ROOT'S INSTRUCTION-GOTT'S RESOLUTION.

193

in the Territories. Some of them
were permanently alienated, though
the far greater number were but tem-
porarily estranged, from the councils
of their Southern chiefs. But the
change was made evident, soon after
the assembling of the XXXth Con-
gress for its second session, when,
(December 13, 1848), on motion of
Hon. Joseph M. Root, of Ohio, the
House

received a respectable support in | voting for Gag-Rules, and against
every Free State, Rhode Island and the establishment by law of Freedom
New Jersey excepted. New York,
Massachusetts, and Vermont, each
gave a larger popular vote to him
than to Gen. Cass; Wisconsin gave
him nearly as many as Gen. Taylor.
The entire popular vote (South Caro-
lina not casting any) stood-Taylor
and Fillmore, 1,360,752; Cass and
Butler, 1,219,962; Van Buren and
Adams, 291,342. Gen. Taylor had
a majority of the Electoral and a
plurality of the Popular vote, both
in the Free and in the Slave States
respectively.

The struggle for the organization

of the territories was resumed in Congress the ensuing Winter; and, though there had been very few changes of members, there had been a very considerable change of feeling on the part of a great many Democrats from Free States. They indignantly felt that, by the vote cast for Gen. Taylor in the South, the services and sacrifices of their party had been ungratefully requited. That eight of the fifteen Slave States

"Resolved, That the Committee on Territories be instructed to report to this House, with as little delay as practicable, a bill or bills providing a territorial government for each of the Territories of New Mexico and

California, and excluding Slavery there

from."

"Whereas, the traffic now prosecuted in

should cast their votes for the Whig this metropolis of the Republic in human
candidate for President, leaving Vir- beings, as chattels, is contrary to natural
ginia, Alabama, and Mississippi to justice, and the fundamental principles of
be carried against him by the very proach to our country throughout Christen-
our political system, is notoriously a re-
leanest majorities, was not the enter- dom, and a serious hindrance to the pro-
tainment to which they had been in-gress of republican liberty among the na-
vited when they risked their ascend- tions of the earth: Therefore,
ency at home, and their seats, by

"Resolved, That the Committee on the
District of Columbia be instructed to report

Smith-1. Messrs. Clark and H. Williams, of
Maine, Birdsall and Maclay, of New York,
Brodhead and Mann, of Pennsylvania; Pettit,
of Indiana; Ficklin and McClernand, of Illinois,
who voted with the South at the former session
-now failed to vote. Mr. D. S. Jackson, of New
York, who then voted with the South, had been
succeeded by Mr. H. Greeley, who voted with
the North.

194

Slave-Trade in said District."

a bill, as soon as practicable, prohibiting the States, in the affirmative; while all the members present from the Slave States but Messrs. Adams and Buckner voted in the negative: so that the House divided very nearly on Mason and Dixon's line. But Mr. Buckner paid for his speech and vote on this occasion with his seat. He had succeeded in 1847, over his Democratic opponent, by 386 majority; he was thrown out in 1849 by 1140 majority. Mr. Adams did not stand for re-election. And the bill thus passed was not even considered in the Senatea motion by Mr. Douglas (February 28), that it be taken up for reference, having been promptly voted down by 28 Nays to 25 Yeas.

The Previous Question having been required and ordered, this resolution was adopted by Yeas 98 to Nays 88. Hereupon there was a call for the Southern members to leave the Hall, and various demonstrations of the sort, which resulted in a meeting of members from the Slave States; which resulted in an address to their constituents, drafted and reported by Mr. Calhoun; which resulted in nothing. The House Committee on the District, being ProSlavery, of course took good care not to report as instructed above.

The Territorial bill for California, foreshadowed and commended by Mr. Root's resolve, was reported by Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, on the 20th, and that for New Mexico followed on the 3d of January, 1849. An effort (January 15), by Mr. Julius Rockwell, of Massachusetts, to make the former a special order, failed, lacking a two-thirds vote, but received the vote of nearly every member from the Free States-114 to 71. The bill was finally taken out of Committee of the Whole on the 26th of February, and engrossed for a third reading next day; when Mr. R. K. Meade, of Virginia, moved that it do lie on the table, which was decisively negatived; and then the bill passed the House by 126 Yeas to 87 Nays. Mr. Aylett Buckner (Whig of Kentucky), who had made a forcible and thorough-going speech in favor of excluding Slavery from the Territories, voted with his Whig colleague, Green Adams, and all the Whigs and all but four of the Democrats from the Free

9

9 Messrs. Samuel A. Bridges of Pennsylvania. and William Kennon, jr., John K. Miller, and

For the Pro-Slavery majority in that Senate had already resolved on their course, and it did not lie at all in this direction. They believed that their opportunity was at hand; that the more especial friends of the incoming Administration were anxious to have the Slavery question settled

that is, the opposition to Slavery Extension defeated or withdrawn, that being the way such questions were usually settled-in order to make matters smooth and pleasant for the powers soon to be; and they knew that the irritation of the Northern Democrats against the South for giving a majority of its votes for Gen. Taylor as against Gen. Cass had been gradually dying out under the pressure of social influences and of party necessities. They believed that, if a proper issue were made, the Northern repugnance to the organization of the Territories in profound silence as to Slavery, might be overcome. They had, therefore, determined to

William Sawyer, of Ohio. Messrs. Chas. Brown,
Chas. J. Ingersoll, and other such, did not vote.

FAILURE TO ORGANIZE THE TERRITORIES.

195

recede from its non-concurrence in the Senate's amendment, which prevailed-Yeas 111; Nays 106; whereupon Mr. Richard W. Thompson (Whig), of Indiana, moved that the House do concur with the Senate with an amendment, which was, in fact, a substitute for the Senate's project, and of which the gist was a provision that "until the 4th of July, 1850, unless Congress shall sooner provide for the government of said Territories, the existing laws thereof shall be retained and observed"-in other words, that the laws of Mexico, whereby Slavery was abolished throughout her entire area, should continue in force in said Territories of New Mexico and California. The Senate's amendment, as amended, was then agreed to: Yeas 110; Nays 103. And thus the bill, late at night of what was necessarily the last day of the session, was returned to the Senate.

fasten to the Civil and Diplomatic | Illinois, now moved that the House Appropriation bill, a "rider," organizing the new Territories with no restriction on or impediment to the introduction of Slavery, calculating that a sufficient number of the Northern friends of the Administration would permit this to pass rather than see the Government crippled and the President constrained to call an extra session of Congress-always a portent of evil to the party in power. Accordingly, the great Appropriation bill having passed the House, and been reported to and several days debated in the Senate, Mr. Walker, of Wisconsin, moved to add a section extending the laws of the United States over "the territory west of the Rio del Norte, acquired from Mexico by the treaty of February 22, 1848," and authorizing the President to "prescribe and establish all proper and needful regulations for the enforcement" of the Constitution and laws in said Territory; as also "to appoint and commission such officers as may be necessary to administer such laws," etc., etc. This passed the Senate by 29 Yeas10 to 27 Nays; but, the bill being thus returned to the House, the Senate's amendment was there (March 2) rejected: Yeas 100 (thirteen of them from Free States) to Nays 114 (all from Free States). The bill was then returned in its original shape to the Senate. The Senate insisted on its amendment, and asked a conference, which was granted, but nothing came of it. The Committee reported to either House its inability to agree, and was discharged.

10

The majority of that body were fairly caught in their own snare. They had vociferously protested that Congress should not adjourn without providing for the government and quiet of the new territories; and had threatened to defeat the General Appropriation bill and leave the Government penniless if this were not acceded to by the House. And here was the bill proposing to do just what they had insisted must be done, and could not with safety be postponed. It was only objectionable in that it provided (as was done in the case of Louisiana and Florida) that the social conditions which had existed prior to our acquisition should remain unchanged Mr. McClernand (Democrat), of until Congress, or the People more

10 Including only Messrs. Dickinson of New York, A. C. Dodge of Iowa, Douglas of Illinois,

Fitzgerald of Michigan, and Hannegan of Indiana (all Democrats), from Free States.

"And neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in said Territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."

immediately interested, should see fit | silent respecting Slavery; but, while to change them. But this was exactly under discussion in Committee of what the majority determined should the Whole, the following amendnot be, and were working to prevent. ment was added: Yet they did not care to make up an issue with the House majority on this point, and go to the country on the defeat of the chief Appropriation bill, and consequent embarrassment of the Government, for no other reason than that the House had refused to unite in opening the Territories to Slavery. And so, after spending most of the night in heated discussion much of it mere talking against time -the Senate, toward morning, struck out of the Appropriation bill its materially amended amendment, and passed the bill as it originally came from the House—at all events, with no provision for the organization or government of New Mexico and California. And thus ended the

In the House, on coming out of Committee, the Yeas and Nays were demanded on this amendment, which was sustained: Yeas 108; Nays 44 -only three or four Northern Democrats and five or six Southern Whigs being found among the Nays, whereof the residue were Southern Democrats. The bill, as thus amended, passed the House, but went to the Senate so near the close of the session that, though referred to and reported by the Committee on Territories, no further action was had thereon.

On the assembling of this Con

Administration of Mr. Polk, along gress for its second session, Mr. with the XXXth Congress.

THE action of the XXIXth and XXXth Congresses respectively with regard to the Territory of Oregon, though proceeding simultaneously with the incidents already recorded in this chapter, and involving essentially identical principles, requires distinct presentation, that the two diverse and somewhat conflicting threads of narrative may not be blended in of narrative may not be blended in hopeless entanglement. That action, briefly summed up, was as follows:

At the first session of the XXIXth Congress, Mr. Stephen A. Douglas reported to the House (August 6, 1846) a bill organizing the Territory of Oregon, whereof the northern boundary had just been fixed at latitude 49° by treaty with Great Britain. The bill, as reported, was

Douglas again reported to the House
a bill to provide a Territorial Gov-
ernment for Oregon, which was read
twice, and sent to the Committee of
the Whole; where it was debated
through the 11th, 12th, and 14th of
January, and ordered to be taken
out of Committee on the 15th.
that day, Gen. Armistead Burt, of
South Carolina, moved (having al-
ready done so in Committee of the
Whole) this addition to the clause
inhibiting Slavery, as above given :

On

"Inasmuch as the whole of the said Ter

ritory lies north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, known as the line of the Missouri Compromise.

The object of this amendment was to obtain from the House a recognition of the parallel 36° 30' as a dividing line between Slave and Free territory across the entire continent,

ATTEMPT TO EXTEND THE LINE OF 36° 30'.

|