Year: 1860

slave state, it is their business and not mine;
if they want free state, they have right
to have it; and hence, do not care, so far
/, as regards my action, whether they make it
free state or not; it is none of my busi-
ness. But the senator says he does care
slavery. How long would he care if he
was sugar planter in Louisiana, residing
on his estate, instead Of living in Maine?
Sir, hold the doctrine that wise states
man will adapt his laws to the wants, con-
ditions, and interests of the people to be
governed by them. Slavery may be very
essential in one climate, and totally useless
in another.


If were citizen of Louisiana would
vote for retaining and maintaining slavery,
because believe the good of that people
would require it. AS a citizen of Illinois,
| am utterly opposed to it, because our in
terests would not be promoted by it.
should like to see the Abolitionist who
would 60 and live in southern country that
would not gel over his scruples very soon,
and have plantation as quickly as he could
get the money to buy it.


have said, and repeat, that this question
of slavery is one of climate, Of political
economy, of self-interest, not question of
legislation. Wherever the climate, the soil,
the health of the country are such that it
cannot be cultivated by white labor, you
will have African labor, and compulsory la
Dor at that Wherever white labor can be
employed cheapest and most profitable,
there African labor will retire, and white la
Dor will take it's place.


You cannot force slavery, by all the acts
of congress you may make, on one inch of
| territory, against the will of the people, and
you can not, by any law you may make,
keep it out of one inch Of American terri
tory, where the people want it. You tried
it in Illinois. BY the ordinance of 1887,
slavery was prohibited, and yet our people,
believing that slavery would be profitable
to them, established hereditary servitude in
the territory by territorial legislation, in de-
| tiance Of your federal ordinance. Wemain-
tained slavery there just as long as congress
said we should not have it, and we abolish
cd it at just the moment you recognized us
as state, with the right to do as we pleased.
When we established it, it was on the sup
position that it was for our interest to do so.
When we abolished it, we did so because
experience proved it was no. our interest to
have it. hold that slavery is a question
of political economy, to be determined by
climate, by SOIL by production, by self-in-
terest, and hence the people to be affected
by it are the most impartial jury to try the
fact whether the Interest requires them to
have it or not.


But the senator thinks it is great crime
for me to say that do not care whether
| AL - I ~,
want every people to have that kind of gov
ernment that system of laws, that class of
institutions which will best promote their
welfare, and want them to decide for them
selves; and so they decide it to suit them
selves, am satisfied, without stopping to
inquire or caring which way they decide it.
That is what | mean by that declaration,
and am ready to stand by it.


The senator has made the discovery
suppose it is very new, for he would not re-
peat anything that was old, after calling me
to account for expressing an idea that had
been heard of before-that reopened the
agitation by bringing in the Nebraska bill,
in 1854; and he tries to put the response
bility of the crimes perpetrated by his po-
litical friends, and in violation of the law,
upon the provisions Of the law itself We
passed bill to allow the people of Kansas
to form and regulate their own institutions
to suit themselves. No sooner had we
placed that law on the statute books than
his political friends formed conspiracies and
combinations in the different New England
states, to import set of desperadoes into
Kansas, to control the elections and institu-
tons of that country, in fraud of the laws
of congress.


Sir, desire to make the legislation broad
enough to reach conspiracies and combina-
tons Of that kind; and would also include
combinations and conspiracies on the other
side. My object is to establish firmly the
doctrine that each state is to do its own vo.
ting, establish It's own institutions, make its
own laws without interference, directly OF
indirectly, from outside power. The gentle
man calls it squatter sovereignty. Call ii
squatter sovereignty, call it popular sover,
eighty, call it what you please, it is the prin.
ciple of self government on which this Union
was formed, and by the preservation O.
which alone can it be maintained 1t is the
right of the people of every state to govern
themselves and make their own laws, anG
be protected from outside violence or inter
ference, directly or indirectly. Sir, l con
fess the object of the legislation l contem
plate, is to put down this outside interfer
ence; it is to repress this ''irrepressble con.
hict;" it is to bring the government back
to the true principles of the constitution
and let each people in this union rest secure
in the enjoyment of domestic tranquility
without apprehension from neighborins
states.