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Show 200 A POLITICAL TEXT-DOOK FOR 1860. Mr. Lincoln's nomlnntlon took tho public hy surpril!c, because until juKt before the event, it wa!! Ul\l' XJlt.:Ctcd. But rcah .v it ought not to hnvc excite<! auy surpri:>c, for such unfo r· ·~cl' ll nontiuatiow:! nrc cormnou in our politknl history. Polk und l'il'rce, hy the JJernocmts, and ll nrrlt on and 'l'a,\ lor, hy the Wlli~~. wer·c all nominat ed in this extempnran•·mrs mannt'l'-rlll of them " ere elected. I havl' kn(l\111 1\lr. L!ueoln for more tlwn t\l cnty y ears, nml th,•rcfon: h:we o. right to !!peak of hirn "ith some contldcnce. A 'I au in<lividn:tl, he ha:~ ear:lcd a high reputation for trutlr, cournge, candor, morals, and amiability; so that, as a man, ht• is most trustworthy. And in tlri~ particular, he is 111or•· ent itle<l to our esteem than some other men, hits equal , who hud fa r ht' tt.er opportunitJ .. ~ and nl<lsln ea rly llfc. lJii:i talents, and the will to usc them to tho best IHIvantagc, nrc untt \H:~timutbl c ; and the proof is found In the fa ct tll;ll , in cn:ry p o:<ltlon in life, from Ills hulllble beginning to hi!! p resent. well-carn<:cl elevation, he has moru llmn fulillkd the hl'st hopt·i:i of his fdends. And n ow, In the full \il{or of his manhood, and in the honest pride of having made hltnst.:lf what he is, he is the peer of the iirst man of the nntion, \\ell nble to su:~!ttln himself anrl ad\'IUlCC Iris cau~e, ngainst any :ulvenmry, and In any field, where mind aull know! ·~\ ~,;c arc the weapons us ·d. In po lili~s h • has hut ncted out the principle' of his own mom! nnd in tellectual drnractcr. lie has not conct• al ecl his thought!! nor hiddt:n hi!:! light unde r a bushe l. With the holclnrss of eonscious rectitude and the franko esil of uo11 might h one!!ty, he hns not failed to a,·ow his op!nions of p u blic rttl'airs upon all fitting occasions. This I know ma.v subject him to the carping censure of llmt c!H~s of polit.ician~ who mistake cunning for wisd om and fabehood for ingenuity; but such men as Lincoln must act in !ceeping with their own ch:~racters, aud hope for i!l\lcce~s only by advancing the truth prudently anti maintaining it hravt>ly. All his old p olitical antecedents arr, in lll.V judgrn<:n t, exactly rig ht, being ::H'(uru·c up to the old Wllig standard. And as to Iris views about "the pe tilcnt negro qr11•,t on," 1 aru not aware that he has gollc one st ep lJt·yo11d the doctrin e~ publicly and habitually :t\'0\1 c<l by the great light of the \\'h it{ puny, Clay, Wch!>ter, !lnd th t>ir kll o wH, anrl indeed sustained and carr·i t'd out by the Dcmocmts th~:~m:;eh·e.:l , in their wi.8er and better davs. 'l'hc following, I sil pJHlSe, are In brief his opinions upen that subject: 1. ~lav •ry is a domcl:i tic inMtitut ion wHhin the State); which chooHe to hnve it, and it exists within those States bt•yund the control of Co ngrc~s. 2. Conl(ress has suprenrc l•:gblutivc power over all the Territories, and nray, at ikl <liMcretlon, allow or forhid the existence of ~htvc ry within th em. 8. Congress, In wi~dom and sound policy . o u~ht not so to exercise Hi! powe r, directly or indi rec tly, as to plant and est<Lhlish Slavery In any 'l'errit ory tnerl'tofore free. 4. And that it is unwi:;e and impolitic in the C: o vt'rnrnent of the United State~, to acquire tropical regio11s for the more purpose of con vertin~ them Into Slave !"tateH. These, I hclie ,·e, nrc Mr. Lincoln's opinions upon the matter of Slavery in tIre 'l'crl'itories, and I concur in them. They an· no n ew iuventions, made to suit the exigencies of the hour, h ut have come down to us, as the Declaration of lrrtlcpcndence and the Con,titution h 1Wc, sanctioned hy llr.: ,·cnernhle authority of the w i~e and good men who e t:Lhli~h t• < l our institutions. 'J'hey are conformable to l:tw, p1 ind ple und wise policy, and their utility is proven in prnct il'a by the as yet unbroken current of our polilical hi ~ tory. 'l'hey will prevail, not only because they are right iu 1 h c m~el ves, but also because a great and s till gro1~in~ rn<Ljorlty of tho people bt'jicvc them to be right; and tire sooner they are a ll o w~ to prevail in peiLce and Ira. mony, the b etter for all concerned, as we11 those who arc against them as those who a.re for them. I am a •1 are that smalll partisans, ill their little warfare a gai nst opposing l ead~rs, do sometimes assail them by the trick of tc;Lrin~ from their contexts s ome particular cbj ectionaiJle phra el-!, penned, puhaps, in the hurry of composition, or spol>;eu in the !' (..4t of oral debate, aml holding tltcm up to the public aR the I<':Lcl ing tloct r!nes of the p erson as>;nilcd, and drrmin ~ from th em their own uncharit.ahlc infcrencNI. 'l'hat line of attack bctruvs a little lllilld COllSCrOUS Of itS WCH kll C:-R1 for the frtl~ity Of ita logic ill not more apparent than tire inju~tice of it11 de Si!(nS. No puhlic man ran ~>tnn d that Ol'lil'n l, nnd however willing men mny be to sec it !IJIJ.lierl to th eir ~~tl verSILI'ics, nil !linch from the t o rture when nppli cfl to tht•nJ!! t.;lvc~. lu fact, the nwn who JIC\'er ~11icl a .foolbh thing, \\'Ill htll'dly be able to pro ,·c that he e ' cr surd many w i~ ones. 1 ('OnHicler l\fr. J ,incoln a soun<l, Ha fl', nntlonal man. lle could not he sectional If he trkd. ll h-1 birth, <'dueatinu the lmhlt.s of hi!:! life, and hl!! E;l'OI!I'IIphicnl po~ition, ('Ollr: pel him to he national. All !lis fl.'•·llngs and in tt·rl'~t ar't! ldent.iflc\1 with the great vallPy o r the l\li~siHslppl, nt'<Lr wlrose centro he has spent hiH whoh• llfc. '!'he valley Is not n section, hut, conspicuouKly, the body of the nation and, hu·gc as it hi, it i~ not eapahlc of hdng c11vltled bt~ sectionH, for tIre great rh·er cun not he dil·itktl. lt is one and lndlvlslhle, and the North ll)l(l the ~outh arc alihe ncces11nry to Its comfort nnd prosptl'ity. l ts people, too, in all their Interests and affect iom;, arc as hroa<l and general as the l'Cgi o n~:~ they Inhabit. 'l'ht·.v arc emlj!rants, u. mixt•d multitude, corn iug from cn•ry ~tat e in the Cnlon, and from most coun t ri c::~ lt1 .lt:urope; tht·y nre Lllm ill i n~, therefore, to sub111it to any one petty local stnndanl. They love the n ation as 1t whole, and tht•y love nil its parts, for th.:y nrc bound to them ull, not only hy n fcding of common intcrcst ·nncl lll\l tua l d<·tH'lHlence, lmt nlso hy the r ecollections of childhoo<l a rHI yont.h, hy ulood nnd fri e ncl~lrlp, nnd hy all those soda! nnli domestic chl\ritks which Slrcctcn lire, and make t.his world 11 orth living in. The valley is beginning to feel ill:l power, a nd will soon bo strong enough to dictate the law of the land. Wli cnc n~r that state of things shall come to pass, it will he mo~' fortunate for the nution to find the powers of (l overnmcn& lod ~cd In the hnnds of men whmw hahlt::~ of thou)(ht., whose po~ition and surrounding circumstances, con~traln them to usc those powers for general aud not sectional Cll<l~. l !{ivc my opinion freely in favOJ" of l\tr. J .lncoln, nn<.l I hope that for tht.• good of the whole country, he moy be e lcct ctl. But it is not my intention to t a ke any active pa rt in the carwass. I<' or many years past., l have had littl l' to do wi th puhllc affairs, and have nRplrcd to no politkal ollicc; nnd n ow, in view of the rnad excltcrnent which cnrwul::t<•:; the country, at1<1 th • gen eral disruption and disorder of parties and the ch•ml'llli:l wlrlch compose them, 1 a1n more t.han over a ssurccl tlmt for me, per 01)ally, there il:l no politi c:tl fut.urc, nn<l 1 1\Cccpt the condl· lion with cheerful Anti!!fu.ction. ~I ill, 1 c:wnot dischnrbre myself fro111 the life-long duty to watch the conduct of men in powe r, and to resist, so far ns a mpr • private man 1nay, the fearful progress of o lliclal corruption, which for se,·eml years past has sadly marred aud defllcd the fair fabric of our C:ovcrnmcnt. 1f tllr. Lincoln should h e elected, coming in ns a new man at tbc hl'ad of a young party n ev<'r before In t!owcr, he may r ender n g-reat service to hiH country, wluch no llemocrat could render. lle can nHuTh stmight forward in the di~charg-c o~ hi!! high <lntie~, g uidc<l only by his own good jud ~m cnt and honest JHli'JlO:ies, without any necessity to t emporize with estahlish e rl ahuses, to wink at tho dcll[)queucies or old pn rt.y friends, or to unl earn anti discn~d t.he hntl o(ljcial habits that l11we grown up untl cr the nll.Sgovernment or his Democratic predecessors. In short, he can be nn honest and hold rt' fonner 011 ca~;i e r nnd cheaper terms than a ny Democmtic l'rcsi<lent can he- for, in proceeding In the good work of cleansing and purifying the a<hnlni:~t.mtiv e departments , he will hn.Ye no occasion to expose tho vices, a s!mil the interests or thwart tho ambl,. Lion of his polilicnl friends. ' Begging your pardon for the length of tillS letter, I remain, with great respect, your friend aud obedient servant, EDWARD BATES. LEGISLATIVE RESOLVES .IWR. FREE TEP.UITORY. 201 TilE 1ION1{0E DOOTRINJ~ . So mu~h haii ~C 'll wildl_v R;ti<l of what id ' nncl maintainecllt, aml wh o~c frHkpen.h•rJ c;e we hni'C, oo tP.rmcd the " ~ton roe Doc trin e ,., in n'gn.rd to t he g reat con:~illemtion, anti on jmlt principles, n<;k rHJwlcd){e•l. . fl ' . • r Fttn> )(!'ltl l'OW('I':i ( ll this I • \ w~ coul~ not view any interposition for th~ purp • l ~ t' ot Ill ucncc 0 . • I · · > . • <.:OllLtllcnt, oppre:wng them, or controlling in any ot h(•r rrHIIlrwr their that we pttiJlttih exa<.:tly what P re:-~u..lcnt ~l onroe dc.:i ti ny, by any l!:uropean poiTer, iu any other ll!{ht than sn.id on Lit<' subj ect. \Ve t:Oj)\' front the Seventh as the mttnife~tation of an unfriendly dr ~pn~i tio 1 1 tuwanl Annn·tl ~l cssa"e of ~1r. ~1 on r.-oe J.atcJ DecCillb •r tire Unitc<l Stt~~e~. In the war lll•twcen these new J:llV··.'·n - . n ' e mentM a rHl Spnrn, we declared our n t•utrali ty at. the L1n1c ~1 1 2:~: of tht:ir r ecognition, anti to thi:~ we hrwe !ldhered nntl "It wa~ •tutt•<l , at the commencen10nt of tire la~t scs~in n, th:Lt a grl"Lt l'lfur t W !.L~ tlit•n rna kill!{ in Sp lin lllltl Purtug,d tO JmprOI'<' the condi!rnll Of th..: Jl l'<lplc \)( thO~t! COUnt r ie~ !Lil<i tlllLt 1t appeared to be COilcluctcd 1v ith .:x tnwrdinarJ llltld~rat i Jn. Jt 11\'Cd MC;IJ'Cl'ly be I'CIIl<LI"kcd that t il(! r l'- 8U!t h tL~ ht·en, ~n f;Lr, vury .trtLreut fr•>nl what. W IL ~ then nnticipat.-rl. Of eve nt:~ i ~1 that quart er of the glnhl), with which we h:tvl' ~o Jnuch Jntcrcour,;c, and from whrch we doriVt! our origin , we li!LVe 11lways hecn anx ir m~ tUld in· ter~:o~ tcd ~Jiel'l:Ltor:l. 'l'he crt i z~n~ of the Unite1l State~ ohijrlsh ~e : 1Lime11t.s the nl()St frie ndly in favo 1· of the lil>ert y aucl happwt·~d of thei r fcllnw-mcn un that ~ide of the Atlalltil'. r 11 I he war:~ or thc l~uro pc rL n J>OWt!rs, in mat t.cnl relatin!( t•• t l rcm~cl Villi, we IIILVC ne vor taken any p t~rt, oor d o<:~ it cnnl p urt with our policy so to d o. IL i~ only when out· ri~otht~ Me inva< led or se r iou~l y menaced, that we re~en t injuries or rnako prcpnration for our d efense. Wllh th~ muvenrent.; In thii hemispl.crc we arc or ne cc~ eity more ilnmt·di ;Ltely connccte< l, a nti hy causes which must UC! •> hvitlll~ to ull cnlighten ,~tl a nd impar tial ob~crYcr,. 'J'he puliti<':d ~y:~tem of the allied p •w•· r:; i ~ C:!Heu' inlly dilf··rcnt lu tid:; r c:<pect from that of Amcric:L. Thi! <lill',;n:nce proceed.:! from that which c'<ist~ in Lh t•rr rc~pcc tive l{n vernnH• nt:.. A111l to the dcfcn!te of our own, which ha he en acli ieve,l hy lhc lo:~s of ~>0 nHu:h blood an 1 k cn sure, aud uwtttre<l by the wistlom of their rn<ht enlightened citizen~, ILUd untler which we have enju.vcd un cx :~r npled felicit y, tlri~ whole nation is devoted. W c owe it, ll rcref .. r·e, to c;ludor, and to the fllllicahlu rclat.ions existing betwc<'n the United :::it :d e-s a nti those po wer~ to declare, t.lrat we should consider a.ny attempt on t heir part to ext end their sy:.;tcm to auy portion of thi:~ henliap herc 118 dangerous to our peace and ~afety. Wi th the exi~ti ng colon re:~ ur depcncleucles of any E uropean power we hav<: not lnler fcrcd , 1\01! shall not inte rfere. But with the government:! who havu declariltl the ir iudepenucuce, st11d I con ti nuc t0 ad hcr·c, p rovide< I no clmuge sh11li o'ccu r, which in the judgment of the competent. authorities of t hi -s Oovt:rnmcnt, shall m1LkP. n cor rc~punding d11\11ge on tlru part of the Unite<! State~ indi•po•n:mhlc to rltcrr 11ecurity. "The late events in palo :~nd Portugal ~how that Eurnpe i~ Still lllllleltlet\. Of tlli~ illlpOrt:~lll fact 1\0 ~tronger pro•>f can he !Lil<luced than that the allied power~ slrnuld have thought it Jll·opcr, on a principle sati.~f L<·tnry to tlu:mselvc~, to h·tvt: iutcrpo ·ed lly force in the internal concern:~ of ~p ;Lin . 'l'o what ex tent such interposition may he C!Lr· r ied, on the same principle, I~ a que~tin n to wh ich all lnd,·pendl'nt powers, who!:lo govern ment!! dllfer frorn thei rs , nrc in teres tOll-even those most remote, a.nd surely none rnor·c so than the Unite<l St.n tes. Our policy in r c· gard t.o F:uropu, which was adopted at nn CILrly tllagc of the war~ which have so long ngitat e<l thnt quarter of the globe, n c vcrtlr elus~ remains the same, whrch is, not to interf~·rt!in tlw internal concenu1 of any of its powers; to consider the Oovemmcnt, ds ja.cto, as the leg itimate Government for u:~; to cultiv1LtC friend ly rPlation'! wi th it, arul to prescr·ve those rcla t.ion~ by a frank, firm, nnu m;Lnly poli<·y ; medingt, in all instance~, the ju~t cl ai m ~ of every P•> Wer, submitting to injuri e::r from nnne. But in r·~~ tr•l to lh,~~.: cnntmcnts, ci rcum~tn.nee s arc eminently and con~picunu;ly d ilrercnt. H Is impo:o;<ihle tlmt tho allit!d powas t~houl < l ex tent! their p olitrcal ~yl>tem to any portion of either c ontinent without cn<l:Ln~tering our pe 1~ce anti happinegs; nor can any one believe that ou1 ~:~out horn brethren , IC lefL to th~m elves, wou ld adopt It ol t heir own accord. I t is equally irnpm<tiilJic, tlrercfort!, t lHLt we Hhoul<l llehol<l such lnterpo~l tion, in any form , with inllilf.:rence. If we look to the cornpamtlve !!t r ength and resources or Spain !Lnll those new Go vcrnrncnt~, a nd their distance from each other, it mu~t l>c obviOU'i that she can never subdue them. lt is still the true poli cy of the United States to leave the p:lrti e:; to thcm<>clves, io the hope that oLher p o wer~ will pursue the same course." _.._ STATES AND ST1\.TES~fEN ON TIIE SLAVERY QUESTION. WH:iCO.l\SlN FOR l~"RIO: SOIL. THE followin~ r esolu tion" w p r c n<loptctl by the WiSl'OilSin ( Dc m oc ra ti~..:) L ct'ri:;ln.tnre in 18·18 '1 0 l "~.t l only Lllree dis scnti11g v otes in the Senate llr.d five in the llous e : ccpt as a punishment for crime, of which t.he party shall have been duly convicted accorrling to law. Rt'8olved, 'J'hat Hill Exccllcucy the Governor i~ h ere· by rcque;~tcd hnmcdiatcly to forward n copy of the foregoing rc olutlous to each or onr Senators and Itcpresenta tive~:~, to be by thelll lalu before Congress. lVlitrtrtR, ~lavery Is an evil of the first magnltu<le, THE Jn:~tOCRAC Y 0 1' MATNE FOR THE WIL~tOT morally and politically, nnd whn.tcvilr 111:\Y ht! the P HOYISO. evn~cquerll'es, it i!! our du~y. t.o pr?hil> it it:~ cxt e n~io n in I R <'solu tions adoptc<l by n. Convention of the all cases 11lre re s uch prohJIHt1on 1:1 allowetl by the Con- . . • , ati tulion: 't'hcr·c fore, D cmocmttc party of M:.uue , m June, lti19: ,Reflof~,ed, By the S~natc nnd A ~semhlr of the Stu.te of R l'.lloll,ecl, 'l'hat the Institution o f human lavery Is nt \\l~cou~rr.l , that tire mtroduction o f ~lavery into thi:i va.ria noo 11ith the theory of our government, abhor rent countr·y rs to be cleeply <leplor cd; tha t its extension to the common !:!entimcnt~ of mankind, and fraught v.·itt·. oogl~t to he prohil>lted by every constitutional harrier <lan~er to all who come within the sphe1·e of its influence, wltlun the power or Congress; tlu~t in the a d rnission of that. the lt'cucral Government posscs~es a<leqnate power °C 1~ tcrdtory Int o t he Union, there o ught to he an in- to inhibit itl:l existilncc iu the 'l'c rritor ies of the uion; hlb rtory Jlr? vision 1Lgnin~t Its intro tluction, unlel:l:l clearly anti that we enj oin upon our Scnntors nnd Hepresentannu uncqutvoct~lly admitted hy the Coustitution-inas- tives in Congress to lllake every ex ertion and employ all much as In nil cases of cloubtful constructio n , the Wghts their in fluence to p rocure t ire passage of a Jaw forever or Man and t he cause of Liber ty ought to prevail. excluding ~lav ery from the 'l.'erritoLics of Valifornia. and Re8olvert, _'!'hat our Senators in Von~ress he, and they N cw-~1 cxico. are hereby, mstructed, and our ltepre entntivcs aro re- • . . ERIHTO!tY qucetcu, to use their inllucnce to insert into the organic JH.I.AWARE FOR FREE 1' ' · act ~or the government of any new l.~nltory already 'fhe followinn- preamble anJ. r esolution ,,.ere ac~ilured. or hereafter to h~ ~?qulred, th~t is no,., .fre e, an adopted by tl~ Le"isla.ture of Delaware iu or nnnle . forever prohlllltlllg the lntrocluc llOil of J b Slav·~ry or mvolun tary servitude l.nto salu t e rritory ex- 18-:1.7 : |