But, fellow-citizens, slavery is already in the territories, whether prohibited by God and nature, or not! The line of 36° 30´ crosses the territory appropriated to the Indians, which is already full of slaves. Whenever the Indian title is extinguished, slavery will be found there in possession of the soil. Utah has slaves to-day, and I was informed by a gentleman chosen as a delegate from that territory to Congress, that the Mormon religion prescribes nothing on the subject.
I need not now dwell on another act of the last session,—the Fugitive Slave Law,—because, as yet, I believe no voice in Massachusetts has been raised in its defence or palliation. It is an act which might turn all of us here, at this moment, into slave hunters; which might break up this meeting at the present time, should an officer, clothed with the authority of the United States, appear at that door and command us to chase an alleged fugitive, perhaps a native-born freeman, over the graves of our Pilgrim fathers.
Standing here, then, before you, my constituents, to give account of my stewardship, I have to say, that with voice and vote, by expostulation and by remonstrance, by all means in my power, I have, to the full extent of my ability, resisted the passage of all these laws. Why have I done so? Because, in the first place, I felt myself a moral and accountable being; and, as such, I could not do otherwise. I have done so, in the second place, because I was your representative, and believed myself to be acting in conformity with your wishes, with the wishes of the Whig party of Massachusetts, and of my constituents generally. Have I been mistaken? [A volley of noes.]
To ascertain what were the wishes of the Whig party, and of those who put me in nomination, I shall refer you to a series of the resolutions of conventions, and of the declarations of the best accredited authorities of that party, on this subject, for years past. The following are among the resolutions of the Whig convention which assembled in this town, March, 1848, to nominate a successor to the Hon. John Quincy Adams. They were unanimously adopted:—
“Resolved, That the members of this convention, met together for the purpose of nominating a candidate to supply the vacancy existing in the eighth congressional district, mourn, in common with the state and the nation, the event which has deprived them of the services of that eminent son of Massachusetts, whose voice was ever raised in the cause of freedom, whose vast and varied powers, more than those of any other statesman of his time, were devoted to the service of his country, shedding light upon her institutions, and leading her on in the path of duty, prosperity, and glory.
“Resolved, That the loss of his services in the halls of Congress, at this time, is the more deeply to be deplored, when his great weight of character, his influence, his talents, his wisdom, his zeal, and indomitable energy would have been so benignly felt upon the great questions of freedom and slavery, which are to be discussed and settled for our newly-acquired domain, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.
“Resolved, That it behooves us to unite upon a candidate to represent this district upon the floor of Congress, whose principles shall be in consonance with those of his predecessor, whose fidelity to the great principles of human freedom shall be unwavering, whose voice and vote shall on all occasions be exercised in extending and securing liberty to the human race.”
In September, 1848, the Whig state convention of Massachusetts met at Worcester, when the following resolution, among others, reported by the Hon. Joseph Bell, of Boston, since then president of the Massachusetts Senate, was unanimously adopted:—
“Resolved, That being impressed with a profound sense of our responsibility, as the representatives of the Whigs of Massachusetts, that responsibility which attaches to our words, acts, and votes,—we cannot fail, on this occasion, as we have never failed on any other general assemblage of the Whigs of Massachusetts, to record, in the most solemn and deliberate manner, our unqualified opposition to any extension of the institution of slavery into our territory, or any acquisitions of territory, for the purpose of such extension. On this question, the voice of the Whigs of Massachusetts has been unwavering and uniform, and never has that voice spoken with higher eloquence and power than when our distinguished senator in Congress, speaking for himself, and for the whole people of the commonwealth, said, ‘I consent to no further extension of the area of slavery in the United States, or to the further increase of slavery representation in the House of Representatives.’”
In September of the same year, another Whig convention assembled at this place, to nominate a candidate for the Thirty-first Congress. My views, as recorded by my votes on all the questions of slavery, and as expressed in my speech, delivered on the 30th of the preceding June, were then before the people. That convention, among other resolutions, passed the following, by acclamation:—