The friends of Clay and Scott did not take kindly to General Taylor. He had been nominated some time before by a Native American National Convention that then represented but an inconsiderable following principally in the Eastern cities, and he had never distinctly declared his devotion to the Whig policy. Congressman L. D. Campbell, of Ohio, offered a resolution just before the balloting began, declaring that the convention should not entertain the candidacy of any man for President or Vice-President “who had not given assurances that he would abide by the action of the convention; that he would accept the nomination and that he would consider himself the candidate of the Whig party.” An angry debate was avoided by the President ruling the resolution out of order. Mr. Campbell appealed, but the appeal was lost. Mr. Fuller, of New York, then offered a resolution declaring that no man should be nominated for President unless “he stands pledged to support in good faith the nominees and to be the exponent of Whig principles.” This was also ruled out of order, and an appeal was tabled. Even after Taylor had been nominated, Mr. Allen, of Massachusetts, who afterward bolted the party and supported Van Buren as a Free Soiler, offered a resolution declaring that the Whig party would abide by the nomination of Taylor on condition that he would accept the nomination as the candidate of the Whig party, and adhere to its great fundamental principles of no extension of slavery territory, no acquisition of foreign territory by conquest, protection to American industry, and opposition to Executive usurpation.” That was ruled out of order, as were several other resolutions aiming at some expression on the question of slavery. The Southern Whig leaders saw that the only possible way to save the Whigs in the South was to nominate a Southern man; General Taylor was the only Southern man whom they believed could command favor in the North, and they wanted no expression from the convention on any of the delicate and perilous issues which confronted them. A number of leading Southern delegates, headed by Balie Peyton, of Tennessee, gave their formal pledge to the convention that General Taylor would accept the nomination and would abide by the decision of the party, and that he could safely be trusted as an exponent of the Whig policy. The convention had three ballots before a choice was reached for President, as follows: ═════════════════════╤══════╤═══════╤══════╤═══════ │First.│Second.│Third.│Fourth. ─────────────────────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼─────── Zachary Taylor, La. │ 111 │ 118 │ 133 │ 171 Henry Clay, Ky. │ 97 │ 86 │ 74 │ 32 Winfield Scott, N. J.│ 43 │ 49 │ 54 │ 63 Daniel Webster, Mass.│ 22 │ 22 │ 17 │ 14 John McLean, Ohio. │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― John M. Clayton, Del.│ 4 │ 4 │ 1 │ ―― ═════════════════════╧══════╧═══════╧══════╧═══════