two Southern senators that voted against it, while only four Northern senators voted for it, and eighteen against it. It went to the House of Representatives, and it passed that body by a vote of 134 to 42-forty Southern representatives voting for it, and thirty-seven against it. Thus was the Compromise of 1820 brought about. And the history of that day will show that it was regarded (as it really was) as a great Southern triumph, in which the North reluctantly acquiesced. The most distinguished Southern men, including Mr. Clay, Mr. Lowndes, Mr. William Smith, Louis M'Lane, and others being its chief advocates. And upon its final passage it was submitted to Mr. Monroe for his signature; and there being some wiseacres at that day, as there are at all times, who set up the pretension that it was a violation of the Constitution for us to agree not to do what it was contended we had a right to do for the sake of the peace, the harmony, and the prosperity of the country, Mr. Monroe submitted the constitutionality of that measure to his Cabinet-of which John C. Calhoun was one, Mr. Crawford another, and Mr. Wirt, of Virginia, a third — and he required a written opinion of each member of his Cabinet upon the constitutionality of this Missouri Compromise. The Cabinet were unanimous in the opinion that the law was in strict and perfect conformity with the Constitution of the United States. It must be admitted that these were mere pigmies in comparison with the giants and the dwarfs. of the present day. But when the bill became a law, it was received throughout the South with the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon, with illuminations and shouts of joy and gladness, and heralded every where as a great Southern victory.

"Under the operation of that law to which the integrity and the honor of the South was pledged, the South obtained

the admission of Missouri and Arkansas as slave states when it was in the power of the North to have rejected them. They also obtained the admission of Florida as a slave state, Texas as a slave state, and never- never while there was an opportunity to make a slave state out of Southern territory-did they dream that it was proper to repeal that law. But when they had populated all their own territories, and obtained the admission of all their slave states, when there was no necessity for it whatever, they attempted to rob the North of its just due, and thereby dishonestly sacrificed the integrity and honor of the South, that were pledged to carry out in good faith the bargain entered into. But I will show before I get through that it was never the object of this Democratic party to sanction any thing that would produce peace and harmony in the country; that their object was to keep up agitation on the slavery question, and that it was their purpose that the Missouri Compromiso should be disturbed in order to agitate the question of slavery, and provoke resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law in order to agitate.

REPEAL OF THE 21ST RULE.

"Things went on in this way pretty satisfactorily for · some fifteen or sixteen years, when Mr. Calhoun, the great leader of the Southern States'-rights party, set himself to work, as scemed to be his object to the last moment of his life, to excito tho apprehension and alarm of the Southern people upon the question of slavery, in order, as he said, to unite the South-to unite us, the Whigs of the South, with the Democrats-upon the subject of slavery; and every man of the Whig party, every politician of the Whig party, every press in the Whig or American interests that has aided in keeping up this agitation have only added strength

to the Democratic party, and aided them to rivet a chain on their necks that they will wear as long as they live, or until the people become better informed as to their objects. It was for these reasons, because there was too much peace in the country, that they could not remain satisfied; and there being a contemptible handful in the North at that time who were not of sufficient consequence to disturb any body or any body's property, we were daily warned to fortify ourselves upon the subject of slavery. Then it was that the famous 'twenty-first rule' was gotten up for the purpose of exciting the Abolitionists into an issue with us, whereby the great constitutional right of petition was denied to the people. Men in the South who claimed the right of the constituent body to instruct their representatives, were guilty of the supreme folly of denying to tho samo body their right to petition. As a matter of course, these things produced a very angry state of feeling in the North. The right of petition was blended with the question of slavery, and it fell to my lot upon that occasion to stand in the minority of one or two in the whole Southern country until parties of every complexion came up to my position; and at last the Democratic party themselves, secing the incalculable mischief which was likely to grow out of it, repealed the 'twenty-first rule,' and from that day to this the question has remained settled as far as abolition petitions are concerned; for while there were upward of six thousand abolition petitions presented to Congress during the session preceding that in which the 'twenty-first rule' was repealed, there were only about six in all presented at the session following that repeal-thus showing how infinitely the practical operation of that famous 'twenty-first rule,' which Mr. Calhoun had a large share in getting up, had weakened the South and strengthened the Abolition

party at the North, which had by this time become a formidable power by this false issue presented by the peculiar champions of Southern rights. Still, it accomplished the great object had in view by the leaders of Democracy. It kept alive agitation, and there were continual appeals to Southern men of every political shade and complexion to unite for the safety of the South on the slavery question, and form a sectional party that would present a united front, of which Mr. Calhoun was to be the leader, and which was to inure to his benefit by bringing him into power, or of accomplishing his next most ardent wish, that of dissolving the Union, and having a Northern and Southern republic, at the head of the latter of which he never dreamed that any other could be placed than himself.

"Well, we will proceed now to the consideration of the question of the annexation of Texas, which is next in order. Texas was annexed to the Union, and it became necessary to adopt this now unconstitutional Missouri Compromiso line and apply that to Texas also. Mark you now that, by the Ordinance of 1787, all of the Northwestern Territory belonging to the United States was provided for; the Missouri Compromise line was applied to the territory acquired by the Louisiana Treaty, and thus that was settled. There could then be no farther controversy upon this question, but when we acquired Texas, it became necessary to make some farther provision in regard to that territory.

"A Southern gentleman, Mr. Brown, of Tennessee, proposed the extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the State of Texas. Judge Douglas, of Illinois, then a member of the House of Representatives, and now Chairman of the Committee on Territories in the Senate, submitted a modification in the following words by way of amendment:

"And in such states as shall be formed out of said terri

tory north of said Missouri Compromise line, slavery or involuntary servitude, except for crime, shall be prohibited' -thus applying the Wilmot Proviso to the states as well as to the territories north of 36° 30'.

"This is the 'Little Giant,' the great Southern champion. Mr. Brown accepted the modification, and it was agreed to by a vote of ayes 120, noes 98- every Southern Democrat in the House, without exception, voting for it; so that, by the resolution annexing Texas and adopting the Missouri Compromise line as applicable to it, the question was settled permanently in reference to the territory acquired from Texas.

"I am tracing this matter on step by step, to show you the wisdom of those who went beforo us in providing against all this agitation, by a settlement of this question between. North and South as wo acquired additional territory.

"Shortly after this, however, we became possessed of a very large territory by purchase and by the war with Mexico, including California and the Territories of Utah and New Mexico. During the administration of Mr. Polk, a Southern Democratic President, a bill organizing a terri torial government for Oregon was presented to him for his signature after having passed the two branches of Congress. That bill contained, not the Missouri Compromise clause, but the Wilmot Proviso. It was passed by a Democratic majority in the House and in the Senate, and was then sent to Mr. Polk for his signature, while Mr. James Buchanan was a member of his Cabinet and Secretary of State, and ho (Mr. Polk) of course put his signature to the Oregon Bill, with the Wilmot Proviso attached to it. And what was the ground of excuse made by the Southern Democrats for their votes upon this bill, and what did they say in justification of their Democratic President, Mr. Polk, who signed it?