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Show 358 Tll.b: AGI'rArriON IN 18±7-50. and freedom, is to be effected. Therefore I repeat, sirand I repeat it bccau c I wi 'h it to be und erstood-that I do not propose to atldre s tbe Senate often on this subject. l ri c. ire to pour out all my heart iu as plain a manner ns po siblc ; and I sn.y again, that if a propo:ition were now h!·re for a government for New .Mexico, and it was moved to insert a provision for a prohiuiLion or slavery, I 'rYOulu not vote for it. Now, Mr. President, I have establi hod, so fat· as I pro. posed to go into any line of observation to establish, the propo iLion wilh whieb I set ont, anJ upon which I propose to stand or fall, and that is, that the whole territory of the States in the United States, or in the newly-acquired terri. tory of the United State , bas a fixed and settled character I now fixed and sclilcd by law, which can not be repealed in the case of Texas without a violation of public faith, anu can not be repealed by any hnman power in regard to California or N cw Mexico ; that, Utlder one or oUter of these laws, every foot of territory in the Stales, or in the 'l'erri· tories, bas now received a fix ed and decided character. Sir, if we were now making a government for New .".Mex· ico, and anybody should propose a "\Vilmot proviso, I should treat it exactly as Mr. Polk treated that provi~ion for CX· eluding slavery from Oregon. Mr. Polk was known to be in opinion decidedly averse to the "\'Vilmot proviso; bnt he felt the necessity of establishing a government for the Terri· tory of Oregon, and, though the proviso was there, he knew it would be. cntir~ly nugatory; aud, since it must be entirely nngatory, smcc 1t took away no right, no describable no estimable, no weighaulc, or tangible right of the South', he said be would sign the bill for the sake of enacting a law to form a gover~meut in that Territory, and lei that entirely useless, and, In that connection, cuLircly senseless, proviso remain. For myself, I will say that we hear much of the annexation of Canada ; and if there be any man, any of the TJ:11J; AGl'J'A'L'lON lN 1~47-50. 359 northern democracy, or any one of the free-soil party, who supposes it necessary to in 'erL a Wilmot proviso in a territorial govcrnm nL for N cw ..M exico, thai man will or coun;o be of opinion that it is necessary to protect the everlasting SllOWS of Canada, from the foot or slavery, by the same ovcrpowcrilJO' wing of' an act or CongrCRS. Then, ,·ir, there arc those auoliLion societie ·, of wh ich I am unwilling to spcn,k, hut in regard to which I have very clear noLiom; n,nd opinions. I do not think t hem useful. I think their operations for the last twenty years have pro< luce<l nothing crood or valuable. At the same time, I know thousands of them n.re hon est and good men; perfectly well-mcanitw men. They have excited feelings ; they think they must do something for the cause of liberty; and in their sphere of actiou, they do not sec what else they can do, than to conLriiJutc to un aLoliLion press, or an aboli tion society, or to pay an abolition lecturer. I do not mean to impute gross molives even to Lhe lead ers of these societi es, but 1 am not blind to the consequ ences. 1 cannot uut sec what mischiefs their iu Lerfercnce wi Lh the South lws produced. .And is it not plain to every man? Let any gentleman who doubts of that, recur to the debates in the Virginia Ilousc of Delegates iu 1832, and he will see with what freedom a proposition, made by :Mr. Randolph, for tho gradnal abolition of slavery was discus, cd in that body. Every one spoke of slavery us he thought; very igtl ominious and di. pn.raging names anu epitbets were applieu to it. 1'he debates in the House of Del gates on that occasion, I believe, were all pu bli he d. They were rca<.l by every colored man who could read, and if there were any who could not read, th ose debates were read to them by others. At th at time Virginia was not unwilling nor afraid to discuss this question, and to let that pari of her population know as much of it as they could learn. That was in 1832. As bas been said by tho honorable member from |