Year: 1860

sttutional, then it was to stand; if un.


constitutional, then it was void; and there


was an end of it. That, then, was the


point referred to the court. / defy


Breckenridge, or any living man, to show


that |, or any other man voting for the


Nebraska bill, understood the law in


any other way. care not under what


pretext they fall back, the record sustains


me and convicts them. Hence / am


ready to-day to stand by the decision of


the court, under the Territorial law,


whenever a case shall arise. A case has


not yet risen. If Mr.. Breckenridge de-


sires to try the case, why does he not


make one, and bring one, under the Ne


braska bill, prohibiting slavery, to the


court, and let the court decide it?


If Mr.. Lincoln desires to try the case,


why does he not make one under the


slave code of New Mexico, and bring it


before the court and let the court decide


it? For my part, | am ready to main


tain the authority of the court in both


cases, and to denounce all interference


on the part of Congress in either case


loud cheers.) have said that any


man in Congress who voted for the Ne


braska bill understood that this point


with reference to the slavery question


was to be decided by the court, just as l


now explain it.


There was one solitary democrat from


Virginia who opposed the Nebraska bill.


That man was General Millson, from


tho Norfolk district. He opposed it be-
cause it was liable to bear the construo-
tion which now give to it, and if you
want to know how General Millson stands
with reference to the Presidential election
now, you had better inquire of himself.
He understands the question exactly a.
/ do now, and he opposed the bill then
because he was not willing to have my
constructions put upon it. But the
North having accepted it, and the South
having pledged it's honor to it, General
Millson is toe honorable a man not to
stand by the pledge which his State then
gave. Now let me ask, what docs any
democrat, what does any southern man,
hope to gain by dividing the democratic
party and thus electing Lincoln Presi-
dent? Should Lincoln be elected, no
man can doubt but that he would owe
his election to the southern boilers and
secessionists. (Cries of "That's 30. y
Every intelligent man knows thatif they
had not bolted / would have beaten Lin
coin in every State of the Union except
Vermont and Massachusetts,.


The secessionists thought it was a
lesser evil to divide the party and elect
Lincoln than to stand by the nominee Of
the time-honored platform of the party,
and allow him to be elected. They must
be presumed to have designed that
which was the necessary result of their
conduct. The only tendency of their
conduct, if successful, was to elect Lin
coin. And now, when speaking at Nor
folk the other night, the head of the
electoral ticket for Vir-
ginis, anticipating Lincoln's election,
put question to me whether did not
think the Inauguration of Lincoln, with
out an overt act hostile to southern rights
would Justify the South in seeding and
iissolving the Union. They first pursue
a course of policy calculated to elect
and then they kindly asked me
if will not help them dissolve the Union
should they succeed in electing Lincoln.
I told them, No; mover on csrth


I said then what say to you tonight,
that the election Of any man, no matter
who, by the people according to the
forms of the constitution, is no excuse
for breaking up this government. Zap
plausc.) / should depore tho election Of
Lincoln as Q great calamity. sm pro.
pared to do all in my power to prevent
It. But / say to you that, If unfortun-
ately he should be elected, he must be
according to the terms Of
the constitution. loud eheering)
will sustain him in tho exercise of any
function. But, after his
If he should violate the
or make war upon your
rights, or attempt any violation Of that
l am prepared, in obedience
10 the constitution and the laws, to aid
in hanging him higher than Virginia did
John Brown. (Checrs.)


We will in the first instance perform
al our duties under the constitution
This Breckenridge elector also wanted to
know whether, in the event Of dissolu.
ton of the Union, l would 60 for the en-.
forcement Of the laws against those
them. l told him the laws must
be enforced. The President would be
sworn to enforce them, and every honest
nan in the republic would help the Pres.
dent in enforcing the law. Nor can they
screen themselves under the prctext that
this would be making war upon sovereign
States. Sovereign States cannot commit
treason. individuals may.


When q citizen Of Vermont arrays
himself against the constitution and tho
laws, by resisting the marshal in the exc
cution of the fugitive slave law, we 10
not allow the violator to screen himself
under the sovereignty Of Vermont, but
we punish the violators Of the law wher.
ever we find them. Secession means
revolution. 1t is only another word for
the same meaning hold to the inherent
right Of revolution, whenever the evils
Of civil war and revolution arc less than
obedience to the law. 1t is upon that
principle only that Washington, Jeffer-
son, Franklin, and Adams justified their
conduct in seeding from the British