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Show 16 any lon~er for acquisition of territory. If they .would, then thr:y were the artificers of their own fortunes. l was not afraad of the people on that eubject. But if it had continued the war som~ time longe r, I would have preferred that the wn.r should continue some ume longe r, ra.th~r than that those territories lying on our southern border, should come 10 h~reafter as new States. l should speak, perhops, with 1110re coufi~c a~ ce , af some Whigs of the North had not voted for the treatr . .My o~vu opuuon was then c lear and decisive. 1 tlll)ught the ca~e a pe rlectly plam one, aud no rnan has yet stated a reason to couvince me to the contrary. 1 voted to strike out the articles of' ce:ssion. They would have been str~ck out iffour of the New England Senators had voted it. I then ~oted.agamst the ratification of the treaty, and that. treaty would ~1ave failed 1f three New England Senators h~d _voted as _I did, and 'Wiug Se~1ators too. I should do the same thing agam, and w1th much more rcs?l utwn. I would have ran a still greater risk, I wo~lrl have endured a st1ll gr.eatcr. ~~~ck, before I would have ri sked any th111g, rath er than have been •l part1_crpator in any thin !! which should have a tendency to annex so_uthcrn terntor_y to the States of the Union. I hope it will be remembered, 11~ al~ future t1me, that 011 this question of the accession of these new te rrttortes o~ almost boundless extent, I voted against them, and againtSt the treaty whrch contained them notwithstanding all inducements to the contrary, and a\1 the cries, wbich 1 I thought hasty and injudi c ious,_of "Peace! peace, on any terms.'' I will add, that those who voted ug_a 111 st_ th~ treaty were gentlemen from so many parts of the country, that tts rejf'"Cllon would have h~en rather a national, than a local resistance to it. There were votes agamst i't from both parties, and from all parties, the South and the 'Vest, the North and the East. What we wanted was a few more New England \"O~!-ntlemen after I had the honor of receiving the invitation to meet my fellow citizen's, I found it necessary in the discharge of my du~y, though with great inconvenience t.o my health, to b_e present at the clos1~1g scenes of the session. You know what there transptred. You know the important decision that was made in both houses of Congress, in regard_ to Oregon. The immediate question respected Oregon, or rather tl~c l~tll respected Oregon, but the question more particularly these new terntor_1 ~s. The effect of the bill as pn.ssed in the Senate Wil ~ to cslablr~h. these new territories as slave holdinCJ States. The House drsag reed. 1 he Senate receded from their grou~1d, and the bill passed , establi sh in:~ Orego!1 a~ a free territory, and making no provision for the newly acqutred terntones on the South. Now, gentlemen, my vote and the reasons 1 gave for it arc known to th~ good people of Massachusetts, and ( have not hea rd that they have expressed any particular disapprobation of th em. [~pplrm .~e. ] But this question is to be resumed the fir st sess 1 0 1~ of the next_ ~ongre!l:, I think not in this Congress, I thin!< at least there IS no pt·ohabtltty tha~ 1t will be settlec.l at the next session of this Congress; but the first sessto_n of the next Congress, this question will be resumed . It will enter at th1s \'e ry period into all the elections of the South. And now I venture to say, gentlemen, two things: the lirst well kno~vn to you, that General Cass is in favor of what is called the Co•_npromtse Line; and is of opinion that the \Vilmot Proviso, or the Ordwa,~ce of 1787, which excludes slavery from territories, ought not to ~e applied to territories lying soUlh of 36 deg. 30 min. £Ie announced th1s before he was nominated, and if he had not announced it, he would have been 17 thirty .. six (I eg ree~ thirty minutes farther off ~rom being nominated. In the next plac~, he . will do all he c~n. to ~stabhs h that compromise line; and lastly,_ wh_tch ts a matter of optnton, 111 my conscientious belief, he will establtsh tt. . G~ve him the ~ower a_nd the patronage of the government, let him exer· cr~e rt ove_r certam porttons of the country whose representatives voted on thts occaston to put off that qu estion for future consideration to settle it tha~ Oregon s hall be f~ee, and leave New Mexico and Cali'fornia to be dectdeJ hereaft_er; l ~ t. hun have the power of this government with his att~chments, wtth Ins md_ucements, and we shall see the result. I verily belt~vc that _unless the re IS a ~enewed str.ength_. an augmented strength of Wlug votes 111 Congress., he w1ll accomplish hts purpose. He will surely ~ave the S~nate, and w1~h the patronage of the government, with every mterest wluch he ~an br1ng to bear,_ co-oper~ting with every interest which the South can bnng to bear, he wrll establrsh the compromise line. We cry s~fety, befor~ w~ ar~ out of the woods, if we feel that the danger, respectrng the terntones, IS over. Gentlemen, I cam~ here to confer with you as friends and countrymen, to speak my own_ mtnd and hear yours; but if we all should speak, and occu_py as much tune as I have, we should make a late meeting. I shall detam you no longer. I have been long in public life, longer, far longer, than I shall remain there.. I ha\'C ha~ some participation for more than thirty years in the eounctls o.f the ~at ton; 1 profess_ to ~eel a strong ~tta~hr~ent to the libe rty of the Uruted St.ttes, to the coustttutwn and free lllStltutrons of this country, to the hon_or_, an~ I _may say th~ glory, of my native land. [ feel every IIIJU_ry 111R1ct~d upon rt, almost as a personal injury. I blush for every fault whtch l thmk I see committed in its public councils as if they were faults or mi~takes of my own. ' I kn_ow that at this mo'!lent,_ there is no object upon earth so much at~ractrng the gaz~ of the tntelhgent and civilized nations of the earth as tlus great Republtc .. All men look at us, all men examine our course, all goo~ me~ are anx1ous for a favorable result to this great experiment of Republican loberty . . We are on a hill and cannot be hid. We cannot withdraw ourselves etther from the commendation or the reproaches of the civilized world. They see us as ~hat _star of empire which !1alf a century ago was represent~ d to be makmg- tl!:i way westward. l wrsh they may see it as a mild placHI, th?ugh ?rilliant orb1 making its way, athwart the whole heavens: to the enhghtenmg and cheering of mankind : and not a meteor of fire and blood, terrifying the nations. |