doctrine advanced by the Southern mem-tually that the money of the Constitution bers of non-interference with slavery in gold and silver-was the only currency the States or in the Territories. The can- to ensure a successful financial working of didates of the party were, Lewis Cass, of the government, and prosperity to the peoMichigan, for President, and General Wm. O. Butler, of Kentucky, for Vice-President.

The Whig convention, taking advantage of the popularity of Genl. Zachary Taylor, for his military achievements in the Mexican war, then just ended; and his consequent availability as a candidate, nominated him for the Presidency, over Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster and General Scott, who were his competitors before the convention. Millard Fillmore was selected as the Vicepresidential candidate.

ple.

The new President, General Zachary Taylor, was inaugurated March 4, 1849. The Senate being convened, as usual, in extra session, for the purpose, the Vice President elect, Millard Fillmore, was duly installed; and the Whig cabinet officers nominated by the President, promptly confirmed. An additional member of the Cabinet was appointed by this administration to preside over the new "Home Department " since called the "Interior," created at the previous session of Congress.

The following December Congress met in regular session-the 31st since the organization of the federal government. The Senate consisted of sixty members, among whom were Mr. Webster, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Clay, who had returned to public life. The House had 230 members; and although the whigs had a small majority, the House was so divided on the slavery question in its various phases, that the election for Speaker resulted in

A third convention was held, consisting of the disaffected Democrats from New York who had been excluded from the Baltimore convention. They met at Utica, New York, and nominated Martin Van Bnren for President, and Charles Francis Adams for Vice President. The principles of its platform, were, that Congress should abolish slavery wherever it constitutionally had the power to do so-[which was intended to apply to the District of Columbia—that it should not interfere with it in the slave States--and that it the choice of the Democratic candidate, should prohibit it in the Territories. This party became known as "Free-soilers," from their doctrines thus enumerated, and their party cry of "free-soil, free-speech, free-labor, free-men." The result of the election, as might have been foreseen, was to lose New York State to the Baltimore candidate, and give it to the whigs, who were triumphant in the reception of 163 electoral votes for their candidates, against 127 for the democrats; and none for the free-soilers.

Mr. Cobb, of Georgia, by a majority of three votes. The annual message of the President plainly showed that he comprehended the dangers to the Union from a continuance of sectional feeling on the slavery question, and he averred his determination to stand by the Union to the full extent of his obligations and powers. At the previous session Congress had spent six months in endeavoring to frame a satisfactory bill providing territorial governments for California and New Mexico, The last message of President Polk, in and had adjourned finally without accomDecember following, gave him the oppor- plishing it, in consequence of inability to tunity to again urge upon Congress the agree upon whether the Missouri compronecessity for some measure to quiet the mise line should be carried to the ocean, slavery agitation, and he recommended or the territories be permitted to remain the extension of the Missouri compromise as they were-slavery prohibited under line to the Pacific Ocean, passing through the laws of Mexico. Mr. Calhoun brought the new Territories of California and New forward, in the debate, a new doctrine-Mexico, as a fair adjustment, to meet as extending the Constitution to the territory, far as possible the views of all parties. and arguing that as that instrument recogThe President referred also to the state of nized the existence of slavery, the settlers the finances; the excellent condition of in such territory should be permitted to the public treasury; government loans, hold their slave property taken there, and commanding a high premium; gold and be protected. Mr. Webster's answer to silver the established currency; and the this was that the Constitution was made business interests of the country in a pros- for States, not territories; that it cannot perous condition. And this was the state operate anywhere, not even in the States of affairs, only one year after emergency for which it was made, without acts of from a foreign war. It would be unfair Congress to enforce it. The proposed exnot to give credit to the President and to tension of the constitution to territories, Senator Benton and others equally promi- with a view to its transportation of slavery nent and courageous, who at that time had along with it, was futile and nugatory to battle against the bank theory and without the act of Congress to vitalize national paper money currency, as strongly slavery under it. The early part of the urged and advocated, and to prove even-year had witnessed ominous movements

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nightly meetings of large numbers of mem- | from any of the United States at the option bers from the slave States, led by Mr. of their owner. Calhoun, to consider the state of things Mr. Clay in reply, said: "Coming from between the North and the South. They a slave State, as I do, I owe it to myself, I appointed committees who prepared an owe it to truth, I owe it to the subject, to address to the people. It was in this con- say that no earthly power could induce me dition of things, that President Taylor ex- to vote for a specific measure for the inpressed his opinion, in his message, of the troduction of slavery where it had not beremedies required. California, New fore existed, either south or north of that Mexico and Utah, had been left without line. * If the citizens of those governments. For California, he recom- territories choose to establish slavery, and mended that having a sufficient popula- if they come here with constitutions estion and having framed a constitution, tablishing slavery, I am for admitting she be admitted as a State into the them with such provisions in their constiUnion; and for New Mexico and Utah, tutions; but then it will be their own without mixing the slavery question with work, and not ours, and their posterity their territorial governments, they be left will have to reproach them, and not us, for to ripen into States, and settle the slavery forming constitutions allowing the instituquestion for themselves in their State con- tion of slavery to exist among them." stitutions.

Mr. Seward of New York, proposed a With a view to meet the wishes of all renewal of the Wilmot Proviso, in the folparties, and arrive at some definite and lowing resolution: "Neither slavery nor permanent adjustment of the slavery ques- involuntary servitude, otherwise than by tion, Mr. Clay early in the session in- conviction for crime, shall ever be allowed troduced compromise resolutions which in either of said territories of Utah and were practically a tacking together of the New Mexico;" but his resolution was reseveral bills then on the calendar, provid-jected in the Senate by a vote of 23 yeas to ing for the admission of California-the 33 nays. Following this, Mr. Calhoun territorial government for Utah and New had read for him in the Senate, by his Mexico the settlement of the Texas boundary-slavery in the District of Columbia --and for a fugitive slave law. It was seriously and earnestly opposed by many, as being a concession to the spirit of disunion-a capitulation under threat of secession; and as likely to become the source of more contentions than it proposed to quiet.

The resolutions were referred to a special committee, who promptly reported a bill embracing the comprehensive plan of compromise which Mr. Clay proposed. Among the resolutions offered, was the following: Resolved, that as slavery does not exist by law and is not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired by the United States from the Republic of Mexico, it is inexpedient for Congress to provide by law either for its introduction into or exclusion from any part of the said territory; and that appropriate territorial governments ought to be established by Congress in all of the said territory, and assigned as the boundaries of the proposed State of California, without the adoption of any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery." Mr. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, objected that the measure gave nothing to the South in the settlement of the question; and he required the extension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific Ocean as the least that he would be willing to take, with the specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the territory below that line; and that, before such territories are admitted into the Union as States, slaves may be taken there

friend James M. Mason of Virginia, his last speech. It embodied the points covered by the address to the people, prepared by him the previous year; the probability of a dissolution of the Union, and presenting a case to justify it. The tenor of the speech is shown by the following extracts from it: "I have, Senators, believed from the first, that the agitation of the sub|ject of slavery would, if not prevented by some timely and effective measure, end in disunion. Entertaining this opinion, I have, on all proper occasions, endeavored to call the attention of each of the two great parties which divide the country to adopt some measure to prevent so great a disaster, but without success. The agitation has been permitted to proceed, with almost no attempt to resist it, until it has reached a period when it can no longer be disguised or denied that the Union is in danger. You have had forced upon you the greatest and gravest question that can ever come under your consideration: How can the Union be preserved? * Instead of being weaker, all the elements in favor of agitation are stronger now than they were in 1835, when it first commenced, while all the elements of influence on the part of the South are weaker. Unless something decisive is done, I again ask what is to stop this agitation, before the great and final object at which it aims-the abolition of slavery in the States-i3 consummated? Is it, then, not certain that if something decisive is not now done to arrest it, the South will be forced to choose between abolition and secession? Indeed

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as events are now moving, it will not re-fever from exposure to the hot sun at a celequire the South to secede to dissolve the bration of Independence Day, from which Union. If the agitation goes he died four days afterwards. He was a on, nothing will be left to hold the States man of irreproachable private character. together except force." He answered the undoubted patriotism, and established requestion, How can the Union be saved? putation for judgment and firmness. His with which his speech opened, by suggest- brief career showed no deficiency of poliing. "To provide for the insertion of a tical wisdom nor want of political training. provision in the constitution, by an amend- His administration was beset with difficulment, which will restore to the South in ties, with momentous questions pending, substance the power she possessed of pro- and he met the crisis with firmness and tecting herself, before the equilibrium be- determination, resolved to maintain the tween the sections was destroyed by the Federal Union at all hazards. His first action of the government." He did not and only annual message, the leading state of what the amendment should con- points of which have been stated, evinces sist, but later on, it was ascertained from a spirit to do what was right among all the reliable sources that his idea was a dual States. His death was a public calamity. executive-one President from the free, No man could have been more devoted to and one from the slave States, the consent the Union nor more opposed to the slavery of both of whom should be required to all agitation; and his position as a Southern acts of Congress before they become laws. man and a slaveholder-his military repuThis speech of Mr. Calhoun's, is import- tation, and his election by a majority of ant as explaining many of his previous ac- the people as well as of the States, would tions; and as furnishing a guide to those have given him a power in the settlement who ten years afterwards attempted to of the pending questions of the day which carry out practically the suggestions no President without these qualihcations thrown out by him. could have possessed.

Mr. Clay's compromise bill was rejected. It was evident that no compromise of any kind whatever on the subject of slavery, under any one of its aspects separately, much less under all put together, could possibly be made. There was no spirit of concession manifested. The numerous measures put together in Mr. Clay's bill were disconnected and separated. Each measure received a separate and independent consideration, and with a result which showed the injustice of the attempted conjunction; for no two of them were passed by the same vote, even of the members of the committee which had even unanimously reported favorably upon them as a whole.

Mr. Calhoun died in the spring of 1850; before the separate bill for the admission of California was taken up. His death took place at Washington, he having reached the age of 68 years. A eulogy upon him was delivered in the Senate by his colleague, Mr. Butler, of South Carolina. Mr. Calhoun was the first great advocate of the doctrine of secession. He was the author of the nullification doctrine, and an advocate of the extreme doctrine of States Rights. He was an eloquent speaker-a man of strong intellect. His speeches were plain, strong, concise, sometimes impassioned, and always severe. Daniel Webster said of him, that "he had the basis, the indispensable basis of all high characters, and that was unspotted integrity, unimpeached honor and char

acter!"

In July of this year an event took place which threw a gloom over the country. The President, General Taylor, contracted a

In accordance with the Constitution, the office of President thus devolved upon the Vice-President, Mr. Millard Fillmore, who was duly inaugurated July 10, 1850. The new cabinet, with Daniel Webster as Secretary of State, was duly appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

The bill for the admission of California as a State in the Union, was called up in the Senate and sought to be amended by extending the Missouri Compromise line through it, to the Pacific Ocean, so as to authorize slavery in the State below that line. The amendment was introduced and pressed by Southern friends of the late Mr. Calhoun, and made a test question. It was lost, and the bill passed by a twothird vote; whereupon ten Southern Senators offered a written protest, the concluding clause of which was: "We dissent from this bill, and solemnly protest against its passage, because in sanctioning measures so contrary to former precedents, to obvious policy, to the spirit and intent of the constitution of the United States, for the purpose of excluding the slaveholding States from the territory thus to be erected into a State, this government in effect declares that the exclusion of slavery from the territory of the United States is an object so high and important as to justify a disregard not only of all the principles of sound policy, but also of the constitution itself. Against this conclusion we must now and for ever protest, as it is destructive of the safety and liberties of those whose rights have been committed to our care, fatal to the peace and equality of the States which we represent, and must lead, if persisted in, to the dissolution of that