SPEECH,

ON THE BILL TO ESTABLISH

TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS IN

OREGON, CALIFORNIA, AND NEW MEXICO,

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, July 22, July 28, and August 13, 1848.

Mr. PRESIDENT-It will be recollected that the motion to refer this subject to a select committee was made by the honorable Senator from Delaware,* after an irritating debate of many days, which gave, at that time, no promise of termination, which was entirely sectional in its character, and was every day and every hour making the breach wider and the line broader which separates members of this Union from each other upon the question of domestic slavery. I hailed the motion to refer as a proposition of peace, and so announced at the time upon the floor of the Senate. To such a pitch, indeed, had the feelings of some become excited, that upon a motion to raise this committee, with a view to some satisfactory disposition of the question, the Senator from Connecticut + denounced all action, or even the attempt to adjust it, in advance; and declared, in substance, that Senators who should vote for any compromise of this question would be burned in effigy in some sections of the Union. This, sir, had very little influence upon me at the time; for I regard it as a very suitable proceeding, that those who have no better reasons or arguments to offer, should make images, as heartless and worthless as themselves, upon which to vent their brutal fury. Such threats, or even their execution, have no terrors for me;—they did not influence nor control my action at the time, nor will they now or hereafter. This committee was raised upon the

MR. CLAYTON

+ MR. NILES.

motion of an experienced Senator, whose views upon the question which so much disturbs the harmony of the Union are known to be moderate and conciliatory. It was raised for the purpose of effecting a fair, honorable and constitutional adjustment, and of giving law and order to three great empires, now destitute of either.

The vote of the Senate ordering the committee, though strongly resisted by those who desire to keep the question open, was about three to one, and the members were elected nearly unanimously. They entered upon their labors with every disposition to discharge the duties cast upon them by the Senate, with the strictest fidelity. They saw Oregon-which had long been without law, except such as its inhabitants, without legal organization, but associated as a provisional government, had furnished-the prey of ferocious tribes of savages, who were murdering its defenceless people; and they felt deeply the necessity of extending the protecting ægis of our laws and Constitution over it-of strengthening its hands, and placing it on its way to the Union; and they placed the Oregon bill in a form to which none, as it seems to me, can object, unless such objection is taken without comprehending its provisions, or for the mere purpose of cavil. They saw the provinces of California and New Mexico destitute of any law whatever, except such as had been left by a subjugated people, and with no authority to administer even that-all military authority having terminated with the treaty of peace. They found the subject of organizing these Territories-divided in opinion as they were, and as they knew the Senate to be--full of difficulty; and, after much labor and interchange of opinion, presented the bill in its present form, as the best and most acceptable that could be presented with any approach to unanimity or hope of success before the Senate.

If the South asked too much, and the North was willing to concede too little, they have neither given to the one nor taken from the other. They have not encroached upon the rights of either. They have left the question of slavery where they found it subject to the Constitution and laws of the United States; while, at the same time, they have placed the Territories on their way to the Union, by the organization of pro

visional governments, which are restrained from any legislation that can embarrass this difficult subject. That is what has been done. They have not given an elective legislature to the Territories of New Mexico and California, for the reason that but few of the people are there who are to control their destiny. But they have extended the laws and Constitution over them, and provided for the appointment, by the Presi dent and Senate, of officers who will carry them into execution. They have also provided that these officers may make local laws, or police regulations, as they may be more properly called, restraining them from acting upon the subject of slavery, one way or the other, whilst all their laws must be brought here for our revision. The whole matter may be summed up in the inquiry: "Is there any evil to be apprehended from extending the laws and Constitution of the United States over these Territories, and enforcing them there, until the people are in a condition to legislate for themselves?" The bill does not, in all respects, suit my personal views, but it is the best we could produce by agreement; its duration is to be temporary, and I support it cheerfully.

Mr. NILES here explained, that what he had said about burning in effigy related to what had taken place in years past. He thought Mr. DICKINSON did not truly represent the sentiment in his State; and, in approving of this bill, had taken ground inconsistent with his speech at the commencement of the session. He also said the bill was skulking and cowardly.

Mr. DICKINSON. It seems, when the honorable Senator referred to Senators being burned in effigy, that he alluded to what had been done-that he made the reference to influence the past, and not the present nor the future. It struck me as a most extraordinary remark in the Senate of the United States, and, even with the explanation which has been given, I do not regard it in any other light. It is certainly no honor to be burned in effigy; but as that proceeding is the resort only of the coward and the ruffian, it inflicts no disgrace; neither shall I be induced to alter my views in any respect by such a threat, nor by the allusion to the fact, that a portion of my constituents have other views. I shall be my own judge of what are the wishes of my constituents. While opposed to slavery, they are opposed to useless and mischie

vous agitation, tending to no good, but calculated, if not intended, to create sectional jealousy and strife, and destroy the harmony of the Union; and they will frown upon those who, for any purpose, or any pretence, shall lend themselves to these schemes of disturbance and agitation. By what authority does the Senator call me to account? Where did he obtain his warrant? I would say to the honorable Senator, in the language of a book with which he is perhaps familiar, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth." But, sir, if the Senator can show that I am responsible to him, I will render him my reasons for my course with pleasure. And, in the mean time, when he shall have rendered an account of his own stewardship to his constituents upon all the great questions of the last few years, in the language of the banker, if he has "anything over," and I need it, I will draw on him.

The Senator says that my position is inconsistent with a speech which I delivered here at the early part of the session. If I had, on reviewing a former opinion, believed it to be erroneous, I would not, for the mere sake of seeming to be consistent, refuse to become wiser on the subject. But my present position is in perfect harmony with that assumed by me on the occasion to which the honorable Senator has alluded. Allow me to recall his attention to the resolution which I had the honor to introduce. It was as follows:

Resolved, That in organizing a territorial government for territory belonging to the United States, the principles of self-government upon which our federative system rests will be best promoted, the true spirit and meaning of the Constitution observed, and the Confederacy strengthened, by leaving all questions concerning the domestic policy therein to the legislature chosen by the people thereof.

This is the resolution, and the speech embraced the same views in extenso.

Now, so far as the Oregon bill is concerned, it recognizes to the very letter the principle of that resolution; and I would here add, as I feel at liberty to do, that in committee I voted for the extension of it to New Mexico and California; but my brethren of the committee overruled me, and I do not say that their reasons were not good--because the people now inhabit

ing those Territories, many of them, are but half civilized, and are perhaps not qualified to exercise all the rights of government, and it was deemed best for the present to give them a provisional government in this form. These Territories have been thus placed on their way to the very end which I suggested; and if the arrangement does not fully come up to my resolution, the spirit of it is substantially carried out. whether so or not, is perfectly immaterial to my purpose or to the American people. I have no purposes to serve but to procure the organization of these Territories in the best possible form. And this is no skulking bill, as asserted by the Senator from Connecticut, unless the Constitution is a coward, and the laws of the United States skulk. The Constitution and laws are extended over these Territories in the place of the bludgeon, the dagger, and the rifle, which now bear rule there. The Senator from Connecticut is in favor of leaving these as the "lords paramount," in order that they may be free! I mean to establish there the freedom of government, and not the freedom of the cut-throat. I would extend the laws there, to preserve life, liberty, and property, and leave them as free as God and our institutions leave them, to come into this Union according to the conditions of our national compact.

I did not rise to discuss this bill, but I am not to be misrepresented. I know the fevered feeling on this subject, and I am not ignorant of the attempts to fan it. It has been said that this is a bill in accordance with the views of the Senator from South Carolina. Suppose it is, is it to be condemned for that, if its provisions are just? Much as I respect that gentleman and his great experience, I do not think the bill is better or worse for meeting his approbation, although it is well known, that in all respects, it does not fully accord with his wishes. But why did the Senator from Connecticut speak of the bill as having received the sanction of the Senator from South Carolina, unless he meant the people of the North to believe that it must be a little worse for that reason? We all know that the Senator from South Carolina has his peculiar views, but I will do him the justice to say, that upon this committee he exhibited every disposition to be conciliatory, and to yield as far as he consistently could. Such, indeed, was the spirit manifested by all the members of the committee. They