27 beginning. In school, at college, at the bar, in pnblic assemblies, in the Legislature, in Congress, boy and man, as a private citizen and in public life, in time of peace and in time of War, at all times .and at every sacrifice, J have fought against it.” , _ ,v Sir, the doctrine of the “ irrepressible conflict,” of which w.e have heard so much, was preached by the Democratic party of QhiOj Iqng before the fos mation of the Republican party. The Republican party did make the issue before .the people on the non-extension of slavery to the free territories, and the people sustained the party by the election of Mr. Lincoln. Congress, from 1789 to 1848, affirmed and exercised the right to prohibit slavery from the territories—for sixtyeight years the power of Congress, over the subject of slavery in the territories was never questioned by any department of the Government. Washington sat as President of the Convention that framed the Constitution; and he was President of the Republic eight years, and repeatedly signed bills to prohibit slavery from the Territories. Madison, who was the leading spirit in the construction of the Constitution,. Jived aiid died in the delusion, if it be a delusion, that slavery could rightfully be prohibited by Congress from the Territoriesand as President of the United States, repeatedly acted officially on this presumption. Jefferson, the father of true Democracy, not the sham article, that some men nowwear, for the purpose of more effectually aiding the enemies of our Government—Jefferson, the leading spirit of the revolution, the author of the immoital Declaration of Independence, served eight years as President of the United States, and he too, believed Congress had the power to legislate on the subject of slavery in the Territories. He drew up the famous ordinance of 1787, by which slavery was forever prohibited in all the territory northwest of the Ohio river. He also pressed the expediency of a measure upon Congress, by which slavery should be excluded from all the Territories of the United States. Sir, these are the doctrines of the Republican party, and they were the principles of the old Democratic party. Can any man believe that this rebellion was brought ’ upon the country on account of the maintenance of these principles, which are as old as the Constitution ? Does the gentleman from Ohio believe it ? 1 certainly will not underrate his good sense by charging him with believing it. Mr. Clay, the great statesman of Kentucky, and of the world, the great leader of that Whig party, the dissolution of which, the gentleman from Ohio, in his speech so much deplored, very forcibly expressed his .views on the power of Congress to legislate on the subject of slavery, in his speech on the compromise measures of 1850, when he said: “I must say, that when a paint is settled by all the elementary authorities and by the uniform interpretation and action of every department of our Government.—legislative, executive, and judicial—and when, that point has been settled during a period of fifty years, and never was seriously disturbed until recently, I think, that if we are.to regard-anything as fixed and settled under the administration of this Constitution of ours, it is the question which has been thus invariably and uniformly settled.” And again, this great statesman in the same speech, said : “Z have said that I never could vote for it myself and I repeat that I never can and never will vote, and no earthly power will ever.make me vote, to spread slavery over territory where it does not exist." Gas the Republican party ever more emphatically denounced slavery extension than this gifted son of Kentucky ? Has any public
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