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: ".THE CONSTITUTION AND THE UNION OB THE STATES THEY MUST BE' PRESERVED.
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XIV.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 20, 1848:
Number 724.
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XORTH CAROLINA: STANDARD
0
IS PUBLISHID WEEKLY, BT
LLIAM W. HOLDEN,
EDITOR ANU PROPRIETOR. -
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I ettCT3 W UlC jjuii-v iuuov wwuic live vi ubiagct
SPEECH OF 3IR. WEBSTER,
fyjrereJ a Jfarshfield Massachttselts, Sept. lsi, 1848.
Gextleme.v, Although it had not been my pur-
ose, during- the recess ot Congress, to address any
,ublic assembly on political subjects, I have felt it
iaY duty to comply with your request as neighbors
yjj fellow townsmen, and to meet you here to-day.
inil I am not unwilling to avail myself of this occa
sion to signify to the people of the United States,
3y opinions upon the present state of our public af-
J shall pertorm that duty certainly with great frank-
jtSS, aliu, x uupcf mm vouuvt. X fc ia uui illy pur
vSe, to-day, to carry any point to act as any man's
rocate to put up or to put down anybody. It is
sx wish and purpose to address you in the language
isJ spirit ot conterence and consultation. In the pres-
ent extraordinary crisis oi our puonc concerns, 1
iesire to hold no man's conscience but my own to
ale no man's political conduct but my own. My
jwn opinions 1 shall communicate freely and fear-
essly, altogether with a disregard to consequences
.vhether with respect to myself or with respect to
others.
Gentlemen, we are on the eve of a highly impor
ant Presidential election. In two or three months
he people will be called upon to elect a President of
,ae united otates, and we an see, and all teel that
he great interests of the country are to be affected,
jX ffood or for evil, by the results of the election.
Ut the interesting subjects over which the person
ho shall be so elected must necessaiily, from his
jsition, exercise more or less personal control, there
e three of great and paramount importance.
In the first place, the honor and happiness of the
ountry imperatively require that the chief magistrate
!ect shall not plunge us into any further wars of
oibition and conquest.
In the next place, the interests of the country, and
e feelings of avast majority of the people of the
ountry, require that the President of the United
tates, to be elected, shall not use his official power
3 promote, shall not entertain a feeling in his heart
j promote the extension of slavery, or any further
iuence of the institutions of slavery in our public
Miinsels.
And in the third place, it is my settled conviction,
-if any judgment of mine, or any experience of mine
i public anairs, an experience not now short, can
:aable me to know any thing about the matter it is,
I say my deliberate opinion that the state of the coun
:t requires an essential reform in the existing sys-
m ol revenue ana nnance, witn a view to tne pro
action of the industry, and the fostering of the labor
.f the people.
These are the three great aird esssntial topics now
before the country. There are others, but these three
re the principal.
Now, gentlemen, there are three candidates pre
sented for the choice of the American people: Gen
eral Taylor, the candidate of the Whig party, standing
:pon the nomination of the Whig Convention held
a Philadelphia ; General Cass, the candidate of the
posinr and now dominant party ; and third, Mr.
Van Buren, standing upon the nomination of the late
Convention at Buffalo, whose object, or whose main
jbject, as it appears to me, is centered in one only
jf these considerations I have, mentioned, the prer
Teniaion, namely, of any further increase of slavery
of the influence of slave power. An object, gen
iemen, in which I need hardly say, you and I en-i-ely
concur. -
Most of us here to-day are whigs National whigs
-Massachusetts whiars Old-Colony whigs Marsh-
itld whif s.;', And if the whiff nomination at Phila-
. i - ... i. l t: rn u
rere entirely satisfactory to the whigs of Massachu-
ciis 2Tiu to us, the patn oi our auty in reguia 10 ii
innM Ka nArfoAt1 r.tiin Tint the nnminatinn WSHI I
at thus satisfactory to the whigs ot Massachusetts.
. J . . . -mm m I
inar ia nun onn it w r in m n uiit 1 1 1 hllkiiiiiIi LtJ tun .
,ltu w T u mnro int and natriotic to take
acts and things as they are, and deduce our convic- these whig meetings and this Philadelphia Conven
es of duty from what actually exists before us. . tion proceeded exactly according to this reason. That,
He know, gentlemen, that however respectaoie.
d distinguished in the line of his own profession,
x however estimable as a citizen, General Taylor is j That was the wnoie oi it. i nai sagacious, wtsc,yor
imilitary man merely. He . has had no training in I seeing doctrine of avaxlabihiy lies at the bottom of the
firil affairs he has had no participation in the coun- j whole matter. Cheers.
& of the Republic he is known only by his bril-
5ant achievements at the head of an American army.
Voir the whiors of Massachusetts, and I among them,
ft of the opinion that it was not wise, nqt discreet,
'o go to the army for our candinate for the Presiden-7-
This is the first instance in the history of the
Jovemment of the United States that any mere mili
ary man has been proposed for that office. Wash
agton was an eminent military man, but far greater
a his civil character he was employed in the ser
iceof the country from the earliest dawn of the
Wrican Revolution he was a member of the Con
inentafCongress, and, in that body, established for
Jimself a great reputation for civil judgment, wis
!n and ability. After the war, as you know, he
one of the Convention which formed the Con
aiuitionol the United States, and it is one of the
ost honorable tributes ever, paid. tp ;bim, that he
'hould have been selected by the wise, men who
aposed that Convention to preside oyer their de
orations. And his name stands first and foremost
'Ppended to the Constitution under which we live.
President Harrison was bred a soldier, and rendered
10 bis country important military services. But Gen
tral Harrison, nevertheless, was for a much greater
iof his life in civil that in military service. He
,a for twenty years" either the Govern6r of a terri
member of Congress, Or a Minister abroad.
4he performed his duties in all these stations to
satisfaction of the people. '
disease, therefore, stands by itself, without a
Cedent in r.nr nrevious historr. -And it-is on this
ioont. I imtrinA. nrincinall v. that the whiffs of
8achuseU8 feel dissatisfied at' the nomination,
reare other reasons of less importance, and more
to be answered. : ; :J ' " , ' ' ' '
But gentlemen, if I mar be allowed to ise a mer
"wile expression, there w another side to this ac
??nt and impartiality and duty require us to con
r that. " -" -,
l4e first place. General Taylor was nominated
X Convention in conformity with the usages
?wewhitr nartv for veara nast. , He was fairly nom-
kdj o far as I know, and is now to be consider
ttthe nnW m.; foiritr hflforft th countrv as a
jidate for the Presidency, and no citizen claim
5 to be a whig can Rive bis vote for any other, let
"nftror.l ? i lIa. .1 , , - ,
preierence je wnai micjt m
the next place, it is proper, tof consider . thejer
character and political opinions of General Tay
o far as known. Now I wish erery body to
wi u iudi a oars w puauim i aiiyimi.' '
jatever with General Taylor. only saw bim
J. and then but for a few moments.in the Senate
eri sources or lntormation irom. wnicn l
Jt8 1 my acquaintance, with his political opinions,
jpeti i to you an(j aut a9 wei a3 t0 me. ; But I
e eideavored to obtain access to those sources as.
best I might, and to obtain my information fromi
those who nave known his services and character as
a soldier and a man, and from his conversations' with
his friends upon politica subjects. And I will tell
you frankly what I think of him.
That, he is a skilful, brave, and valiant soldier, is
admitted by all. No one denies it. But that goes
with me but a very little ways. ' What is more im
portant, I believe him to be an honest man, an up-;
right man, a modest, clear-headed man, a man of in
dependent character, posssessing . a mind property
disciplined and controled. I believe him to be esti
ble and amiable in all the relations of private life. I
believe he possesses a reputation for equity and for
judgment which gives him an influence over those
under his command, beyond that conferred by au
thority or station. I believe that he possesses the
entire confidence and attachment of all who have
been near him, -or have known him.
So much, then, for what I think of General Tay
lor's personal character. And I will say, too, that
so far as I have observed, his conduct since his nom
ination has been irreproachable. There has been no
intrigue on his part, no contumelious treatment of
any rivals, no promises nor hopes to any men or any
party. We do do not find him putting forward any
pretnnsions of his own. And I believe of him, as he
believes of himself, that he is an honest man, of up
right purposes and as to his other qualifications for
the Presidency, he has nothing more to say.
Non, friends and fellow-townsmen, with respect
to hra-olitical preferences. I w ill say that I be
lieve him' to be a whig to hold to the main doctrines
and uphold the great principles of the whig party.
To believe otherwise would be to impute to him a
degree of tergiversation and fraudulent pretension of
which I suppose him utterly incapable.
Gentlemen, It is worth our while to consider in
what manner General Taylor became a candidate. It
is a great mistake to suppose that he is the selection
merely ot the Philadelphia Uonvention, lor he was
nominated in various States by numerous popular con
ventions, a year before the Philadelphia Convention
assembled. ; -
Gentlemen, The whole history of the world shows
us that, whether in the most civilized or the most i
barbarous ages, the affections and admiration of the
people are easily, and always, carried away by great
and successful military talents and achievements.
And in the case now before us, Gen. Taylor, by his
brilliant operations on the Rio Grande, at Palo Alto,
and elsewhere, secured spontaneous nominations trom
portions of the people in all the States. And let me
say, too, that they were mostly whig nominations
they were nominations by whigs. Not always, it is
true; but generally they were whig nominations.
Gen. Taylor has been esteemed, from the moment
his military achievements brought him into public
notice, as a whig- General. You all remember that
when we were discussing1 in Congress the merits of
the Generals, on the question of presenting thanks to
tne army, the supporters of the administration and
the friends of Mr. Polk denounced Gen. Taylor be -
cause be was a whiff. My friend, whom I am hap
py to meet here, the Representative in Congress
trom this district, (Hon. Arte mas Hale) will remem
ber that a leading man of the party, and a prominent
friend of the administration, in bis place in Congress,
declared that it was the policy of the administration
to prosecute the Mexican war, and that that policy
could never prosper till the recall of those whig Gen.
era Is, Scott and Taylor. ' That was the policy of the
Democracy that the war should be carried out by
the Democracy it was Democratic merit and glory
and on that ground the Democrats would refuse a
vote of thanks to a whig General.
Gen. Taylor was nominated mainly thus by Whig
conventions and Whig meetings in numerous quar
ters of the country.
I remark, gentlemen, in the next place, that there
was no particular purpose concerning the advance
ment of slavery entertained by those who nominated
him. As I have said, the nomination was made by
whig meetings and conventions more in the North-
em and Aiiddie o rates man at tne ooum ana me
men who did nominate him never entertained any
desire to extend the area of slavery, through his ad
ministration or by his. influence. The Quaker city
of Philadelphia, the great State of Pennsylvania, cer
tainly nominated him with no such views. We re
member that a large convention in the city of New
York, composed of highly respectable men, many of
whom are personally well known to me, nominated
him, and certainly they had no such views. And the
nomination was nailed, not very extensively, but by
some enthusiastic and not very far-seeing politicians
here in Massachusetts, amongst us, who raised the
notes of exultation over their anticipated triumph cer-
tainly early enough perhaps a little too early tor
souuu juugmcui auu uwwicuvu. t
have waited Z little.
1 A. A l Z J H n a.". OtTM '
uui, gentlemen, me irum is, uuu uu uuc ai .
is brought too near the eye to be discerned that
acci j (
Deuevmg ucu. ""-j ...6...
could be elected more easily than any other whig.
OO Iar, men, liuui iiiiuung xy uiuhio ui uraiio
for the promotion or extension of slavery as operating
upon mese onvenuons utruuguuui uibcvuuujivi
on that at Philadelphia at least, as regards the ma-
jority of their members in the nomination and elec
tion ol Gen. Taylor, I don't believe a word of it. I
don't believe one word of it.
But I see that one part of what is called the Buf
falo platform, says that the nomination at Philadel
phia was made uuder the dictation of the slave-power.
I don't believe a word of that either. For there was
a very great majority of members from the free States
in that body, who might have nominated any body
else they chose, on whom they could agree. And,
then, there were a great many of his most earnest
advocates, some from New England, who would
sooner cut off their hands than submit to any such
dictation in any such case. I may not admire their
discretion or policy, but I must acquit them of all
such base motives as have been charged upon them.
I think I understand their motives. Their reasoning
was just this " Gen. Taylor is a whig; an eminent
mari not indeed in civil life, but circumstances have
given him eclat with the people ; if he is elected,
with him we shall have an increase of the" whig
strentrth in Congress, and therefore it is the best to
sustain him." That was the object and motive how
ever wise or unwise of a large majority ot me con
vention. . : . - -
In my opinion it was a wholly unwise policy. It
was not suited to the whig character. It was short
sighted. But 1 acquit the members of the Conven
tion of any of the motives ascrioed to them, espe
cially this one set forth in the Buffalo platform.
Such, gentlemen, are the circumstances connected
with the nomination of General Taylor. And I will
only repeat, that those who had the most agency on
Cinallyfin bringing him before the people, were
whi"- conventions and meetings in several States
free "States and a great majority of the Philadelphia
Convention from the free States. They migb t have
rejected him if they had so chosen, and wanted any
body else. .
This, then, is the case presented to tho whigs, so
far as respects the personal fitness end character of
General Taylor. ' . ' :. , .
Now, fellow-citizens, if wo were weighing tho
propriety of nominating such a person as a candidate
For tha cWiinagistracy that is .onelhirrp If con
sidering tho expediency, orrJ:may -say, the nocesst
ty! to s?me minds, of supporting him, now he l?nomi
nated that is quite another thing.' And this leads
?o the consideration of what the whigs'oFMassacho
MtS oaeht to do. - Such of them as are not willing
mESS Gen. Taylor most, it is clea, tote for Mr.
LrVr. Vo Worm, or omit to vote at all.- Iagfee
that the xo a e Scales in which, it. do not know n
wba ; direction- to move, we should stand sull until
we do. Cases in which, if we do not know what to
do, it is better to do. nothing .than do we know not
what. But in a question like this, so important to
the country, a popular-election of the chief magis
trate, under a government whose very constitutional
forms render it impossible that every man's' private
opinions or preferences should prevail the inquiry
consists in just this, What is the best for - us to do
on the whole? And this again leads us to an exam
ination of the question now immediately before us.'
Under the practical operation of the Constitution
ofthe United States, there cannot be a great range
in the choice between candidates for high national
offices. To render their votes effective, men must
necessarily give them to one of the prominent candi
dates. That is the result of our form of government,
and therefore it does sometimes bring us to the ne
cessity of choosing from among candidates, neither
one of whom would be our personal choice. What,
then, is now the contingency, the alternative, pre
sented to us 1 In my judgment there is merely one
question, and it is between the election of Gen. Tay
lor or of Gen. Cass. This is the whole of it. I am
no more skilled to foresee political events than oth
ers l judge tor my sell alone and, for myselt, 1
must lay that I see no possible chance for any body,
except either Mr. Taylor or Mr. Cass, to be elected.
I know that the enthusiasm of a new-formed party
new-iormed in name but not in idea, having, in fact,
no new idea whatever may lead its members to think
that the sky is at once to fall, and that larks are to be
taken in abundance. I have no such belief or ex
pectation. I have read, gentlemen, the Buffalo platform, and,
although there are some rotten parts about it, I can
stand on it pretty well. It is not wholly new nor
original. What there is valuable about it is not new,
and what is new is not valuable. If, my friends,
the term "free soil " men, is meant to designate one
who has been fixed, unalterable to-day, yesterday,
and for some time past in opposition to slavery-extension,
then I may claim to be, and may hold my
self, as good a " free soil" man as any member of
that tfunalo Convention. 1 pray to know where is
there soil freer than that on which I have stood ? I
pray to know what words they can use, or can dic
tate to me, freer than those which have dwelt upon
my lips? I pray to know with what feelings they
can inspire my breast, more resolute and fixed in re
sistance to slavery-extension or encroachment, than
have inhabited my bosom since the first time I open
ed my mouth in public life?
The gentlemen at Buffalo have placed at the head
of .their party Mr. Van Buren a gentleman for whom
I have all the respect I should entertain towards an
associate in public life for many years. But I really
should think that if I were to express confidence in
Mr. Van Buren, or respect for his political opinions
on any question of public policy especially on this
! very one of the spread of slavery, slave power and
i slave influence, the exhibition would border upon
tne luaicrous, it not upon me contemptible. 1 never
j proposed any important public measure of polic'
which he did not oppose. And I never was obliged
to oppose any such measure, which he, when with
rne in Congress, did not support. And. if he and I
should now find ourselves together under the "free
! soil " flags I am sure that, with his accustomed eood
nature, he would laugh. If nobody were with us,
we should both laugh at the strange jumbles of po
litical life which had brought him and me to sit down
snugly, cosily and comfortbly, on the same platform.
My first acquaintance with Mr. Van Buren, in
public life, was when he was pressing, with great
power, the election to the Presidency of Mr. Craw
ford over Mr. Adams. Mr. Crawford was not elect
ed. Mr. Adams was. And Mr. Van Buren, during
his administration, was a member of the Senate for
a part of his term, and Governor of New York for
the rest. And it is notorious that-e was the soul
and centre of the opposition to Mr. Adam's adminis
tration, and that he did more than any ten other men
to defeat his re-election, and to' bring in Gen. Jack
son. These are facts which even short memories
can retain. Gen. Jackson was chosen, and Mr. Van
Buren became his Secretary of State. In July, 1829,
McLane was sent out Minister to England, under in
structions to arrange the disputed questions concern
ing the Colonial and West India trade. Mr. Adams
had taken high ground on this subject. He had j
claimed as a right of reciprocity, that our products in
our ships should be admitted into the West India
ports on the same terms with the English, since Great
Britain enjoyed the privilege of having her goods, in
her ships, brought into our ports on the same condi
tions as though brought in American vessels. Mr.
Adams took high and austere ground on this matter,
as one of right, on the principles of reciprocity. But
the English government would not hear to it. And
Mr. Van Buren told Mr. McEane, in his instruc
tions, to yield the point, the ground of right, to dis
claim the pretensions of Mr. Adams; and he then
went on to say that the administration, that is, Gen.
Jackson's administration, ought not to be repulsed
from the enjoyment of that which he was willing to
call a boon, or a privilege, on account of the misbe
havior of Mr. Adams's administration. That was
the sura and substance of it all.
Well, gentlemen, one of the most painful duties
! that ever has devolved on me as a Representative or
Senator of my country in Congress, was to re J use
my assent to the confirmation of Mr. Van Buren's
subsequent nomination as Ministei to England. But
I conceived it to be a new thing in this country, or
in the diplomatic history of any other civilized coun
try, that when a new party happened to come into
power, it should repudiate the doing's ot its predeces
sors, in its intercourse with foreign nations. To
abandon a ground of right held and maintained for
years, and the consent to receive what was sought
as a right before, as a privilege or boon now, I held
to be undignified, unworthy of an American states
man, derogatory to the national American character.
When it happened that I entered the department of
State, under Gen. Harrison, 1 found many things
which I could have wished to be otherwise. But did
I retract any thing that my predecessor had advanced?
Not a narticle not a iot nor tittle. I took the case
as he left it, and I should have held myself disgraced
if I had not. Suppose, for instance, with regard to
the boundary treaty with England, I had said to Lord
Ashburton, "Pray, my lord, consider that we are
more sensible people than our predecessors ; only re
flect how much more amiable, humble, and how
much more friendly to Great Britain, I am than Mr.
Forsyth ever was, and therefore accord to us this or
that boon." What would have been the public feel
ing ? I need not say.
But, gejitlemen, as to this subject of resistance to
the slave power: I would by no means do any in
justice to Mr. Van Buren,' and if he has come up to
some of the opinions laid down in the Buflalo plat
form, I am glad of it. And of his own party, or
what has been his party,: he is much the less danger
ous candidate of the two now presented to us. But
looking at his course and conduct while he was Pre
sident of the United States, I am am amazed that he
should be found at the head of a party, claiming,
above all others, to bo the friends of liberty, and the
opponents of African slavery at the South. Why,
what was the first thing for him to declare, after hav
ing been elected to the Presidency, but that, if Con
gress should pass a bill to abolish slavery in the dis
trict of Columbia, he would veto it. That is the first
instance I am acquainted 'with of a veto in advance.
In his inaugural message, in 1837, Mr. Van Buren
said ' ' ' 1 . . .
"I must go into tho Presidential chair, tho inflexi
ble and uncompromising opponent of every attempt
on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in the dis
trict of Columbia, against tho wishes of the slave
holding States, and also with a determination equally
decided to resist the slightest interference with it in
the States where it exists." And in his inaugural, ho
adds, I submitted also'.to my'felloW-citizens with
fullness and frankness the reasons which led me to
fhis determination. The result authorizes me to be
lieve that they have been approved and are confided
in By a majority of "tho people of the' United States,
including those whom they most immediately affect
It now only remains to add that no bill conflicting
with these views can ever receive my constitutiona
sanction' ' ' . .
There is his declaration. '
In the next place, you know- and I remember, Mr
Van Burn's casting vote was given in the, Senate to
a measure of very doubtful propriety, 'which einpoW'
ered postmasters to open the mails, to look after and
suppress any documents in opposition to slavery,
will not say Congress has no right to pass such a law
but its passage certainly indicates a quite sufficient
degree of deference to the feelings and wishes of the
South. Let me not be misunderstood.' ' So far as re
gards the life and property of our fellow citizens, so
far as they be actually endangered, -so far I agree that
it may be proper for Congress to exercise its legisla
tive powers to prevent any such result. .
But, gentlemen, no man in this country has exer
cised a more controlling influence over the conduct
of his friends in relation to this very matter, . than
Mr. Van Buren. 1 take it that one of the most im
portant events in our recent history, as connected
with the question of the extension of slavery, has
been the annexation of Texas. And as to Mr. Van
Buren, where was he then three or four years ago
in regard to that very subject? Where was he ? He
had formerly been at the head of the " spoils" party
he was not then, at least, at the head of the "free
soil" party. And every friend to Mr. Van Buren, in
Congress, so far as I know, supported the scheme of
annexation. The two New York senators favored
it the Representatives from New York supported it
ana auowme to say to every ooay connectea wnn
or likely to be influenced by the Buffalo Convention
that no men but the Whigs, no party but the. Whig
party, and I say this to the whole -world, opposed
that measure of annexation. There was no body ox
party but the Whig party, which firmly and steadily
resisted that annexation.
And now they the srentlemen at Buffalo talk
about the dictation of the slave power. They talk
of it 1 don't. They talk of the triumph of the South
over the JNorth. 1 here is not one word ot truth in it.
I say upon my conscience, that evil as the influence
of the slave institution is, the North has borne her
full share and part in that evil. Northern votes have
been given for every instance of projected slave in
crease. And, gentlemen, we talk of the Worth but
there has been no IN orth ; at least, not tor years past
I think the North star has at last been discovered,
but up to close of the late session of Congress there
has been no IS orth.
We have read in Pope
Ask where's the North at York 'tis on the Tweed,
In Scotland at the Or cades, and there,
At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where.
And if it is meant to inqure "Where is the
North?" if, by the North is indicated a country exhibiting-a
firm, solid, substantial resistance to the
extension of slavery if any such place ever existed
it was the Lord knows where I do not.
In the year 1844, the Democrats of the North,
the friends, of Mr. Van Buren, let in Texas. Al
the Whigs of the Senate, with one or two excep
tions, resisted that annexation. Ten Southern whigs
voted against, and only two lor it. Uut these South
ern whig votes against the scheme of annexation
were overpowered by the votes of the free State de
mocrats Mew-hjngland democrats among the rest.
If it had not been for these New-England votes,
Texas would have been out of the Union to this day.
If New-England Senators had been as true to the
cause of liberty and the country as Southern Whigs
were, Texas would now be Texas still. There were
four New-England gentlemen in the Senate who sup
ported the administration in this measure. One from
Maine, two from New Hampshire, and one from Con
necticut one of them who had held high office un
der Mr. Van Buren. They these four men voted
for the proposition, and to let in Texas against the
votes and wishes of the Southern and Northern
Whigs. That is the truth of the matter.
Gentlemen, when several Northern members of
Congress, in 1818, voted in favor of the so-called
Missouri compromise, against the known will of their
constituents, they were called " dough faces." For
my part, fellow-citizens, I am afraid that the genera
tion of dough-faces will be as perpetual as the gene
ration ot men.
in 1H44, as we all Know, Mr. Van Uuren was a
candidate for the Presidency. But he lost his nomi
nation at Baltimore, and, as we now learn from a
letter from Gen. Jackson to Mr. Butler, Mr. Van Bu
ren's claims were superseded solely because, after all,
the South thought that the great question of annexa
tion might be more safely trusted to Southern than
toNorthern hands. Now we all know that the North
ern portion of the democratic party was, favorable to
the election of Mr. Van Buren. Our democratic
friends in Maine and New Hampshire were for him.
Every man of that party at the North so felt. But
the moment when it was found Mr. Polk was the
favorite of the South, and upon this very ground, at
that very moment these mends of Mr. Van Buren all
caved in. Not a man. of them stood his - ground.
And Mr. Van Buren himself wrote a letter, very com
plimentary to Polk and Dallas, and finding no fault
whatever with their nomination. Now if those North
ern men who voted for the Missouri compromise are
to be called dough-faces, by what .epithet shall we
describe these men, here in New England, who are
now so ready to forsake and abandon the men they
once so warmly supported for, apparently, .the sole,
simple sake of the annexation of Texas and other new
territory who went tor therrrthrough thick and thin
till the work was accomplished, and now desert them
for others. For my part, I think that " dough-faces"
is not a sufficiently reproachful epithet. They are
all dough., Dough-faces dough-heads dough-hearts
: dough-souls. They are earth that the coarsest pot
ter may mould to vessels and shapes of honor and
dishonor most readily to those of dishonor.
But now, what do we see ? Repentance has gone
far. There are amongst these very gentlemen many
who espouse the interest and cause of the "free soil"
party.' And I hope their repentance is as sincere as
it pretends and appears to be that it is not mere pre
tence for the purpose of obtaining power and official
influence under a new name and as a new party but
through all their pretensions I think I see the dough
sticking upon some of their cheeks. "
And, therefore, I feel no confidence in them not
the slightest particle. I do not mean to say that the
great mass of those now favorable to Mr. Van Bu
ren's election especially those gentlemen who went
to the convention at Buffalo from this State had not
and have not, the highest and purest motives. Some
of them have been my strong political friends. I have
no reproaches to utter aginst them. I think they have
acted unwisely, but I acquit them of all dishonest
intentions. - .But as to some others that now warmly
support him, who have been heart and hand with him
heretofore, who have concurred in the policy he has
followed as to them I confess distrust. If gentle
men, these men have repented, let them, before we
trust them, do worksfworthy of repentance.
I have said,, gentlemen, that in my opinion, if it
were desirable to place Mr. Van Buren at the head
of the government, still there is no chance for him.
Others are as good iudges as I am. But I am not
ablo to say that I know of, or can see any State in the
TT I 1 . 1 V. K ... .Un.
union in wmcn mere is a reasonauie Jiuuauuuy mai
he will get a sinsrle vote. There may -be. Others
are more versed in such statistics than I am, and will
judge for themselves. But I see nothing of the kind,
and therelore 1 think that the issue is exactly Dctween
General Cass and General Taylor. ...
In 1814, when Mr. Birney, in New-1 ork and oth
er States,' was drawing off whig votes from the whig,
candidate, I said, as some of you may . perhaps re
member, that every vote for Mr. Birney was half a
vote for Mr. Polk. Did n't it turn out so ? Was n't
it true in New York ? In that great State the votes
carried off from the Whig gatry to Mr. Birney's par
ty defeated the election of a Whig President, and
therefore Mr. Polk was chosen. That is as . clear
as any historical fact. And just so, in my judgment,
it will be now. Kvery Whig vote given to Mr. van
Buren will directly aid the 'election of Gen- Cass. "I
say Whig vote, let it be observed. For it may be
that there are States in which the Van Buren move
ment may draw supporters from General Cass,, and
therefore injure him rather than Gen. Taylor. But
I speak of this with reference to whig votes, in whig
States, andparticularly in this State. And I say that
every vote thrown by a whig, or one who has been a
whig every vote whatever,! may justly say thrown
against Gen. Taylor, enures, to the benefit of Gen.
Cass. ' " rV : .
Now, my friends, as to Gen. .Cass, we need not
go to tne Baltimore convention or to tne Baltimore
platform to instruct ourselves as to what his politics
are, or how. if elected, he will conduct the erovern-
ment of. the 'country.- ' He will come into power, if
at all, as the exponent of the principles of the, present
dominant political party, the same party that elected
Mr. Polk, and, if elected, he will " follow in the foot
steps of his illustrious predecessor." And I hold
him, I must confess, to be the most dangerous of any
of the candidates now before the people. He would
describe himself as no Whig as no conservative
as not ot the protective party but as belonging to
the so-called progressive Democratic party. He be
lieves in the doctrine of American destiny, as it is
termed which appears to be to go through wars of
ambition, invasion. conauesU ana asrrandizement.
for the sake of establishing one great, powerful, domi
nant, and domineering power over the whole or this
western continent.
We all know that, if Gen. Cass could have pre
vented it,' the treaty of 1842, with England, would
never have been concluded. We know that, if he
cOuld have prevented it, the settlement of the Oregon
question would not have been accomplished, and the
Uregon treaty of 1846 would not have been ratified
And we know that, if he could have prevented the
Mexican war,he would not have done it. He sup
ported that war, and was one of the first and foremost
in pressing it on, and advocating it in every shape
and iorm, up to its conclusion.
As to his personal character, I know, and we al
know, that General Cass is a man of learning, of
scholarship, ol talent, of some distinction as a states
man, and, in point of ability, far superior to his pre
decessor if he should happen to be the successor of
Air. folK. isut I think him a man ot rash politics
pushed on by a rash party and committed to a course
of policy which, as I believe, is inconsistent with the
real interests of ourgovernment, and the honor and
true greatness of our country.
It is for us all, therefore for you, for me, for all of
us, as Whigs to consider whether we can or cannot,
whether we will or will not, in the existing state of
the case, give our votes for General, Taylor; as the
nominee ot the, Whig party. That question I leave
to every man's conscience. I have endeavored to
state to you the case, as it presents itself to rue.
Gentleman, before General Taylor's nomination, I
stated always, when the subject was mentioned, to
my friends, that I did not, and could not, recommend
the selection of a military man as a candidate for the
Presidency. It was against my convictions of what
was due to the best interests of the country, to the
character of the Whig party, and the reputation of the
republic. I stated also, at the same time, that, if
General Taylor should be nominated, fairly, by the
W hig Convention at Philadelphia, I should not op
pose that nomination. And I stand upon that very
same ground now. General Taylor has been nomi
nated by the W hig Convention fairly nominated,
for any thing I know to the contrary, and I shall
not, and I cannot, refuse him my vote nor oppose his
election. But, at the same time, I would say that
there is no man who is more firm and steadfast than
myself, in the opinion that such a nomination ought
not to have been made that it was impolitic and un
wise that it was not one suitable for the Whigs to
make.
But the declaration I then made, that I would not
oppose the nomination or election of General Taylor,
was, in the very nature of things, subject to some ex
ceptions. It J supposed him to be, it I believed nun
to be, a man whoso purpose it was to plunge us into
further wars of ambition and conquest, I would op
pose him, let him be nominated by whom he might.
It 1 believed that, it elected, he would use his official
influence in aid of the further extension of the slave
power, I would oppose him, let him be nominated by
whom he might. But I do not believe either.
I believe that he has been, from the very first, op
posed to the policy of the Mexican war, as inexpedi
ent, impolitic and improper. I believe, from the best
information I can obtain and you will take this as
my own opinion, gentlemen I believe that he has
no disposition to extend the area of slavery, or the in
fluence of the slave institution ; that he has no dispo
sition, moreover, to go to war for the purpose of the
acquisition of further slave territory or for the annexa
tion or estates to the Union from what is now foreign
territory.
uentlemen, so much for what may be considered
as belonging to the next Presidential election, as a
national question.
But the case, by no means, stops here.
We are citizens of Massachusetts. We are Whigs
of Massachusetts. We have supported the present
government of the State for years with success. And
have thought that most W higs were satisfied with
the administration of the State government in the
hands of those who have held it. But now it is pro
posed to establish a new party, on the basis of the
Buffalo platform, and to carry this new Buffalo ques
tion of " free soil" into all our elections State as
well as national local as well as Stale. At least,
I suppose so, from what has already been seen. There
is to be, therefore, a nomination of a candidate for Gov
ernor against Mr. Briggs, or whoever may be nomi
nated by the Whigs, and there is to be a nomination
of a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, against Mr.
Reed, or whoever may by-nominated by the-Whigs.
And, in fact, there are to be nominations against any
body whom we may sfee fit to put up for these offices.
And for members of Congress too, I presume, there
will be, in every district of the Commonwealth, can
didates set up by this new party, in oppostion to the
regular candidates of the Whigs.
Now, what is the utility of that? The State of
Massachusetts has ten members in the House of Rep
resentatives in Congress, and t may well say that I
Ifnow of no other ten men, of any party, who are more
steady, firm, zealous, and inflexible, in their opposi
tion to slavery, and its extension, in any shape, than
those very gentlemen. And what will be the result,
supposing the Whig candidates many of whom are
those who now represent us to be detaated What
will be the result if a considerable portion of the
Wbig party in each district secedes from the regular
Whig nominations, and supports other candidates
than the Whig candidates ? Do we not know what
has been the case in this very county ? Do we not
now that, in this district, the effect of irregular op
position to the Whig candidate as good a" free soil"
man, by the way, as any of us could desire has been
to leave you, gentlemen, deprived of your representa
tion and influence in Congress ? Do we not know
that the district has been unrepresented, from month,
to month, and from year to year, because of the op
position of some of these same " free soil" gentlemen
to a man as firm and staunch in the case of freedom
as any individual that breathes the air of the district?
ven in his presence, 1 will venture to allude to your
present Representative (Mr. Hale). And I ask if
we want a better liberty man in Congress than he is?
Do we want a better liberty vote than those he has
always given ? There is no one man of the " free
soil" party who can bring forward any objection to
nun, except, perhaps, that be was not nominated by
themselves. - I undertake to say that. And I say,
moreover, that the chances are ten to one that, if tho
W higs had not nominated him, this same liberty par-
ty these same " free soil", men would have done
so themselves. ' . . - " r
Now, gentlemen, I remember it to have occured,
that on many very important questions in Congress,
the vote was lost for want of two or three-' members
whom Massachusetts might have sent, bat' whom,' in
consequence of the division of parties,, she did not
send. - :Many questionsVwent wrong that would have;
gone right, if this district, only, had been represent
ed. And now I foresiee that if in this district any
considerable number of Whigs think it their duty to.
join in the support of Mr. Van Buren, and in tha sap
port of gentlemen whom his party may nominato for
Congress I foresee the same thing will take place,
and we shall be without a Representative, in all pro- '
bibility, in the first session of the next Congress,
when the great battle is to be fougbron this very slave
ry question. I am sure that honest, intelligent and pat-,
riotic Whigs, will lay this consideration to their con
sciences, and judge of their duty ia regard to their
action respecting, it, as they ought.- i. -. y' s t-
Gentlemen, I will detain yoa a moment longer.
I gave my. vote, in the Senate of the United States,
against the ratification of the treaty of peace with Mexi
co, because thai treaty provided for accession of ter
ritory to the authority of The United States, and
brought under that authority, with tho pledge of fu
ture admission into the Union, those great, vast al
most unknown countries ot New Mexico and caa-
j fornia.
At the session of Congress before the last, a South
ern Whig Senator, Mr. Berrien of Georgia, had mov
ed a. resolution to the effect that the war ought notto
be continued tor the purpose of conquest ana acquisi
tion, or with any view to the dismemberment of Mexi
co, or to the acquisition, by conquest, of any portion
of her territory. That proposition he introduced in
the form of a resolution into Congress; and I believe
that every Whig in Congress but . one voted for iL"
But the Senators belonging to the Loco Foco or De
mocratic party voted against it.. . The Senators from
New York voted against it. Gen. Cass, from the
free State of Michigan; Fairfield, from Maine; Mr.
Niles, from Connecticut, and others, voted against it
so the measure was lost. That is, these gentlemen,
some of them very prominent and firm friend of Mr.
Van Buren, aad ready to take the field for him and
for free soil these very gentlemen voted not to ex
clude territory that should be obtained by. conquest.
They were willing to bring in the territory and then
have a squabble and controversy about its population
whether it should be slave territory or free tetrito
ry. I was of opinion that the true and safe policy
was to shut out the whole question, by getting no
territory, and thereby keep off the controversy. Tho
territory would do us no good, even if admitted as
free territory. It would be an incumbrance to the
whole nation, even if free. To a very great extent
it would give a heavy preponderance to tho South in
the Senate, even if free. We said, let it therefore bo
kept oaf. But no ! But no! It must be had at any
rate. After we had got it there would be time enough
to settle its character. '".'.
Gentlemen, in an important era in English history,
as it is related to us, during the reign of Charles tho
2d, when the country was threatened with the acces
sion to tho throne of a Roman Catholic Prince thea
called the' Duke of -York proposition was mad ia
Parliament to exclude hiifi from tho lino of succes
sion to the throne, on account of his religious opin
ions and preferences. Some said that that would bo
a very harsh measure that it would be much better
to admit bim, and then put restrictions upon him,
then limit him, tie bim down, chain him down. A
the controversy progressed, and while the debate waa
going on, a member of the House of Commons ia
reported to have expressed his opinioA, certainly ia
rather a grotesque simile, but one of force, neverthe
less, and much to the point,
"I hoar a lion in the lobby roar,
Say, Mr. Speaker, shall we shut the door,
And keep him out, or shall we let him,
And try if we can get bim out again ? "
I, gentlemen, was for shutting the door and fasten
ing it with bolts and bars. But other more- daring
and confident spirits, those of the character of Womb
well, were for letting the lion in, and thereby dis
turbing all the interests of the country. And he was
let in. And the country has now a right to call upon
them to seize and confine tho lion.
And again, when the Mexican treaty came before
the Senate, upon the question of its ratification, it
contained certain clauses ceding new Mexico and
California to the United States. A southern gentle
man, Mr. Badger of North Carolina, moved to strike
out those clauses. Now you understand, that if a
motion to strike out a clause be supported bv one
third, it will prevail that is, two-thirds of the Sen
ate must vote for each clause, in order to have it re
tained. Tho vote on that question was 38 to 14.
Not one third.
And why were there not more than fourteen ? Just
exactly because there were four New-England Sena
tors voting tor the acquisition ot these new territo
ries. That is the reason. They said that we must
have peace at any rate. And there was this sort of
apology which, I confess, rather annoyed mo at the
time that certain portions ot the public press, that
a good many respectable people of the country, and
especially in the large cities, many, of those whom I
hold in great estimation, cried out "Peace! peace!
Staunch the wounds of war, and let us have peace."
Now, gentlemen, I hope I am as ardent a lover of
peace as any man living. But at the same time I
would not permit myself to be carried away by the
cry of peace, or the notion of peace, on any terms
whatever. 1 did not then feel disposed to be carried
away by any such exuberant enthusiasm. I believ
ed then, and I believe now, that we might have
stricken out those cessions that we might havo re
fused to have that territory and still havo had peace
just as soon as though we insisted on them. And I
was willing to go before the peopls upon this ques
tion. 1 was not afraid to trust them. I was not un
willing to leave it to them to say whether they do
sired to have the war carried on longer, at this im
mense cost of blood and treasure, for the sake of ac
quiring this new territory. If they did, then they
would be the artificers ot their own fortune, and
could not have complained. But I was not afraid to
trust them.
And even if the rejection of theso cessions had
operated to continue the war some little time longer,
I would rather that it should be so than that these
immense regions should have come in upon our
Southern frontier as slave territory. But I venture
my opinion on this point with the more dffidenoe,
because other gentlemen of my own party thought it
their duty to vote in another way.
I voted to strike out these articles of cession.
And they would have been stricken out if four New
England Senators had not voted against the proposi
tion. But they were kept in through the votes
of these gentlemen. That being the case, I then
voted against the ratification of the wholo treaty, and
it would not have been ratified had three more of tho
Senators from New England voted with me, and not
for the treaty. Whig Senators, too, they were. And
I must say that were the same case again presented
to me, I should again act in the same manner. I
would run a still greater risk, I would encounter and
endure a still greater shock before I would vote to
ratify any treaty, before I would agree to any thing,
before I would participate in any thing which should
contemplate or tend to the annexation of more slave
territory to these United States. ,. -
. Gentlemen, after receiving the invitation of my
fellow-citizens of Marshfield to meet them here, I
found it necessary in tha discharge of my public du
ty, though at great inconvenience to ray health, to go
to Washington and participate in the closing scenes
of the late session of Congress. You know what
there transpired.'" You are all well acquainted with
the important discussion and decision of the Oregon
territorial bill, in both houses. The immediate and
ostensible question, as- you 'well .know, related only
to' Oregon ; but- its xlecision . was universally and
justly, looked upon as affecting all the new territories.
The amendment., of tho Senate to the bill, went tr
admit the institution of slavery into tho territory.
The House disagreed to this, resisted the principle
and, after l Ions . dcbate:whiph ; yoo. ? all . remember,
the Senate rsesded, , The bill then passed, establish
ing Oregon as a free territory, and making no pro-
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