Wabash express. [volume] (Terre-Haute, Vigo Co[unty], Ind.) 1841-186?, 1860-04-04
WHOLE NO. 9l7.
A Great speech.
LINCOLN IN NEW YORK.


(From the New York Tribune, Feb. 2sth)
The Hon. Abraham Lincoln. of Illinois,
the great antagonist Of Senator Douglas,
gave last evening. in the Cooper Institute,
a lecture on National Politics. Although
there was an admission fee for the benefit
Of the Plymouth Church courss oflectures,
the seats Of the great hall were nearly all
filled. and large number OF people pre-
ierred standing to sitting in the rear seats.
Upon the platform were Ex-Gov. John 4.
King, David Dudley Field, wm. c. Bry
snt. Gen James W. Eye, Alms-House Gov
ernors Isaac j. Oliver aud Washington
Smith. z. Delafeld Smith. DR.. s. Loaus
berry. A. J Dittenhoeffer. Esq Judge E.
d. Culver. Theodore TiltIn, Thomas B.
Stillman. Samuel Sinclair. J 5 Gibbons /;
70 fine, il was crowded with distinguished
Republicans. considerable number Of
ladies gracsd the occasion by their pres
snce.
Mr. Lincoln was escorted into the room
by David Dudley Field aud VIM. G. Bryant,
amid loud aud prolonged applause. Mr.
Field said;
FELLow REPUBLICANS: | beg leave 10
nominate as Chairman of this meeting a
Republican whom you all know we'll
William Cullen Bryant. [Cheers. Those
Of yon who are IN favor Of Mr. Bryant will
say Aye. fGeneral and thundro1s aye
Those Of yon who are rot in favor will say
NJ f2,lan~o -.
ter and applnuse.l
Mr.. Bryant. on taking the chair. said:
BY friends, il is grateful office that
perform IN introducing To you at this time
an eminent citizen of tn: West whom you
know. or whom you have known hitherto
only by fame, but who has consented to
address New York assemblage this eve.
ming. The Great West. my friends. IS a
potent auxiliary ia the battle we are fight
ing for Freedom against Slavery; in behalf
OF civilization against barbarism; for the
occupation of some Of the fairest regions Of
our continent, on which the settlers are
oow building their cabins. say a higher
and q " iser agency than that of man 4 the
causes that have filed with hardy popu-
lation the vast and fertile region which
forms the western part of the Valley OF the
Mississippi, race of men who are not
ashamed to till their acres with their own
hands, and who would be ashamed 10 sub
sist by the labor Of the slave Cheers. l.
These children Of The West. my friends,
form living bulwark against the advance
of slavery, and from them is recruited the
vanguard of the armies of Liberty. Ap-
piausc.l One Of them will appear before
you this evening. present TO you a gal
liant soldier Of the political campaign of
1856. who then rendered good service to
the Republican cause. and who has since
been the champion of that cause in the
struggle which took place two years later
for the supremacy in the Legislature Of III.
linois, who took the field then against
Douglas, and who would have then won
the victory but for the unjust apportion-
msnt law of the State, which allowed
minority of the people TO elect a majority
Of the Legislature. have only, my friends,
90 announce the name Of Alb -aham Lincoln
of Illinois-[loud cheeringl-I have only
10 pronounce his name, to secure your pro-
loundest attention. Continued applause,
and "Three cheers for Abraham Lincoln" ~
Mr. LINCOLN then, after prolonged ap-
plause, said:
Mr.. President and JeliOtO citizens ofN. York:
The facts with which | shall deal this
evening are mainly old and familiar; nor
Is there anything new in the general use
shall make Of them If there shall be any
novelty, it will be IN the mode of present
ing the facts, and the differences and obser-
vations following that presentation.
THE QUESTION DEFINED.
In his speech last Autumn. at Colum
bus, Ohio, as reported in the n. Y. Times,
Senator Douglas said:
"Our fathers, when they framed the Gov
ernment under which we live. understood
this question Just as we'll. aud evenbetter,
than we do now"
fully indorse this, and adopt it as a
text for this discourse. ! Sc adopt it be.
cause il furnishes precise and au agreed
starting point for discussion between Re-
publicans and that wing Of the Democracy
headed by Senator Douglas. IL simply
leaves the Inquiry: "What was the under
standing those fathers had of the question
mentionedr' What is the frame of Gov
srnment under which we liver The answer
must be: "The Constitution Of the United
States" That Constitution consists OF The
original, framed in 1887 (and under which
the present Government first went into
operatiou), }, and twelve subsequently fran
ed amendments, the first ten OF which were
framed in 1889. Who were our fathers
that framed the Constitution | suppose
the "thirty-nine" who signed the original
instrument may be fairly called our fathers
who framed that part of the present Gov
ernment. 1t is almost exactly true TO say
they framed it. and it is altogether true to
say they fairly represented the opinion and
sentiment Of the whole nation at that time
Their names being familiar 10 nearly all
aud accessible to quite all, need not now
be repeated. take these thirty niue,
for the present, as being "our fathers wh'
framed the Government under which WI
live"
THE IssUR.
What is the question which. according t
the text, those fathers understood just a
well, and even better than we do nowi !
10 this: Does the proper division o! loca
from Federal authority, or anything IN tn
Constitution, forbid our Federal Govern
ssent TO control * 10 Slavery in our Fed
eral Territories? Upon this Douglas hold
the affirmative, and Republicans the neg
alive. This affirmative and denial forr
an issue; aud this issue-this question:
precisely what the text declares our faith
srs understood better than we. Let U
now inquire whether the "thirty-nine" G
any Of them, ever acted upon this que:
ton; and il they did, how they acted uPo
it-how they expressed that better under
standing.
THEFAcTs or HISTORY.
In I7S4-three years before the Constltl
tiOn- the United States then owning th
Northwestern Territory, and no other-tf
Congress of the Confederation had befoi
them the question of prohibiting slavery
that Territory; and four of the thirty nine
who afterward framed the Constitution we
an that Congress, and voted on that que
ton. OF these, Roger Sherman, Thoin;
Miffiin and Hugh Williamson voted for II
prohibition-thus showing that, in the
understanding, no line dividing local fro
Federal authority, nor anything else, pr
perIy forbade the Federal Government
control as to slavery in Federal Tsrritor
The other of the four--James Mchenry-
voted against the prohibition, showing tn
for some cause, he thought it improper
vote for It..
In 1857. still before the Constitution. %
while the Convention was in session Irar
ing il. and while the Northwestern Ieri