Year: 1861

question of slavery in the Territories O


the United States. 1t was strongest il


its development in 1850, when all tn,


Pacific Coast and al the Territory inter


vening between it and the Louisiana pur


chase was thrown upon our hands all o


a sudden, for the purpose of our organic


ing in them free and Independent Repub


lican Governments ms basis of future


States, and it has been earnest, and / re-


gret TO say an angry controversy, but tie


admission Of Kansas into The Union


yesterday, settled at least all that waS


vital or important IN tie question, leav.


ing behind nothing but the passions which


the contest had engendered. Kansas is


in the Union, California and Oregon are


in the Union, and now tho same contest


divides and distracts this Union for Free


dom and Slavery in the Territories of the


United States, just as before. What is


the extent of the Territories which remain


after the admission of Minnesota, Oregon


and Kansas? One million sixty-three


thousand and five hundred square miles,


an area twenty-four times that of the


State of New York, the largest of the old
fully developed States. Twenty-four
such States as this of New York are vet


to be fully organized within the remain
ing Territories of the United States.-


Now, under what is accepted by the Ad-


ministration and the Government as ju-
dicial decree, upheld by it, and put in
practical operation by it, every inch of
that territory is slave territory. l speak
of that decision not as accept il, but rs
it is accepted and enforced by the exist
ing Administration. Every foot of it
slave territory as much as South Carroll.
ra. Over considerable portion of il a
slave code, made by Government crea-
ted by the Congress of the United States
is enforced, SO that according to the claims
of those who insist upon their rights in
the territory of the United States for
Slavery, the whole of this 1,O63,O0O
square miles is slave territory. How
many slaves are there in it? How many
have been brought into it during these
twelve years in which it has been not on
ly relinquished to slavery, but in which
the Supreme Court, the Legislature and
the Administration have. maintained,
protected, defended and guaranteed slave
ry there. Twenty-four African slaves
One slave for every $4,000 square miles.
One slave for every one Of the twenty
four States, which, suppos.ng them each
to be the dimensions of New York or
Pennsylvania, or Indiana, cover that por-
ton of the area of our Republic. Sir,
| have followed this thing in good faith,
and with zeal and energy, but l confess
that I haze no fear Of slavery any
aohere. In the peculiar condition of
things which has existed, Slavery has sue
ceeded in planting only one slave upon
every $4,000 square miles of territory.
This, then, has ceased to be a practical
question. In lien Of 1t comes up a great,
and Oital, and fearful question; the ques-
ton Of Union or the dissolution of tie
Union, tie question of country or no
country; tie question Of hope; the qucs-
ton Of greatness, or The question Of sink
ing forever under the contempt Of man
kind Why, then, should / despair that
a great people of thirty millions will be
able to meet this crisis? l have no fears
of this Confederacy; it is not an imperi-
al Government or the Government of
single State, it is a Confederacy, and it
is, as it ought to be, dependent upon the
continued assent of all The members of
the Confederacy To its existence, and sub
ject to dissolution by their action but
that assent is to be always taken by vir
Tue Of the original assent, and held, un-
til in the form prescribed by The Consti-
tuition itself, and in the time and in the
manner, and with all the conditions which
the Constitution prescribes, those who
constitute the Union shall declare that it
shall be no longer the thirty days and
sixty days, and ninety days given us by
the Disunionists; it may not be enough
for their policy and their purposes.


l hope and trust that it may be time
enough for the policy and purposes of the
lovers of the Union. God grant that it
may be so. But if thirteen shall turn
out not TO be enough, then l see how and
when all these great controversies will be
settled, just as our forefathers saw when
they framed the Constitution. They
provided seventy years ago that this pres
ent controversy, the whole controversy,
shall be submitted to the people of the
United States in Convention called nc
cording to the forms of the Constitution,
and acting in the manner prescribed by
it. Then, Sir, this country will find sud-
den relief in the prompt and unanimous
adoption of measures necessary for its
and the world will see how well
and how wisely great, enlightened, edu-
Gated, christian people, consisting of thr-
ty-four sovereign States, can adjust diff
culties which had seemed even to them
selves as well as to mankind 10 be insur-
mountable.