Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3) — John Shaqi
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)Parker, Theodore
Religion
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)
Parker, Theodore
Sermons, American; Unitarianism
"We understand the democratic party to be pledged to decline
any legislation upon the subject of slavery, with a view
either to its prohibition or restriction in places where it
does not exist, or to its abolition in any of the
territories of the United States."
There is no ambiguity in that language. Men can talk very plain when
they will. Still there were some that doubted; so the great and famous
men of the party came out to convince the doubters that the whigs were
the men to save the country from the disgrace of slavery.
Here let me introduce the testimony of Mr. Choate. This which follows is
from his speech at Salem. He tells us the great work is, "The passage of
a law to-day that California and New Mexico shall remain forever free.
That is ... an object of great and transcendent importance:... we should
go up to the very limits of the Constitution itself ... to defeat the
always detested, and forever-to-be detested object of the dark ambition
of that candidate of the Baltimore Convention, who has consented to
pledge himself in advance, that he will veto the future law of freedom!"
"Is there a whig upon this floor who doubts that the strength of the
whig party next March will extend freedom to California and New Mexico,
if by the Constitution they are entitled to freedom at all? Is there a
member of Congress that would not vote for freedom?" [_Sancta
simplicitas! Ora pro nobis!_] "Is there a single whig constituency, in
any free State in this country, that would return any man that would not
vote for freedom? Do you believe that Daniel Webster himself could be
returned, if there was the least doubt upon this question?"
That is plain speech. But, to pass from the special to the particular,
hear Mr. Webster himself. What follows is from his famous speech at
Marshfield, September, 1848.
"General Cass (he says) will have the Senate; and with the
patronage of the government, with the interest that he, as a
Northern man, can bring to bear, coöperating with every
interest that the South can bring to bear, we cry _safety_
before we are out of the woods, if we feel that there is no
danger as to these new territories!" "In my judgment, the
interests of the country and the feelings of a vast majority
of the people require that a President of these United
States shall be elected, who will neither use his official
influence to promote, nor who feels any disposition in his
heart to promote, the further extension of slavery in this
country, and the further influence of it in the public
councils."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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