Question 5—‘I desire him to answer whether he stands pledged to the prohibition of the slave trade between the different states?’
Answer—I do not stand pledged to the prohibition of the slave trade between the different states.
Question 6—‘I desire to know whether he stands pledged to prohibit slavery in all the Territories of the United States, north as well as south of the Missouri Compromise line?’
Answer—I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the right and duty of Congress to prohibit slavery in all the United States Territories.
Question 7—‘I desire him to answer whether he is opposed to the acquisition of any new territory unless slavery is first prohibited therein?’
Answer-I am not generally opposed to honest acquisition of territory; and, in any given case, I would or would not oppose such acquisition, according as I might think such acquisition would or would not aggravate the slavery question among ourselves.
“Now, my friends, it will be perceived upon an examination of these questions and answers, that so far I have only answered that I was not pledged to this, that, or the other. The Judge has not framed his interrogatories to ask me anything more than this, and I have answered in strict accordance with the interrogatories, and have answered truly, that I am not pledged at all upon any of the points to which I have answered. But I am not disposed to hang upon the exact form of his interrogatory. I am rather disposed to take up at least some of these questions, and state what I really think of them.”
In the above example of the use of questions and answers it will be noted that Lincoln emphasizes his fairness by offering to answer his opponent’s questions provided that opponent will do the same with questions which he propounds. When Judge Douglas does not accept this proposition, Lincoln follows up his just course of conduct by declaring that he will answer his opponent’s questions whether that opponent will answer his or not. He then makes an introductory statement in which he limits the responsibility of his answers strictly to himself. He next takes up each question and answers it briefly and directly. He concludes these answers with a paragraph in which he shows that he has answered the questions strictly in accordance with the form in which they were asked. Then he again shows his fairness and even liberality toward his opponent by taking up the more important questions and giving a full and complete discussion of each one. After this fair and comprehensive treatment Lincoln proceeds to propound his questions to Judge Douglas in the following manner.
“I now proceed to propound to the Judge the interrogatories so far as I have framed them. I will bring forward a new installment when I get them ready. I will bring them forward now only reaching to number four.
The first one is:—