously:
'Resolued That the Democratic party adhere
now as 1t ever has done to the Constitution of the
country. Its letter and spirit they will neither
weaken nor destroy; and they re-declare that
slavery is domestic local institution of the
South, subject to State legislation alone and with
which the General Government has nothing to do
wherever the State law extends its jurisdiction
the local institution can continue to exist Esteem
ing it violation of the State rights to carry it be-
yond State limits, we deny the power of any citizen
to extend the area of bondage beyond its present
domain; nor can we consider it part of the COM
promises of the Constitution that slavery should
forever travel with the advancing columns of our
territorial progress.
This same Colonel Black is now Gov
ernor of Nebraska, and recently ve-
toed a bill which had been passed by
the Legislature prohibiting slavery in
that Territory. The exact progress of
Democracy in eleven years is here
made quite apparent. The Democrat
ic members of the Legislation of the
State of New York, in 184S, in a series
of resolutions, included the following: !:
"Resolyed, That while the Democracy of New
York will faithfully adhere to all the compromises
of the Constitution, and maintain all the reserved
rights of the States they declare-since the crisis
has arrived when that question must be NEITHER
uncompromsing hostility to the extension of slave
ry in Territory now free, which has been or NAV
be hereafter acquired by any action of the United
States" ~
Similar resolutions were adopted the
same year at Utica, in which Hon.
John Van Buren and Hon. John
Cochrane participated.
At State Convention of the Dem
ocratic party of Ohio, in the year 1s4s,
the following resolution was adopted /:
"Resolued, That the people of Ohio now. as they
have always done, look upon the institution of
slavery as an evil unfavorable and to the full de-
velOpments of our institutions; and that enter
tanning these sentiments, they will feel it to be
| their duty to use all the powers consistent with
the national compact to prevent its increase, to
mitigate, and finally eradicate it, 'a hTt
Want Of time, Mr.. President, com
pels me to omit many similar resolu-
tions of State Legislatures and Demo-
cratic Conventions; hut I wish to call
the attention of the Senate and of the
country to one more Democratic au-
thority in favor of the prohibition of
slavery in the Territories. It's that Of
the distinguished and lamented Silas
Wright. In letter written by him,
dated the 18th of April, l647, he uses
this emphatic language:
If the question had been PROFOUND.
ed to me at any period of my public
life, shall the arms of the Union be
employed to conquer, or the money OF
the Union be used to purchase Terri
tory now constitutionally free, for the
purpose of planting slavery upon it !:
should have answered, no! And this
answer to this question is the Wilmot
/ proviso, as l understand it. am sur
prised that any should suppose me cap.
able of entertaining any other opinion
or giving any other answer to such a
proposition" siar .. - ~
Mr.. President, the Democratic Rep.
resentatives from the free States re-
sponded with great unanimity to the
wishes and instructions of their consti
tuents. Among the distinguished Rep
resentatives of party, who voted fol-
the Wilmot proyiso in the war appro
priation, and in its application to the
Organization of Oregon Territory, may
be mentioned Hon. r. McClelland
Senators Felch and Stuart, of Michi
gan; Senators Dix and Dickinson Of
New York Allen, of Ohio; Bright
OF Indiana; Douglas and Breese, O.
Illinois; Dodge, of Wisconsin; Brod