Carolina Watchman

              term of the watchman for subscription per year two dollars — payable in ajvanoe but if not paid in advance two dollars and tirty cts will be charged anvertiseme.vrs inserted nt 1 for the first , and 2.5 cts for each subsequent insertion court orders chirced 25 per ct higher than these rates a liberal deduc tion to those who advertise by the year i.i iters to the editors must be post paid the ca rolina watchman salisbury september 12 1848 gen'l taylor's first presiden tial letter the first letter of gen tatlob says the national intelligencer was written to ihe editor of ihe new i»!>on ohio palladium nnd is one tbat seemed to commend him warmly to the whigs of the union — we republish thnt letter now for the purpose of show ing that when be idea ol being a candidate was first present j t bim he frankly avowed himself a whig who should " ever be devoted ih individual opinion to tiie pr-.sciii.es of that party read this letter attentively whigs of lhe union .'— this letter with a knowledge of gen tavi.or's char acter is all the voucher wc want for general taylor's whig principles : hxadqcabtehs ar.my of od ppatios matamoros july 21 18 16 dear mr : by yesterday's mail i received your letter ofthe 19th june and have given the subject to which it refers some serious reflection and consideration i feel very grateful to yon sir and to my fellow-citizens who wiih you have expressed the flattering desire to place my name in nomination for tlif presidency but it be mnes me tatmeveiy and frankly to acknowledge to you hat for tr»»:'«fiirr i have no aspirations whatever al though no politician baring always held myself aloof from the clamors of party potkies / 4 1 4 whig and shall ever se devoted in indi vidual opinion to the principles of that party eren if the subject which you have in your letter viietwd lo me were acceptable l any tiir.e \ have not th leisure to attend lo it now i'lie vigorous prosecu tiob ef lhe war with mexico so important to the inter ests of my country demands every moment of my pres ent lime and ii is img xreal desire to bring it to a speedy i and liunorable termination with my best wishes for your health and prosperity i uni sincerely yours z tayli !!., major genera u rf a letter from general taylor | the memphis tenn kagle contains he following private letter written by gen taylor to a friend who i had called his attention to some gross sla»«lers against i him in the memphis appeal : baton rocge la acgusi .,.!-■■. ' mv dear sir : your esteemed letter of the 27(h ul ' timo enclosing a slip cut from the " memphis appeal ' was this moment received containing statements said to t have been made by me disrespectful to the volunteers ; ' | among others ihat i had said they were not worth their i i rations and tli.it tins can be proved ; together with many other evidences ot unkindness towards them on my part ' all of which is without ihe slightest foundation there * is bat little doubt in my mind ihat he who invents a j falsehood to injure his neighbor or fellow-citizen as well ts he who lends himsell to and aids in giving circulation to die same knowing it to be false would not hesitate i to swear to it on the holy bible my numerous ollicial ' reports to the war department in relation to the uallant i i jnl patriotic volunteers which have been so extensively published in most ofthe leading public journals of the ii.untry give the lie direct to the statements in question and which the gentlemen ofthe " appeal might have ' known had they looked an inch beyond their noses or wished io have made themselves acquainted with all lhe . facts in the case before ihey published so gross a shin def in regard to one who never injured them and whose ; only crime was lhat his name without his agency in the j mauer has been brought before the country by a portion ■ ol his fellow-citizens lor the first oiiice in the gift of a great and free people as to the romantic story about the wounded soldier at buena vista in connexion with a mexican lady which ended so tragically and who is said to have been shot by qn orders il is without the slightest foundation nothing oi the kind or even approaching it ever look place ; nor do 1 believe it was ever heard of except at memphis and vicinity before il was published in the appeal it is on a par with the story that i had spoken disrespectfully of and otherwise outraged the vol unteers and a more base and heartless calumny was • never propagated not a drop of american blood was : shed by my order while in mexico nor lhat ofa mexi can except in ihe heal of battle the whole matter contained in said slip is too rilly o be credited ; nor would 1 have noticed it had i not deem ed it proper to repiy to your friendly communication i must from my position expect lobe assailed by ma ny unscrupulous editors of newspapers as well as hired demagogues withoal regard to truth decency or any • thing else i have therefore made up my mind not to suffer such things to annoy me let them emanate from what quarter ihey may ; bul to " pursue the even tenor of my way without turning to the rii-ht or to the left to notice them wiih considerations of high respect and esteem your friend and obedient servant z taylor will lhe editor of the standard and other kindred prints pub'ish this letter ? did they not publish lhe pen , der slander charging that gen ta yi.or had said in refer ence to the disturbance wliich occurred in the north carolina regiment " that all the officers ought to be dishonorably discharged and the privates shot they did and if it is their purpose anil desire during this cam paign not to do any thing dishonorable they are honor ably bound to publish this letter will they do an act of justice to one who has never wronged them or their par ty i we fear not ; former practice on the part of these papers forbids any such belief awake arise or be forever fallen we are pleased to see lhat our friends in some parts of the country are beginning to understand that the nomination of general taylor is not equivalent to his election the over-confidence of men in the sirength of the general's name at one time threatened our defeat it seems to have induced ihe belief ihat all the ordinary means and agencies for putting the requisite number of votes into the ballot boxes might be safely omitted — the circulation of documents the organization of visji ■ ico clubs the efficient and harmonious action of tbe central committees the oral discussion of men and mea sures at political meetings of the masses — all these modes af concentrating political action and rendering cient appear to have been abandoned general i .. lor will be elected beyond doubt — has been the uni rersal respose of good and sound whigs when the lack f energetic demonstrations in his favor has been the object of regret or comment public opinion may flow in an unimpeded current in favor of any individual and it amounts to nothing un its we also look after the party machinery the can didate who polls the most votes is the successful candi 8t the locofoco party were never better drilled and 0t|animd than they are at this very moment never ing fa last twenty years bave there been a more tho r°ugn union and co-operation ofthe office-holders — - ver have they been more open loud-mouthed and nameless in their interference with an election from a quarters we hear of iheir activity an'd insolence — e re they are addressing public meetings there they collecting subscriptions in another place we find etn banded in committees sending out circulars and ument begging coaxing stimulating the action of "*"* brethren these efforts are harmonious active eff'oent and universal they reach through the bold t'nixation of the office-holders in the post office ">«""/ tnllage erery hamlet throughout the republic | "* e &. john's to the rio grande in what must the carolina watchman wuner & james ) editors esy proprietors $ " **" a x™v *" "" do this and libert v is safe " ■ **^*^ series gen i harrison i volume v number 20 salisbury thursday september 14 1848 all this terminate ? in the election of general cass un less these mighty fforfs of the office-holders the con tractors the hired organs the paid patriots the whole corps ofthe " kind's own are met matched and mas tered by equal vigilance by equal spirit by equal effort and industry among lhe friends of reform the office holders and lhe dependents of the execu tive have always been potent not to say omnipotent in elections because they constitute a vast standing com mittee always at work issuing iheir correspondence gelling up their meetings manufacturing public opinion flooding ihe country with iheir extra documents and campaign journals and bringing home to the door and fireside of every citizen the specious and insidious argu ments by which ihey demonstrate to the country the great importance of keeping themselves in iheir places by raising their candidate to the presidency ! in every presideniial election since 1832 we have seen the man agement the influence and the control of the office holders in 1840 lhe people overcame the office-hold ers how by a superior organization by superior activity by superior diligence in the circulaiion of effec tive documents by more skill and better arguments and the more inorough discussion of public questions at our mass meetings it was through all these agencies and not merely by the confidence of the people in the integ rity and patriotism of general harrison lhat we won lhe glorious victories of 1840 then we saw every man discussing with his neighbor the great questions of pub lic interest and importance then we saw the people coming together by lens of thousands to advise and counsel on public affairs then we saw the best ablest and wisest men ofthe country for days and weeks to geiher traversing the length and breadth of the land and making lhe topics involved in the controversy famil iar as household words to the voters whigs of the union it was thus you conquered the allied hosts of corruption and plunder in 18-10 do not deceive yourselves with the idea that it was the name of general harrison lhat conquered for youthen < — or that it is in ihe mere name of zachary taylor ! that yoa are to come off victors now never did men deceive themselves by a more fatal delusion remem ber whics that it was while the strong man slept lhat the philistines came upon him ! arouse from your le thargic security i unite organize come into the pub i lie arena — talk — write — reason exhort — denounce nse in the good cause all the weapons of truth justice and patriotism — and suffer them not to rust ingloriously in their sheaths ! sleep on and you will be ignomini . ously shorn of your locks and asrain led offin bonds to grind in the prison-house rouse then to an univer sal rally throughout the republic from this day forth till the son sets on the seventh of november devote yourself to this good cause — the cause of integrity against corruption — the cause of ihe people agaiust the office-holders — the cause of the irue democracy against the false the cause of popular liberty against executive power battery speech of mr badger of n c on the bill offered by mr clayton in the senate as a compromise of the question of sla very in the territories : — delivered in the scna/c ofthe u s july 26 1s48 concluded now here we learn that mr pinckney voted for this exclusion of slavery from the territory not reluctanly because no thing better could be obtained but be cause he had all along been an etelvocate of it and must therefore have thought it both constitutional and expedient mr king does the senator intend to convey the idea that mr pinckney was in favor of a restriction upon a state enter ing the union by which s'avery was to be excluded from it ? mr badger why certainly not lie says directly the contrary mr king that he was opposed to any restriction upon the slate of missouri ? mr badger let me state again what mr pinckney said : that he was opposed to the restriction upon the state but that he was in favor of the restriction upon the territory north and west ofthe state mr calhoun i believe mr pinckney was an abolitionist mr badger i hope that the honorable senator having made a remark of that kind with reference to a distinguished gen tleman once a member of this body and now in his grave will give us some proof of it mr calhoun the fact is as i have stated mr badger the very paper which i read refutes the charge that mr pinckney was an abolitionist mr calhoun no charge was prefer red i only stated that mr pinckney is known to have entertained views favora ble to abolition mr badger if he had been an ab olitionist he would have been in favor of excluding slavery from the state of mis souri but let me add that with regard to the opinion of mr pinckney on this subject it cannot be in the slightest de gree important whether he was an aboli tionist or not if mr pinckney was in favor of abolishing slavery he must ne vertheless have understood the difference between his wishes as to what should he done and the power of this government to do it 1 must therefore infer out of decent respect to say nothing of a high admiration for the extraordinary ability and legal acumen of that gentleman that he did not doubt the power of congress when he wrote that letter sir he could not be excused his moral character could not be preserved he would stand charged in his grave with having violated his oath and committed foul wrong upon the con stitution of his country if he had advoca ted and voted for that restriction — perma nent perpetual and looking to all time — while he doubted the power of congress to impose ir if mr pinckney's opinion upon the propriety of abolishing slavery referred to by the senator from sooth carolina is supposed or understood to have any effect in determining what his judgment was or in impairing the weight of that judgment as authority 1 must say it was referred to to no purpose mr calhoun it was slated for what it is worth mr badger well then it is worth nothing 1 stand upon ihis subject on what i un derstand to be the opinion of the supreme court of the united states and upon the opinion ofthe southern statesmen who a dorned this senate at the time ofthe mis souri compromise i stand upon the the ory and practice of the government upon this subject ; and occupying this position j am called upon to vote for a bill by which in my opinion the south makes a total surrender of all the interests and wishes of her people in this question — we are to submit to the judgment of the supreme court to determine whether by virtue of any thing i the constitution of the united states the moment these ter ritories become ours by treaty the insti tution of negro slavery is established in them new i have not the remotest idea ihat the supreme court will ever hold the affirmative of that question i look upon the bill as calling upon me representing wiih my honorable colleague the interests of the southern states to make this total surrender on her behalf jf gentlemen will show me what we are to gain by that surrender if they will point out to me anv countervailing advantages if they will make me understand how upon the prin ciple of compromising a disputed question as to the disposing of these terrilories i shall surrender the whole to the opposite party i shall be able to give this measure my support my friend from maryland mr johnson has said that we only ask ed to save our honor sir 1 would be just as willing so far as the interests of my constituents are concerned to vote for a bill in terms excluding slavery and should think it more manly to do so * in my judg ment a total surrender on the part of the south would follow as effectually from the passage of this bill as if the wilmot proviso or any oilier form of exclusion were adopted how then is my honor saved ? if j am disposed to give up if for any consideration i am willing to yield the interests and feelings of my constitu ents why not do so at once ? 1 can see nothing on the score of honor to 02 gain ed by this measure mr butler as i have had some of the difficulties under which the senator from north carolina appears to labor i beg to ask him what would be the state of our rights in new mexico and califor nia if the laws now in force there were left unchanged can he point out any mode by which our rights would be more secure without repealing the laws now in force 1 mr badger i think i could point out ' a very just and equitable mode which would save the honor of all the jiarties to this agitating question we have how ever now to do with the measure before us which is recommended to us as i have before remarked because it saves our honor i say according to my judgment it saves no such thing mr butler i ask if any other remedy which has been indicated here would not be obnoxious to the same object ion ? mr badger i think i could mention one i repeat sir that in my opinion by this measure we surrender the whole and gain nothing in return if ir were to be the means of putting an end to this dan gerous and disorganizing agitation — if it would bring peace and quiet to the coun try — i would go home among my constit uents and appealing to them as citizens * since this speech was delivered i request ed the hon james a ivarce of maryland td ascertain if lie could from some authoritative source the true opinions uf mr pinckney as to slavery in order to vindicate him from what i deemed an imputation upon his memory — mr iyarre wrote in consequence of this re quest to wm pinckney a son of the late dis tinguished senator lawyer and statesman from whom he received an answer the following ex tracts from which i am allowed hy my fiiend mr pearce to publish and which at once ex plain the occasion from wliich mr calhoun's error was derived and correct the error : " il is very true that iu the speech made by my father in the legislature of maryland when a very young man there may exist passages wliich might give slight grounds of suspicion for the inference which mr calhoun has ar rived at ; but surely his speech on the missou ri question delivered iu the full maturity of his years would annihilate any supposition of his being nn abolitionist i remember when the missouri question was agitating the country and it was under stood that mr pinckney would advocate the principles he subsequently in forced in the sen ate a gentleman of this city well known as a most zealous and ultra abolitionist called on mr p and reminded him of lhe very speech referred to by mr calhoun and hoping at lhe same time that his course in the senate now would be in harmony wiih his supposed feel ings on the occasion referred to mv father assured him that the speech in question was lhat of a young man just enteritis into polilical life and thai any expectations of the friends ot abolition derived from that speech were wholly delusive as far as regarded bis opinions or ac | tion on the question in the senate of one of the old original thirteen of whose gallant sons some died upon the battle field of the revolution and others vent down to their graves covered with honorable scars and hundreds and thou sands did battle in vindication of their country's cause i would say to them — to the people amongst whom 1 was born a mongst whom i have lived to whose kind ness promotion and patronage i owe ev ery thing of distinction and prosperity that i enjoy amongst whom 1 expect to die amongst whom my children i trust will live after i am gone — 1 would say to them i made this surrender because i knew your deep devotion to the institutions han ded down by our forefathers ; because i knew your resolute opposition to every thing by which the union of these states may be severed or weakened ; because i felt assured that you would justify me in giving up whatever of interest or feeling you might have in this question in order to preserve the constitution cement the union and perpetuate the freedom of our country but have we the least reason fo believe that peace and harmony will be the re sult of the passage of this bill sir we have none on the contrary we have convincing evidence that its passage would be the signal for a pew and bitter agita tion sir i could not stand up before my constituents patriotic as they are willing as they are to make large concessions and tell them that i had voted for a bill by which in effect they were excluded from the ne . territories by which all their in . terests were surrendered and nothing gained in return is it not plain that this is so ? do gentlemen from the north ac cept the surrender in good part ? on the contrary do they not repel it with scorn ? and do we not already hear from afar a storm of denunciation ? mr president i do not regard the sur render of wliich 1 have spoken as a mat ter of such entire insignificance as some gentlemen appear to consider it we have had various accounts as to califor nia and xew mexico ; but according to the best information i have been able to obtain there are portions of the former suited tothe cultivation of cotton and su gar if so it is my deliberate conviction that slaveholders should be allowed to set tle there 1 do not den i have expressly admitted that congress has the power to prohibit slavery there believing this to be so 1 have made no attempt to support the cause of the south by denial or eva sion but i say to our northern friends that if the country is adapted to the cul tivation of cot'.on and sugar slaveholders should be allowed to people it and i de sire to obtain for them that advantage — certainly i cannot consent to surrender it for nothing 1 have been extremely pained at the course of observation which has been in dulged in by several gentlemen in speak ing upon this bill ; and having expressed fully and irankly my own opinion upon the question of power i will add some re marks addressed to what 1 consider the expediency and propriety of admitting in to these territories the slaves of the south i claim no exemption from those biases which belong to my particular position but 1 will say this that if i know myself a very difficult matter i am aware what 1 am about to say is the honest conviction of my understanding what is the true position then of this question upon which our friends from the north have spoken in such indignant terms ? in the first place it is not proposed to introduce an additional slave upon the soil of america we a.sk no such thing on the contrary i venture to say lhat no man can be found in the northern portion of the union though he he the most ultra of all aboli tionists who is more thoroughly absolute ly and totally opposed to the introduction of african slaves into the country than are the entire population of the south — northern gentlemen take up this subject upon some theory in itself not sound and not very soundly reasoned from as it ap pears to me ; they tell us that slavery is wrong is an evil and therefore they are resolved that those who are now slaves shall not under any circumstances be re moved into territory now free ; that free soil shall forever remain free now in this are they dealing with the subject as practical men ? it is a great question and is entitled to a fair and practical con sideration we have among us the insti tution of slavery for which we are not responsible it was forced upon our fore fathers by avarice and power from abroad but however produced here is the insti tution and among us are nearly three millions of slaves now what is to be the consequence of allowing their mas ters to take them into such portions of this territory as admit of their profitable em ployment ? whom will it injure i those who live remote and have no slaves ? — certainly not ; for if this country is suit ed to the cultivation of cotton and sugar they do not propose to go there to pursue this cultivation with free labor if on the contrary this territory is not adapted to this cultivation no man will willingly carry his slaves where their employment will be injurious or unprofitable to him yet gentlemen upon some fanatical no tion i use the term in no disrespectful sense upon some general elementary opinion that slavery is an institution which ought not to be introduced among man kind close their eyes to the fact tha here ; that it must continue to exist ; agi tate ihe question of free soil and refuse or neglect to consider the practical effect of the measures they propose upon the condition of the slaves for whom their sympathy is awakened i was i confess deeply hurt when i heard gentlemen say that they wished to confine this institu tion within its present bounds until it should become intolerable ; that thev wished this festering evil instead o'f being scattered should be confined until it should burst and discharge iis social corruption upon the south is this to wish for good ? is it to desire the mitigation of evils which cannot be removed ? is it not on the contrary to desire the utmost aggravation of calamity involving both slave and master in a common ruin ? sir the expansion of the slave popula tion is of the highest importance to the welfare and improvement of the slaves what do our friends expect supposing their utmost wishes to be gratified ? are they or their constituents acting upon anv of the principles which in times past have governed well regulated minds in the pur suit of truth and social improvement '— my honorable friend from ohio mr cor win — a friend i feel him to be much as i differ from him on rhis subject and deep ly as i grieve to hear some of his senti ments — is familiar with the history of the olden time ; familiar with that book which teaches us the orderings of god's provi dence in the days that are past now sir in that history does my friend find any warrant for this species of uncompromis ing and instantaneous extirpation of even admitted evils ? when moses led out the israelites from egypt polygamy was es , tablished among thern they had addic ted themselves to it from their commerce with the eastern gentiles and derived it indeed from the example of their great father abraham when moses under the influence of divine inspiration pro claimed the laws for the government of their civil polity and internal conduct why was not polygamy instantly prohibited ? uow did it happen that for many hundred years it was tolerated by the institutions of the jewish jaw-giver .' sir the reason given by our saviour for this toleration may afford us an instructive lesson in answer to an inquiry from his disciples respecting the law of divorce we learn that moses suffered this evil to continue on account of the jews hardness of heart the human race began with a single pair one man and one woman and that insti tution divinely established was intended to be perpetual yet moses that wise law-giver zealous as he was for the honor of god and the purity of his people sought not an instantaneous correction of the evil hence for hundreds of years the divine institution of marriage remained suspen ded and polygamy was tolerated and open ly practiced until the jews by a long course of training under the divine dis pensations had become gradually prepar ed for the restoration of the original law in all its purity and to bear without re bellious dissent its authoritative re-estab lishment by our saviour take another instance having a pre cise analogy to the case under our con sideration when the apostles went forth to preach the religion of salvation they found the institution of slavery existing everywhere — and existing everywhere in a form more oppressive with authority in the master far larger and the exac tions upon the slave far greater than in our own country yet the laws of the roman empire not only placed no res triction upon emancipation but encoura ged and favored it and the slaves being of the same color with the master the same difficulties did not exist with them as with us to an immediate restoration of liberty to the whole or to any consid erable portion of the slave population now the undoubted object of the chris tian religion was to denounce all sin and to extirpate all moral evil and to bring in universal moral good this is its un doubted tendency and this was the un doubted purpose of its inspired teachers if slavery is an evil which ought not to be at all tolerated but is of such a detes table nature as to be utterly irreconcila ble with religious faith and practice it was so in the times of the apostles and as inspired men they knew it to be so yet what was the course pursued by them in reference to this institution ? as they made converts who were slave owners did they direct or even recommend the immediate or even gradual emancipation of their slaves ? did they teach christian slaves that they owed no obedience as such to their christian masters ? far very far from it they taught all slaves the'duty the religious duty of obedience to their masters and urged this duty up on christian slaves towards christian mas ters by the affecting consideration of their being brethren in christ they urged up on christian masters the duty of kindness moderation towards their slaves by re minding them that all chr7<tian masters as well as slaves were tiie suhjec's ot one common master — chris tbey treated this relation like all others which tbey found existing among men enforcing the duties which sprung out of it respec tively to the parties by religious motives and considerations they did not make haste to abolish what they might have conceived an evil but exercising a for bearanee lest greater evil should result b a sudden rr 7 i!ion in an „;.,. . siltut,on ol society they snn„nt onfv to pnnc.pes.andh the innate tendency of those principles ulttmately to remove whatever was evil in the insitution and it evil altogether the institution itself now what a contrast to all this is found in the conduct of anti-slavery men at the present day the crv is » immediate ab olition •' away with slavery from the face of the earth and those sates which took a half century gradually to emanctpate a few slaves now seem to re quire or expect the immediate restoration to liberty of more than two millions of slaves now sir if _ tells me that slavery is a sin ofa dye so deep that the existence of it for a dav is utter ly inconsistent with the divine law and therefore he feels boand hy every means in his power to seek its immediate extir pation disregarding all constitutional ob ligations which may stand in his way i should know that he was opposed to the apostles and might think that he was mad but at the same time i should per ceive that thoogh his premises were false he reasoned correctly from them ; because it is clear that the divine law cannot be superseded by mere human authority hut they who maintain that slavery bas in itself this malignant wickedness of char acter which puts in irreconcilable con flict with divine law and yet feel bound by the obligations ofthe constitution in the states where it exists to support if reason falsely from their own premises 1 hey would be more consistent with themselves though more at variance with truth if they became avowed abvfjonists sir the true reasoning upon this subject is pursued by neither of the classes to which i have referred slavery in itsself is not an institution forbidden by the di vine law as is incontestibly proved by the conduct of the apostles it may be an evil it may be proper that it should be removed ijut the time when and the manner how must be determined by wise and temperate considertions of expedien cy lest in a rash attempt to remove one evil we introduce greater and more on manageable ones in its place mr president i wish that our northern friends would re-examinetheground which they have assumed and allow apostolic precept and example to have a just influ ence upon their deliberations would they do so 1 cannot hut hope they would see ground fo change their position i cannot believe notwithstanding the strong expressions used by some of them that they wish to tlo us injury or notwithstan ding the tendency of their measures that they wish to make harder the condition of our slaves slavery with us is not an institution of such unmitigated evil as to require if it allowed of immediate extir pation it exists in a mitigated form tem pered by humanity and modified and sof tened by the influence of christianity true there are cruel masters as there are cruel husbands and cruel fathers ; but is that a reason for immediately destroy ing the authority of all masters fathers and husbands ? i assure onr friends that humanity towards slaves is with us the rule and inhumanity the exception ; and we look upon the exception with as little toleration as they do now the plan which they propose of confining the slaves of the united states within the territory now occupied by them has nothing to re commend it but is in everv respect objec tionable it does not diminish the num ber'of freemen it tends not to produce em ancipation except possibly ai a remote day and then by a convulsion the con sequences of which are too horrible to be adequately conceived the present and continuing effect of that plan will be ei ther to diminish or delay every improve ment in the condition of the slave physi cal and moral : and while it may produce some lo^s of comfort to the master it will assuredly bring great and positive evil to the slave on ve contrary what we ask has every good and so far as i see no evil tendency all we desire i that you allow the present slave population with out any addition thereto to spread itself over such territory if any as is particular ly sotted to slave cultivation by this we rob you of nothing lor such territory is not suited to the free laborer of the north by granting what we ask you ameliorate the condition of the slave and improve that ofthe master and do injury to no class of our population mr president 1 beseech our northern fiiends lo let these views have a just in fluence upon tin tn sir let them follow the wise example of the apostles — have a just diffidence of their capacity to de vise a better mode of doing great and ul timate good — allow slaveholders with their slaves to occupy such territory ns i have described — and not seek by extreme doctrines and practices to pi event lots harmless and beneficial expansion let them permit the principles of christianity the influence of divine charity to be grad ually still more diffused amongst masters and slaves force nothing forward by un due and premature exertions and they may rely confidently that in god's good time it will be seen — not by this genera tion but by those lhat come after us — that everything has upon ibis apostolic pat tern worked out well and produced the largest attainable amount to both master and slave ol virtue and happiness sir i occupy a peculiar position upon this subject and bave felt it my duty u myself and my constituents lo make so far as i was aide that position understood so far »- 1 know myself i have no pri vate ends to serve inconsistent with de votion to the public good my friend from maryland mr johnson has referr ed to some - :":? measure with ibe pending presidential election no * ich connexion would be allowed to have any influence to direct mv conduct independently of great naiion al considerations to any argument which