SPEECH OF MR. WEBSTER
os
MR. CLAY'S RESOLUTIONS.
DELIVERED IN- THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 7, 1850.
The VICE PRESIDENT. The resolutions submitted by the Senator from Kentucky were made the
special order of the day at 12 o'clock.  The Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. WALKER) has the floor.
MR. WALKER. Mr. President, this vast audience has not assembled to hear me; and there is but
one man, in my opinion, who can assemble such an audience. They expect to hear him, and I feel it
to be my duty, as it is my pleasure, to give the floor, therefore, to the Senator from Massachusetts.
I understand it is immaterial to him upon which of these questions he speaks, and therefore I will not
move to postpone the special order.
Mr. WEBSTER. I beg to expiess my obligations to my friend from Wisconsin, (Mr. WALKER,) as
well as to my friend from New York, (Mr. SEWARD,) for their courtesy in allowing me to address the
Senate this morning.
Mr. President, I wish to speak to-day, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as
an American, and a member of the Senate of the United States. It is fortunate that there is a Senate
of the United States; a body, not yet moved from its propriety, not lost to a just sense of its own dignity, and its own high responsibilities, and a body to which the country looks, with confidence, for
wise, moderate, patriotic, and healing counsels. It is not to be denied that we live in the midst of
strong agitations, and are surrounded by very considerable dangers to our institutions and Government.
The imprisoned winds are let loose. The East, the West, the N9rth; and the stormy South, all combine to throw the whole ocean into commotion, to toss its billows to the skies, and disclose its profoundest depths. I do not affect to regard myself, Mr. President, as holding, or as fit to hold, the
helm in this combat with the political elements; but I have a duty to perform, and I mean to perform it
with fidelity, not without a sense of surrounding dangers, but not without hope. I have a part to
act, not for my own security or safety, for I am looking out for no fragment upon which to float away
from the wreck, if wreck there must be, but for the good of the whole, and the preservation of all;
and there is that, which will keep me to my duty during this struggle, whether the sun and the
stars shall appear, or shall not appear, for many days. I speak to-day for the preservation of the
Union. "Hear me for my cause." I speak to-day, out of a solicitous and anxious heart, for the restoration to the country of that quiet and that harmony, which make the blessings of this Union so rich
and so dear to us all. These are the topics that I propose to myself to discuss; these are the motives,
and the sole motives, that influence me in the wish to communicate my opinions to the Senate and the
country; and if I can do any thing, however little, for the promotion of these ends, I shall have accomplished all that I expect.
Mr. President, it may not be amiss to recur very briefly to the events which, equally sudden and
extraordinary, have brought the political condition of the country to what it now is. In May, 1846,
the United States declared war against Mexico. Our armies, then on the frontiers, entered the provinces of that Republic, met and defeated all her troops, penetrated her mountain passes, and occupied her capital. The marine force of the United States took possession of her forts and her towns,
on the Atlantic and on the Pacific. In less titan two years a treaty was negotiated, by which Mexico
ceded to the United States a vast territory, extending seven or eight hundred miles along the shores of
the Pacific, and reaching back over the mountains, and across the desert, until it joined the frontier of
the State of Texas. It so happened that, in the distracted and feeble state of the Mexican Governmnent, before the declaration of war by the United States against Mexico had become known in California, the people of California, under the lead of American officers, overthrew the existing Provincial Government of California, the Mexican authorities, and run up an independent flag. When
the news arrived at St. Francisco that war had been declared by the United States against Mexico,
this independent flag was pulled down and the stars and stripes of this Union hoisted in its stead. So,
sir, before the war was over, the powers of the United States, military and naval, had possession of
San Francisco and Upper California, and a great rush of emigrants from various parts of the world took
place into California in 1846 and 1847. But now, behold another wonder.
In January of 1848, the Mormons, or some of them, made a discovery of an extraordinarily
rich mine of gold, or, rather, of a very great quantity of gold, hardly fit to be called a mine, for it
was spread near the surface, on the lower part of the South, or American, branch of the Sacramento.
They seem to have attempted to conceal their discovery for some time; but soon another discovery,
GIDEON & CO., Printers.




perhaps of greater importance, was made of gold, in another part of the American branch of the Sacramento, and near Sutter's fort, as it is called. The fame of these discoveries spread far and wide.
They inflamed more and more the spirit of emigration towards California, which had already been excited; and persons crowded in hundreds, and flocked towards the hay of San Francisco. This, as I
have said, took place in the winter and spring of 1848. The digging commenced in the spring of that
year, and from that time to this the work of searching for gold has been prosecuted with a success not
heretofore known in the history of this globe. We all know, sir, how incredulous the American public was at the accounts which reached us, at first, of these discoveries; but we all know, now, that these
accounts received, and continue to receive, daily confirmation, and down to the present moment I suppose the assurances are as strong, after the experience of these several months, of mines of gold apparently inexhaustible in the regions near San Francisco, in California, as they were at any period of the
earlier dates of the accounts.  It so happened, sir, that, although after the return of peace, it
became a very important subject for legislative consideration and legislative decision to provide a proper Territorial Government for California, yet differences of opinion in the counsels of the Government prevented the establishment of any such Territorial Government at the last session of Congress.
Under this state of things, the inhabitants of San Francisco and California, then amounting to a great
number of people; in the summer of last year, thought it to be their duty to estab!ish a local Government. Under the proclamation of General Riley, the people chose delegates to a Conventio)n; that Convention met at Monterey. They formed a constitution for the State of California, and it was adopted
by the people of California in their primary assemblages. Desirous of immediate connexion with the
United States, its Senators were appointed and Representatives chosen, who have come hith:er, bringing with them the authentic constitution of the State of California; and they now present themselves,
asking, in behalf of their State, that it may be admitted into this Union as one of the United
States. This constitution, sir, contains an express prohibition azainst slavery or involuntary servitude in the State of California. It is said, and I suppose truly, that of the members who composed
that Convention some sixteen were natives, and had been residents, in the slaveholding States, about
twenty-two were from the non-slaveholding States, and the remaining ten members were either native
Californians or old settlers in that country. This prohibition against slavery, it is said, was inserted
with entire unanimity.
-Mr. HAtLE.  Will the Senator give way until order is restored?
The VICE PRESIDENT. The Sergeant-at Arms will see that order is restored, and no more persons
admitted to the floor.
Mr. CASS. I trust the scene of the other day will not be repeated.'the Sergeant-at-Arms must
display more energy in suppressing this disorder.
Mr. HALE. Tfie noise is outside of the door.
Mr. WEBSTER. And it is this circumstance, sir, the prohibition of slavery by that convention,
which has contributed to raise, I do not say it has wholly raised, the dispute as to the propriety of
the admission of California into the Union under this constitution. It is not to be denied, Mr. President, nobody thinks of denying, that, whatever reasons were assigned at the commencement of the
late;war with Mexico, it was prosecuted for the purpose of the acquisition of territory, and under the
alleged argument that the cession of territory was the only form in which proper compensation could
be made to the United States by Mexico for the various claims and demands, which the people of
this country had against that government. At any rate, it will be found that President Polk's message at the commencement of the session of December, 1847, avowed that the war was to be prosecuted until some acquisition of territory should be made. And, as the acquisition was to be south of
the line of the United States, in warm climates and countries, it was naturally, I suppose, expected by
the South, that whatever acquisitions were made in that region would be addedl to the slaveholding
portion of the United States.  Events have turned out as was riot expected, and that expectation has
not been realized; and therefore some degree of disappointment and surprise has resulted.  In
other words, it is obvious that the question which has so long harrassed the country, and at some
times very seriously alarmed the minds of wise and good men, has come upon us for a fresh discussion, the question of slavery in these United States.
Now, sir, I propose, perhaps at the expense of some detail and consequent detention of the Senate, to review historically this question of slavery, which, partly in consequence of its own importance, and partly, perhaps mostly, in consequence of the manner in wnich it has been discussed in one
and the other portion of the country, has been a source of so much alienation and unkind feeling
between the different portions of the Union.
WVe all know, sir, that slavery has existed in the world from time immemorial. There was
slavery, in the earliest periods of history, in the Oriental nations. There was slavery among the
Jews; the theocratic government of that people ordained no injunction against it. There was slavery
amnong the Greeks; and the ingenious philosophy of the Greeks found, or sought to find, a justification
for it exactly upon the grounds which have been assumed for such a justification in this country; that is
a natural and original difference among the races of mankind, iand the inferiority of the black or colored
race, to the white. The Greeks justified their system of slavery upon that ground precisely. They
held the African, and in some parts the Asiatic, tribes to be inferior to the white race; but they did
not show, I think, by any close process of logic, that, if this. were true, the more intelligent and Lhe
stronger had therefore a right to subjugate the weaker.
The more manly philosophy and jurisprudence of the Romans placed the justification of slavery on
entirely different grounds.
The Roman jurists, from the first and down to the fall of the empire, admitted that slavery was




3
against the natural law, by which, as they maintained, all men, of whatsoever clime, color, or capacity, were equal; but they justified slavery, first, upon the ground and authority of the law of nations,
arguing, and arguing truly, that at that day the conventional law of nations admitted that captives
in war, whose lives, according to the notions of the times, were at the absolute disposal of the captors,
might, in exchange for exemption from death, be made slaves for life, and that such servitude might
descend to their posterity. The jurists of Rome also maintained that by the civil law there might. be
servitude or slavery, personal and hereditary; first, by the voluntary act of an individual who might
sell himself into slavery; second, by his being received into a state of slavery by his creditors in satisfaction of a debt; and, thirdly, by being placed in a state of servitude or slavery for crime. At the
introduction of Christianity, the Roman world was full of slaves, and I suppose there is to be found
no injunction against thatrelation between man and man, in the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
or of any of his Apostles. The object of the instruction imparted to mankind by the founder of
Christianity was to touch the heart, purify the smul, and improve the lives of individual men. That
object went directly to the first fountain of all political and all social relations of the human race, as
well as of all true religious feeling, the individual heart and mind of man.
Now, sir, upon the general nature, and character and influence of slavery, there exists a wide difference between the NortheIn portion of this country and the Southern. It is said on the one side that,
if not the subject of any injunction or direct prohibition in the New Testament, slavery is a wrong;
that it is founded merely in the right of the strongest; and that it is an oppression, like unjust
wars, like all those conflicts by which a mighty nation subjects a weaker nation to its will; and
that slavery, in its nature, whatever may be said of it in the modifications which Iave taken place, is
not in fact according to the meek spirit of the Gospel. It is not kindly affectioned; it does not " seek
another's and not its own." It does not " let the oppressed go free." These are sentiments that are
cherished, and recently with greatly augmented force, among the people of the Northern States. It
has taken hold of the religious sentiment of that part of the country, as it has more or less taken hold
of the religious feelings of a considerable portion of mankind. The South, upon the other side, having been accustomed to'this relation between the two races all their lives, from their birth; having
been taught, in general, to treat the subjects of this bondage with care and kindness, and I believe, in
general, feeling for them great care and kindness, have not taken this view of the subject which I
have mentioned. There are thousands of religious men, with consciences as tender as any of their
brethren at the North, who do not see the unlawfulness of slavery; and there are more thousands
perhaps that, whatsoever they may think of it in its origin, and as a matter depending upon natural
right, yet take things as they are, and, finding slavery to be an established relation of the society in
which they live, can see no way in which, let their opinions on the abstract question be what they
may, it is in the power of the present generation to relieve themselves from this relation. And, in
this respect, candor obliges me to say, that I believe they are just as conscientious, many of them, and
the religious people all of them, as they are in the North in holding different opinions.
Why, sir, the honorable Senator from South Carolina, the other day, alluded to the separation of that great religious community, the Methodist Episcopal Church. That separation was
brought about by differences of opinion upon this particular subject of slavery. I felt great concern,
as that dispute went on, about the result, and I was in hopes that the difference of opinion might be
adjusted, because I looked upon that religious denomination as one of the great props of religion and
morals, throughout the whole country, from Maine to Georgia. The result was against my wishes and
against my hopes. I have read all their proceedings, and all their arguments, but I have never yet
been able to come to the conclusion that there was any real ground for that separation; in other words,
that no good could be produced by that separation. I must say I think there was some want of candor and charity. Sir, when a question of this kind takes hold of the religious sentiments of mankind,
and comes to be discussed in religious assemblies of the clergy and laity, there is always to be expected, or always to be feared, a great degree of excitement. It is in the nature of man, manifested by
his whole history, that religious disputes are apt to become warm, as men's strength of conviction
is proportionate to their views of the magnitude of the questions. In all such disputes there will
sometimes men be found with whom every thing is absolute, absolutely wrong, or absolutely right.
They see the right clearly; they think others ought so to see it, anid they are disposed to establish a
broad line of distinction between what is right and what is wrong. And they are not seldom willing
to establish that line upon their own convictions of truth and justice; and are willing to mark and
guard that line, by placing along it a series of dogmas, as lines of boundary are marked by posts
and stones. There are men who, with clear perceptions, as they think, of their own duty, do
not see how too hot a pursuit of one duty may involve them in the violation of others, or how
too warm an embracement of one truth may lead to a disregard of other truths equally important.  As I heard it stated strongly, not many days ago, these persons are disposed to mount upon
some particular duty as upon a war horse, and to drive furiously, on and upon, and over all other
duties that may stand in the way. There are men who, in times of that sort, and in disputes of
that sort, are of opinion that human duties may be ascertained with the exactness of mathematics.
They deal with morals as with mathematics, and they think what is right may. be distinguished from
what is wrong with the precision of an algebraic equation. They have, therefore, none too much
charity towards others who differ from them. They are apt, too, to think that nothing is good but
what is perfect, and that. there are no compromises or modifications to be made in submission to difference of opinion, or in deference to other men's judgment. If their perspicacious vision enables
them to detect a spot on the face of the sun, they think that a good reason why the sun should be
struck down from heaven. They prefer the chance of running into utter darkness, to living in hea



4
venly light, if that heavenly light be not absolutely without. any imperfection., There, are impatient
men, too impatient always to give heed to the admonition of St. Paul, " that we are not to do evil
that good may come;" too impatient to wait for the slow progress of moral causes in the improvement,
of mankind. They do not remember, that the doctrines and the miracles.of Jesus Christ have, in
eighteen hundred years, converted only a small portion of the human race;  and among the nations
that are converted to Christianity, they forget how many vices and crimes, public -and private, still
prevail, and that many of them, public crimes especially, which are offences against the Christian,
religion, pass without exciting particular indignation. Thus wars are waged, and unjust wars. I
do not deny that there may be just wars. There certainly are, but it was the remark of an eminent person, not many years ago, on the other side of the Atlantic, that it was one of the greatest
reproaches to human nature that wars were sometimes just. The defence of nations sometimes
causes a just war against the injustice of other nations.
Now, sir, in this state of sentiment upon the general nature of slavery lies the cause of a great
portion of those unhappy divisions, exasperations, and reproaches which find vent and support in
different parts of the Union. Slavery does exist in the United States.  It did exist in the States before the adoption of this Constitution, and at that time.
And now let us consider, sir, for a moment, what was the state of sentiment, north and south, in
regard to slavery, at the time this Constitution was adopted. A remarkable change has taken place
since, but what did the wise and great men of all parts of the country think of slavery, then? In what.
estimation did they hold it at the time, when this Constitution was adopted? Now, it will be found, sir,
if we will carry ourselves by historical research back to that day, and ascertain men's opinions by authentic records still existing among us, that there was no great diversity of opinion between the North
and the South upon the subject of slavery, and it will be found that both parts of the country held it
equally an evil, a moral and political evil. It will not be found, that either at the North or at the
South there was much, though there was some, invective against slavery as inhuman and cruel. The
great ground of objection to it was political; that it weakened the social fabric; that, taking the place
of free labor, society became less strong and labor was less productive; and therefore we find from all the
eminent men of the time the clearest expression of their opinion that slavery was an evil. And they
asc ribed its existence here, not without truth, and not without some acerbity of temper and force of
language, to the injurious policy of the mother country, who, to favor the navigator, had entailed
these evils upon the colonies. I need hardly refer, sir, to the publications of the day. They are
matters of history on the record. The eminent men, the most eminent men and nearly all the conspicuous politicians of the South, held the same sentiments; that slavery was an evil, a blight, a blast,_
a mildew, a scourge, and a curse. There are no terms of reprobation of slavery so vehement in the
North of that day as in the South. The North was not so much excited against it as the South; and
the reason is, I suppose, because there was much less of it at the North, and the people did not see, or
think they saw, the evils so prominently as they were seen, or thought to be seen, at the South.
Then, sir, when this Constitution was framed, this was the light in which the Convention viewed it.
The Convention reflected the judgment and sentiments of the great men of the South. A member of
the other House, whom I have not the honor to know, in a recent speech, has collected extracts from
these public documents. They prove the truth of what I am saying, and the question then was, how
to deal with it, and how to deal with it as an evil? Well, they came to this general result. They
thought that slavery could not be continued in the country, if the importation of slaves were made to
cease, and therefore they provided that after a certain period the importation might be prevented by the
act of the new Government. Twenty years was proposed by some gentleman, a Northern gentleman,
I think, and many of the Southern gentlemen opposed it as being too long. Mr. Madison especially
was something warm against it. He said it would bring too much of this mischief into the country to
allow the importation of slaves for such a period. Because we must take along with us, in the whole
of this discussion, when we are considering the sentiments and opinions in which this constitutional
provision originated, that the conviction of' all men was, that if the importation of slaves ceased, the
white race would multiply faster than the black race, and that slavery would therefore gradually wear
out and expire. It may not be improper here to allude to that, I had almost said, celebrated opinion
of Mr. Madison. You observe, sir, that the term slave or slavery is not used in the Constitution.
The Constitution does not require that "fugitive slaves" shall be delivered up. It requires that "persons bound to service in one State, and escaping into another, shall be delivered up."  Mr. Madison
opposed the introduction of the term slave or slavery into the Constitution; for he said, that he did
not wish to see it recognised by the Constitution of the United States of America that there could be
property in men. Now, sir, all this took place at the Convention in 1787; but connected with this,
concurrent and contemporaneous, is another important transaction not sufficiently attended to. The
Convention for framing this Constitution assembled in Philadelphia in May, and sat until.September,
1787. During all that time the Congress of the United States was in session at New York. It was
a matter of design, as we know, that the Convention should not: assemble in the same city where
Congress was holding its sessions.  Almost all the public men of the country, therefore, of distinction
and eminence, were in one or the other of these two assemblies; and I think it happened in some instances that the same gentlemen were members of both. If I mistake not, such was the case of Mr.
Rufus King, then a member of Congress from Massachusetts, anti at the same time a member of the
Convention to frame the Constitution, from that State. Now, it was in the summer of 1787, the very
time when the Convention in Philadelphia was'framing this Constitution, that the Congress in New
York was framing the ordinance of 1787. They passed that ordinance on the 13th July, 1787, at New
York, the very month, perhaps the very day, or. which these questions about the importation of slaves




5
and the character of slavery were debated in the Convention at Philadelphia. And, so far; as.wie call
now learn, there was a perfect concurrence of opinion between these respective bodies; and it resulted
in this ordinance of 1787, excluding slavery as applied to all the territory over which the Congress of
the United States had jurisdiction, and that was, all the territory northwest of the Ohio. Three years
before, Virginia and other States had made a cession of that great territory to the United States. And
a most magnificent act it was. I never reflect upon it without a disposition to do honor and justice,
and justice would be the highest honor, to Virginia, for the cession of her, northwestern territory. I will say, sir, it is one of her fairest claims to the respect and gratitude of the United States,
and that perhaps it is only second to that other claim which attaches to her; that, from her counsels,
and from the intelligence and patriotism of her leading statesmen, proceeded the first idea put -into
practice of the formation of a general constitution of the United States. Now, sir, the ordinance of
1787 applied thus to the whole territory over which the Congress of the United States had jurisdiction.
It was adopted nearly three years before the Constitution of the United States went into operation;
because the ordinance took effect immediately on its passage, while the Constitution of the United
States, having been framed, was to be sent to the States to be adopted by their Conventions; and then
a Government was to be organized under it. This ordinance, then, wasin operation and force when
the Constitution was adopted and this Government put in motion, in April,:1789.
Mr. President, three things are quite clear, as historical truths. One is, that there was an expectation
that on the ceasing of the importation of slaves from Africa, slavery would begin to run out. _That
was hoped and expected.  Another is, that as far as there was any power in Congress to prevent the
spread of slavery in the United States. that power was executed in the most absolute manner and to
the fullest extent.  An honorable member whose health does not allow him to be here to-day —
A SENATOR. He is here.  (Reierring to Mr. CALHOUN..
Mr. WEBSTER. I am very happy to hear that lie is; may he long be here, and in the enjoyment of
health to serve his country! The honorable member said the other day, that he considered this ordinance as the first, in the series of measures, calculated to enfeeble the South and deprive them  of their
just participation in the benefits and privileges of this Government.  He says very properly that it was
done under the old confederation and before this Constitution went into effect; but, my present purpose
is only to say, Mr. President, that it was established with the entire and unanimous concurrence of the
whole South. Why, there it stands! The vote of every State in the Union was unanimous in favor of'
the ordinance, with the exception of a single individual vote, and that individual vote was given by a
Northern man.  But, sir, the ordinance abolishing, or rather prohibiting, slavery northwest of the
Ohio, has the hand and seal of every Southern member in Congress. The other and third:ekar historical truth is, that the Convention meant to leave slavery, in the States, as they found i, entirely
under the authority and control of the States.
This was the state of things, sir, and this the state of opinion, under which those very ilniortant
matters were arranged, and those three important things done; that is, the establishment of the Constitution with a recognition of slavery as it existed in the States, the establishment of the ordinance
prohibiting to the full:extent of allitervitory owned by the United States, the introduction of slavery
imth those territories, and the leaving to the States of all power over slavery, in their own litnits.  And
here, sir, we may pause.: We may reflect for a moment upon the entire coincidence and concurrence
of sentiment, between the Northland the South, upon those questions, at the period of the adoption of
the:Constitution.  But opinions, sir, have changed, greatly changed, changed North, and changed
Sotth. Slavery is not regarded in the South nowl as it was then. I see an honorable member of this
body paying me the honor of listening to my remarks; he brings to me, sir, freshly and vividly the
sentiments of his great ancestor, so much distinguished in his day and generation, so worthy to be
succeeded by so worthy a grandson, with all the sentiments he expressed in thle Convention in Philadelphia..
Here we may pause. There'Wvas, if not an entire unanimity, a general concurrence of sentiment.
running through the whole community, and especially entertained by the eminent men of all parts
of the country. But soon a change began, at the North and the South, and a severance of. opinion
showed itself, the North growing much more warm and strong against slavery, and the South growing much more warm and strong in its support.  Sir, there is no generation of mankind whose opinions are not subject to be influenced by what appears to them to be their present, emergent, and exigent interest. I impute to the South:no particularly selfish view in the change which has come over her.
I impute to her certainly no dishonest view. All that has happened has been,natural. It has. followed those causes which always influence the human mind and operate upon it.  What, then,have~been
the causes which have created so new a feeling in favor of slavery in the South, which have ch anged
the whole nomenclature of the South on that subject, so that, from being thought and described in the
terms I have mentioned and will not repeat, it has now become an institution, a cherished institution,
in that quarter; no evil, no scourge, but a great religious, social, and moral blessing, as I think: I have
heard it latterly spoken?  I suppose this, sir, is owing to the sudden uprising and rapid growth of
the cotton plantations of the South.  Soi far as any motive consistent with honor, justice, and general.judgment could act, it was the cotton interest that gave a new desire to promote slavery, to spread it
and to useits labor.  Iagain say that that was produced by causes. which we mupt always expect
to'produce like;effects';-t'heWthole interest of, the South became connected more or less, conaected
with it.  If we look ~back td thelhistory.of the commerce of this country at the early~ years of,this
Government, what were our exports,? Cotton, was hardly, or hut to a very. limited. extept, known.
The tabkls wigll showithat the'6xports ofn cotton ibr the.years 1790 and'94 were not more than forty or
fifty~thousandedoltarsh year.-' It has gone on inereasing rapidly,luatil it maynowl,perhaps, in a 4ason
of great product and hligh prices, amount to a hundred millions of dollars.  in the years I have men



tioned, there was more of wax, more of indigo, more of rice, more of almost every article of export
from the South, than of cotton.  I think I have heard it said, when Mr. Jay negotiated the treaty of
1794 with England, that he did not know that cotton was exported at all from the United States; and
I have heard it said also that, after the treaty which gave to the United States the right to carry their
own commodities to England in their own ships, the custom-house in London refused to admit cotton, upon an allegation that it could not be an American production, there being, as they supposed,
no cotton raised in America. They would hardly think so now!
Well, sir, we know what followed. The age of cotton became the golden age for our Southern brethren. It gratified their desire for improvement and accumulation, at the same time that it excited it.
The desire grew  by what it fed upon, and there soon came to be an eagerness for other territory, a
new area or new areas for the cultivation of the cotton crop; and measures leading to this result were
brought about rapidly, one after another, under the lead of Southern men at the head of the Government, they having a majority in both branches to accomplish their ends. The honorable member from
South Carolina observed that there has been a majority all along in favor of the North. If that be true,
sir, the North has acted either very liberally and kindly, or very weakly; for they never exercised that
majority efficiently five times in the history of the Government. Never. Whether they were out-generaled, or whether it was owing to other causes, I shall not stop to consider, but no man acquainted
with the history of the country can deny, that the general lead in the politics of the country for threefourths of the period that has elapsed since the adoption of the Constitution, has been a Southern lead.
In 1802, in pursuit of the idea of' opening a new cotton region, the United States obtained a cession
from  Georgia of the whole of her western territory, now embracing the rich and growing State of
Alabama. In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from France, out of which the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri have been framed, as slaveholding States.  In 1819, the cession of Florida was
made, bringing another cession of slaveholding property and territory. Sir, the honorable member
from South Carolina thought he saw in certain operations of the Government, such as the manner of
collecting the revenue and the tendency of those measures to promote emigration into the country,
what accounts for the more rapid growth of the North than the South. He ascribes that more rapid
growth, not to the operation of time, but to the system of government administration established under
this Constitution. That is matter of opinion. To a certain extent it may be; but it does seem to me that
if any operation of the Government could be shown in any degree to have promoted the population, and
growth, and wealth of the North, it is much more sure that there are sundry important and distinct
operations of the Governmer.t, about which no man can doubt, tending to promote, and which absolutely have promoted, the increase of the slave interest and the slave territory of the South. Allow
me to say that it was not time that brought in Louisiana; it was the act of men. It was not time
that brought in Florida; it was the act of men. And lastly, sir, to complete those acts of men which
have contributed so much to enlarge the area and the sphere of the institution of slavery, Texas, great
and vast and illimitable Texas, was added to the Union as a slave State in 1845; and that, sir, pretty
much closed the whole chapter, and settled the whole account. That closed the whole chapter, that
settled the whole account, because the annexation of Texas, upon the conditions and tinder the guaranties upon which she was admitted, did not leave within the control of this Government an acre of land,
capable of being cultivated by slave labor, between this Capitol and the Rio Grande or the Nueces, or
whatever is the proper boundary of Texas, not an acre. From that moment the whole country, from
this place to the western boundary of Texas, was fixed, pledged, fastened, decided, to be slave territory
forever, by the solemn guaranties of law. And 1 now say, sir, as the proposition upon which I stand
this day, and upon the truth and firmness of which I intend to act until it is overthrown, that there
is not at this moment within the United States, or any territory of the United States, a single foot of
land, the character of which, in regard to its being free-soil territory or slave territory, is not fixed by
some law, and some irrepealable law, beyond the power of the action of the Government. Now, is it
not so with respect to Texas? Why, it is most manifestly so. The honorable member from South
Carolina, at the time of the admission of Texas, held an important post in the Executive Department
of the Government; he was Secretary of State. Another eminent person of great activity and adroitness in affairs, I mean the late Secretary of the Treasury, (Mr. WALKER,) was an eminent member
of this body, and took the lead in the business of annexation; and I must say that they did their business faithfully and thoroughly, there was no botch left in it. They rounded it off, and made as close
joiner-work as ever was put together. Resolutions of annexation were brought into Congress fitly
joined together, compact, firm, efficient, conclusive upon the great object which they had in view, and
those resolutions passed.
Allow me to read a part of these resolutions. It is the third clause of the second section of the resolution of the 1st March, 1845, for the admission of Texas, which applies to this part of the case. That
clause reads in these words:
"New States, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas,
and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said State, be formed out of the
Territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission-under the provisions of the Federal Constitution. And such States as may be formed out of that portion of said Territory lying south of thirtysix degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall
be admitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each State asking admission may
desire; and in such State or States as shall be formed out of said Territory north of said Missouri
compromise line, slavery or involuntary servitude (except for crime) shall be prohibited. "
Now what is here stipulated, enacted, secured? It is, that all Texas south of 360 30', which is
nearly the whole of it, shall be admitted into the Union as a slave State. It was a slave State, and




7
therefore came in as a slave State; and the guaranty is, that new States shall be made out of it, and
that such States as are formed out of that portion of Texas lying south of 360 30' may come in as
slave States to the ntumber of four, in addition to the State then in existence, and admitted at that
time by these resolutions. I know no form of legislation which can strengthen that. I know no
mode of recognition that can ald a tittle of weight to it. I listened respectfully to the resolutions of
my honorable friend from Tennessee, (Mr. BRLL.)  He proposed to recognise that stipulation with
Texas.  But any additional recognition would weaken the force of it; because it stands here on the
ground of a contract, a thinr (lone for a consideration. It is a law founded on a contract with Texas,
and designed to carry that contract into effect. A recognition, now, founded not on any consideration or
any contract would not tbe so strong as it now stands on the face of the resolution. Now I know no
way, I candidly confess, in which this Government, acting in good faith, as I trust it always will, can
relieve itself friom that stipulation and pledge, by any honest course of legislation whatever. And,
therefore, I say again that, so far as Texas is concerned, the whole of Texas south of 36~ 30', which
I suppose enrbraces all the slave territory, there is no land, not an acre, the character of which is not
established by law, a law which cannot be repealed without the violation of a contract, and plain disregard of the public faith.
I hope, sir, it is now apparent that my proposition, so far as Texas is concerned, has been maintained;
anil the provision ii, this article, and it has been well suggested by my friend from Rhode Island that
that part of Texas which lies north of thirty-four degrees of north latitude may be formed into free
States, is dependant, in like manner, upon the consent of Texas, herself a slave State.
Well, now, sir, how carne this?  How came it to pass, that within these walls, where it is said by the
honorable member from South Carolina that the fiee States have a majority, this resolution of annexation, such as I have described it, found a majority in both Houses of Congress?  Why, sir, it
found that majority by the great number of Northern votes added to the entire Southern vote, or at
least nearly the whole of the Southern votes. That majority was made up of Northern, as well as of
Southern votes.  In the House of Representatives it stood, I think, about eighty Southern votes for
the admission of Texas, and about fifty Northern votes for the admission of Texas. In the Senate
the vote stood for the adlnission of Texas twenty-seven, and twenty-five against.it; and of those
twenty-seven votes, cotn-tituting a majority for tlhe admission of Texas in this body, no less than
thirteen came from the friee States, four of theam were firom New England. The whole of these thirteen
Senators from the free States, within a fraction, you see, of one-half of all the votes in this body for the
admission of Texas, with its immeasurable extent of slave territory, were sent here by free States.
Sir, there is not so remarkable a chapter in our history of political events, political parties, and political men, as is afforded by this measure for the admission of Texas, with this immense territory, that
a bird cannot fly over in a week. [Laughter.j Sir, New England, with some of her own votes, supported this measure. Three-fourths of the votes of liberty-loving Connecticut were given for it in the other
House, and one-half here. There was onie vote for it in Maine, but I am happy to say not the vote
of the honorable member who addressed the Senate the day before yesterday, (Mr. HAMLIN,) and
who was then a Representative frotm  Maine in the other House; but there was a vote or two from
Maine, aye, and there was one vote for it from M1  ssachusetts, the gentleman then representing, and
now living in, the district in which the prevalence of free-soil sentiment for a couple of years or so has
defeated the choice of any member to represent it in Congress.  Sir, that body of Northern and Eastern men, who gave those votes at that time, are now seen taking upon themselves, in the nomenclature of politics, the appellation of the Northern Democracy. They undertook to wield the destinies
of this empire, if I may call a republic an empire, and their policy was, and they persisted in it, to
bring into this country all the territory they could.  They did it under pledges, absolute pledges to
the slave interest in the case of Texas, and afterwards they lent their aid in bringing in these new
conquests.  My honorable friend from Georgia, in March, 1847, moved the Senate to declare that the
war ought not to be prosecuted for acquisition, for conquest, for the dismemberment of Mexico. The
same Northern Democracy entirely voted avainst it.  He did not get a vote from them. It suited the
views, the patriotism, the elevated sentiments of the Northern Democracy to bring in a world here,
among the mountains and valleys of California and New Mexico, or any other part of Mexico, and
then quarrel about it, to bring it In, and then endeavor to put upon it the saving grace of the Wilmot
proviso. There were two eminent and highly respectable gentlemen from the North and East, then
leading gentlemen in the Senate, I refer, and I do so with entire respect, for I entertain for both of
those gentlemen, in general high regardl, to Mr. DI)x, of New York, and Mr. Niles, of Connecticut,
who voted for the admission of Texas. They would not have that vote any other way than as it
stood; and they would have it as it did stand.  I speak of the vote upon the annexation of Texas.
Those two gentlemen would have the resolution of aninexation just as it is, and they voted for it just
as it is, and their eyes were all open to it. The honorable member who addressed us the other
day from South Carolina, wa;s then Secretary of' State. His correspondence with Mr. Murphy,
the charge d'affaires of the United States in Texas, had been published. That correspondence was
all before those euentlemen, and the Secretary had the boldness and candor to avow in that correspondence that the great object sought by the annexation of Texas was to strengthen the slave interest
of the South.  Why, sir, he said, in so many words- 
Mr. CALHOUN.  Will thle honorable Senator permit me to interrupt him for a moment?
Mr. WEBSTER.  Certainly.
Mr. CALHOUN. I am very reluctant to interrupt the honorable gentleman; but, upon a point of so
much importance, [ deem it right to put myself rectus in curia.  I did not put it upon the ground
assumed by the Senator. I put it upon this ground: that Great Britain had announced to this count




try, in so many words, that her object was to abolish slavery in Texas, and through Texas to accom-,plish the abolishment of slavery in the United States and the world. The ground I put it on was,
that it would make an exposed frontier, and, if Great Britain succeeded in her object, it would be impossible that that frontier could be secured against the aggression of the abolitionists; and that this
Government was bound, under the guaranties of the Constitution, to protect us against such a state
of, things.
Mr. WEBSTER. That comes, I suppose, sir, to exactly the same thing. It was, that Texas must
be obtained for the security of the slave interest of the South.
Mr. CALHOUN. Another view is very distinctly given.
Mr. WEBSTER. That was the object set forth in the correspondence of a worthy gentleman not
now living, who preceded the honorable member from South Carolina in that office. There repose
~on the files of, the Department of State, as I have occasion to know, strong letters from Mr. Upshur
to the United States minister in England, and I believe there are some to the same minister from the
honorable Senator himself, asserting to this effect the sentiments of this Government, that Great
Britain was expected not to interfere to take Texas out of tile hlands of its then existing Government,
and make it a free country.  But my argument, my suggestion is this; that those gentlemen who
composed the Northern Democracy when Texas was brought into the Union, saw, with all their eyes,
that it was brought in as a slave country, and brought in for the purpose of being maintainled as slave
territory to the Greek Kalends. I rather think the honorable gentleman who was then Secretary of
State might, in some of his correspondence with Mr. Murphy, have suggested that it was not expedient to say too much about this object, lest it should create some alarm. At any rate, Mr. Murphy
wrote to him, that England was anxious to get rid of the constitution of Texas, because it was a constitution establishing slavery; and that what the United States had to do, was to aid the people of
Texas in upholding their constitution; but that nothing should be said, which should offend the fanatical men of the North.  But, sir, the honorable memnber did avow this object himself, openly, boldly,
and manfully; he did not disguise his conduct, or his motives.
Mr. CALHOUN. Never, never.
Mr. WEBSTER. What he means he is very apt to say.
Mr. CALHOUN. Always, always.
Mr. WEBSTER. And I honor him for it. This admission of Texas was in 1845. Then, in 1847,
flagrante bello between the United States and XlMexico, the proposition I have mentioned was brought
forward by my friend from Georgia, and the Northern Democracy voted straight ahead against it.
Their remedy was to apply to the acquisitions, after they should come in, the Wilmot proviso. What
follows? These two gentlemen, worthy and honorable and influential men, and if they had not been
they could not have carried the measure, these two gentlemen, members ofthis bodybrought in Texas,
and by their votes they also prevented the passage of the resolution of the honorable member from Georgia, and then they went home and took the lead in the Free-soil party. And there they stand, sir! They
leave us here, bound in honor and conscience by lhe resolutions of annexation, they leave us here, to
take the odium of fulfilling the obligations in ftvor of slavery, which they voted us into, or else the greater
odium of violating those obligations, while they are at horne making capital and rousing speeches for
free-soil and no slavery.  [Laughter.]  And, thereibre, I say, sir, that there is not a chapter in our
history, respecting public measures and public mien, more full of what should create surprise, more
full of what does create, in my mind, extreme mortification, than that of the conduct of this Northern
Democracy.
Mr. President, sometimes, when a man is found in a new relation to things around him and to other
men, he says the world has changed, and that he has not changed. I believe, sir, that our self respect
leads us often to make this declaration in regard to ourselves, when it is not exactly true. An individual is more apt to change, perhaps, than all the world around him. But, under the present circumstances, and under the responsibility which I know I incur by what I am now stating here, I feel at
liberty to recur to the various expressions and statements, made at various times, of my own opinions
and resolutions respecting the admission of Texas, and all that has followed. Sir, as early as 1836, or
in the earlier part of 1837, there was conversation and correspondence between myself and some private friends, on this project of annexing Texas to the United States; and an honorable gentleman
with whom I have had a long acquaintance, a friend of mine, now perhaps in this:chamber, I mean
Gen. Hamilton, of South Carolina, was knowing to that correspondence. 1: Ihad voted: for the recognition of Texan independence, because I believed it was an existing fact, surprising and astonishing as
it was, and I wished well to the new republic: but I manifested from  the first utter opposition to
bringing her, with her territory, into the Union. I had occasion, sir, in 1837, to meet friends in New
York, on some political occasion, and i then stated my sentiments upon the subject. It was the first time
that I had occasion to advert to it; and I will ask a friend near me to do me the favor to read an extract from the speech,' for the Senate may find it rather tedious to listen to the whole of it.: It was delivered in Niblo's Garden in 1837.
Mr. GREENE then read the following extract from  the speech of Mr. Webster, to which he
referred:
"Gentlemen, we all see that, by whomsoever possessed, Texas' is likely to be a slaveholding country; and I frankly avow my entire unwillingness to do anything which shall extend the slavery of the
African race on this continent, or add other slaveholding States to the Union.
"When I say that I regard slaver-y in itself as a great moral, social, and political evil, I only uselanguage whichi has been adopted by distinguished men, themselves citizens of slaveholding States.




9
"I shall do nothing, therefore, to favor or encourage its further extension. We have slavery already
among us. The Constitution found it among us; it recognised it, and gave it solemn guaranties.' To the full extent of these guaranties, we are all bound in honor, in justice, and by the Constitution, All the stipulations contained in the Constitution in favor of the slaveholding States, which are
already in the Union, ought to be fulfilled, and, so far as depends on me, shall be fulfilled in the fulness
of their spirit, antd to the exactness of their letter. Slavery, as it exists in the States, is. beyond' the
reach of Congress.  It is a concern of the States themselves.  They have never submitted it to ~Congress, and Congress has no rightful power over it.
" I shall concur, therefore, in no act, no measure, no menace, no indication of purpose, which shall
interfere or threaten to interfere with the exclusive authority of the several States over the subject of
slavery, as it exists within their respective limits. All this appears to me to be matter of plain and
imperative duty.
" But when we come to speak of admitting new States, the subject assumes an entirely different aspect. Our rights and our duties are then both different.  *  *  *
"I see, therefore, no political necessity for tile annexation of Texas to the Union-no advantages to
be derived from it; and objections to it of a strong, and, in my judgment, of a decisive character."
Mr. WEBSTER. I have nothing, sir, to add to, nor to take from, those sentiments. That speech, the
Senate will perceive, was in 1837. The purpose of immediately annexing Texas at that time was
abandoned or postponed; and it was not revived with any vigor for some years. In the meantime it
had so happened that I had become a member of the Executive Administration, and was for a short period in the Department of State. The annexation of Texas was a subject of conversation, not confidential, with the President and heads of Departments, as well as with other public men. No serious
attempt was then made, however, to bring it about.  I left the Department of State in May, 1843, and
shortly after I learned, though by means which were no way connected with official information, that a
design had been takern up of bringing in Texas, with her slave territory and population, into the United
States. I was in' Washington at the time, and persons are now here who will remember that we had an
arranged meeting for conversation upon it. I went home to Massachusetts and proclaimed the existence
of that purpose, but I could get no audience, and but little attention. Some did not believe it, and some
were too much engaged in their own pursuits to give it any heed. They had gone to their farms, or to
their merchandise, and it was impossible to arouse any sentiments in New England or: in Massachusetts that should combine the two treat political parties against this annexation; and indeed'there was
no hope.of bringing the Northern Democracy into that view, for the leaning was all the other way.
But, sir, even with Whigs, anti leading Whigs, I am ashamed to say, there was a great indifference
towards the admission of Texas with slave territory into this Union. The project went on. I was then
out of Congress. The annexation resolutions passed the 1st of March, 1845; the Legislature of Texas
complied with the conditions and accepted the guaranties; for the phraseology of the languiage of the
resolution is, that Texas is to come in " upon the conditions and under the guaranties herein prescrib-.
ed."  I happened to be returned to the Senate in NMarch, 1845, and was here in December, 1845,;.when'the acceptance by Texas of the conditions proposed by Congret s were laid before us by the President,
and an act for the consummation of the connexion was laid before the two Houses.  The connexion
was then not completed. A final law doing the deed of annexation ultimately had not been passed;
and when it was put upon its final passage here, I expressed my opposition to it, and recorded mny
vote in the negative; and there that vote stands, with the observations that I made upon that occasion.
It has happened that between 1837 and this time, on various occasions and opportunities, I have expressed my entire opposition to the admission of slaves States, or the acquisition of new slave territories, to be added to the United States. I know, sir, no chanoe in my own sentiments or my own purposes in that respect.  I will now again ask my friend from Rhode island to read another extract from
a speech of mine, made at a Whig Convention in Springfield. Massachusetts, in the month of September, 1847.
Mr. GREENE here read'the following extract:
" We hear much just now of a panaceae for the dangers and evils of slavery and slave annexation,
which they call the' TWilmot proviso.'  That certainly is a just sentiment, but it is not a sentiment to
found any new party upon. It is not a sentiment on which LMassachusetts Whigs differ.'There is
not a man in this hall who holds to it more firmly than I do, nor one who adheres to it more than
another.
"I feel some little interest in this matter, sir.  Did not I commit myself in 1837 to the whole doctrine, fully, entirely?  And I must be permitted to say that I cannot quite consent that more recent
discoverers should claim the merit and take out a patent.
" I deny the priority of their invention.  Allow me to say, sir, it is not their thunder."   *    *'" We are to use the first and last and every occasion which offers to oppose the extension of, slave
power.
"But I speak of it here, as in Congress, as a political question, a question for statesmen to act upon.
We must so regard it. I certainly do not mean to say that it is less important in a moral point of
view, that it is not more important in many other points of view; but, as a legislator, or in any official
capacity, I must look at it, consider it, and decide' it as a matter of political action."'Mr. WEBSTER. On other occasions, in debates here, I have expressed my determination to vote'for no acquisition, or cession, or annexation, North or South, East or West. My opinion has been,
that we have territory enough, and that we should follow the Spartan maxim, "improve, adorn what
you have, seek no further." I think that it was in some observations that I made here on the three




10
million loan bill, that I avowed that sentiment. In short, sir, the sentiment has been avowed quite as,often, in as many places, and before as many assemblies, as any humble sentiments of mine ought to
ba avowed.
But now, that, under certain conditions, Texas is in, with all her territories, as a slave State, with
a solemn pledge, also, that if she shall be divided into many States, those States ma come in as slave
States south of 360 30', how are we to deal with this subject? I know no way of honest legislation,
when the proper time comes for the enactment, but to carry into effect all that we have stipulated to do.
I do not entirely agree with my honorable friend from Tennessee, (Mr. BELL,) that, as soon as the time
comes when she is entitled to another representative, we should create a new State. The rule in regard to it I take to be this: that, when we have created new States out of Territories, we have generally gone upon the idea that when there is population enough to form a State, sixty thousand or
some such thing, we would create a State; but it is quite a different thing when a State is divided, and
two or more States made out of it. It does not follow, in such a case, that the same rule of apportionment should be applied. That, however, is a matter for the consideration of Congress, when the proper time arrives. I may not then be here. I may have no vote to give on the occasion, but I wish it
to be distinctly understood, to-day, that, according to my view of the matter, this Government is solemnly pledged, by law and contract, to create new States out of Texas, with her consent, when her
population shall justify such a proceeding, and so far as such States are formed out of Texan territory
lying south of 36~ 30', to let them come in as slave States. That is the meaning of the resolution
which our friends, the Northern Democracy, have left us to fulfil; and I, for one, mean to fulfil it, because I will not violate the faith of the Government. What I mean to say is, that the time for the
admission of new States formed out of Texas, the number of such States, their boundaries, and the
requisite amounts of population, and other things connected with the admission, are in the free discretion of Congress, except this, to wit, that when new States, formed out of Texas, are to be admitted,
they have a right, by legal stipulation and contract, to come in as slave States.
Now, as to California and New Mexico, I hold slavery to be excluded from those Territories by
a law, even superior to that which admits and sanctions it in Texas. I mean the law of nature, of
physical geography, the law of the formation of the earth. That law settles forever, with a stren th
beyond all terms of human enactment, that slavery cannot exist in California or New Mexico.   nderstand me, sir; I mean slavery as we regard it; slaves in gross, of the colored race, transferable by
sale and delivery, like other property. I shall not discuss the point, but leave it to the learned gentlemen who have undertaken to discuss it; but I suppose there is no slave of that description in California
now. I understand that peonism, a sort of penal servitude, exists there, or rather a sort of voluntary
sale of a man and his offspring for debt, as it is arranged and exists in some parts of' California and
Mexico. But what I mean to say is, that African slavery, as we see it among us, is as utterly
impossible to find itself, or to be found in Mexico, as any other natural impossibility. California and
New Mexico are Asiatic, in their formation and scenery. They are composed of vast ridges of mountains of enormous height, with broken ridges and deep valleys. The sides of these mountains are
barren, entirely barren; their tops capped by perrenial snow.  There may be in California, now mnade
free by its constitution, and no doubt there are, some tracts of valuable land. But it is not so in New
Mexico. Pray, what is the evidence which every gentleman must have obtained on this subject, from
information sought by himself, or communicated by others. I have inquired and read all I could find,
in order to obtain information on this important question. What is there in New Mexico that could
by any possibility induce any body to go there with slaves? There are some narrow strips of tillable
land on the borders of the rivers; but the rivers themselves dry up, before midsummer is gone. All that
the people can do in that region, isto raise some little articles, some little wheat for their tortillas, and
all that by irrigation. And who expects to see a hundred black men cultivating tobacco, corn, cotton, rice,
or any thing else, on lands in New Mexico, made fertile only by irrigation? I look upon it, therefore, as
a fixed fact, to use an expression current at this day, that both Calitornia and New Mexico are destined
to be free, so far as they are settled at all, which I believe, especially in regard to New Mexico, will be
very little for a great length of time; free by the arrangement of things by the Power above us. I have
therefore to say, in this respect also, that this country is fixed for freedom, to as many persons as shall
ever live in it by as irrepealable and more irrepealable a law, than the law that attaches to the right of holding slaves in Texas; and I will say further, that if a resolution, or a law, were now before us to provide a
territorial Government for New Mexico, I would not vote to put any prohibition into it whatever. The
use of such a prohibition would be idle, as it respects any effect it would have upon the Territory; and I
would not take pains to re-affirm an ordinance of Nature, nor to re-enact the will of God. And I would
put in no Wilmot proviso for the purpose of a taunt or a reproach. I would put into it no evidence of the
votes of superior power, for no purpose but to wound the pride, even whether ajus: pride, a rational pride,
or an irrational pride, to wound the pride of the gentlemen who belong to Southern States. I have no such
object, no such purpose. They would think it a taunt, an indignity; they would think it to be an act
taking away from  them  what they regard a proper equality of privilege; and whether they expect to realize any benefit from it or not, they would think it a theoretic wrong; that something more
or less derogatory to their character and their rights had taken place. I propose to inflict no such
wound upon any body, unless something essentially important to the country, and efficient to the preservation of liberty and freedom, is to be effected. Therefore, I repeat, sir, and I repeat it because I
wish it to be understood, that I do not propose to address the Senate often on this subject. I desire to
pour out all my heart in as plain a manner as possible; and I say, again, thatif a proposition were now
here for a Government for New Mexico, and it was moved to insert a provision for a prohibition of
slavery, I would not vote for it.




11
Slow, Mr. President, I have established, so far as I proposed to go into any line of observation to:ablish, the proposition with which I set out, and upon which I propose to stand or fall; and that,that the whole territory of tire States in the United States, or in the newly acquired territory of the
fited States, has a fixed and settled character, now fixed and settled by law, which cannot be repealed'the case of Texas without a violation of public faith, and cannot be repealed by any human power
regard to California or New Mexico; that, under one or other of these laws, every foot of territory
the States or in the Territories has now received a fixed and decided character.
Sit, if we were now making a Government for New Mexico, and any body should propose a Witl)t proviso, I should treat it exactly as Mr. Polk treated that provision for excluding slavery from
egon. Mr. Polk was known to be in opinion decidedlyr averse to the Wilmot proviso; but he felt
3 necessity of establishing a government for the Territory of Oregon, and, though the provisoa was
ore, he knew it would be entirely nugatory; and, since it must be entirely nugatory, since it took
ray no right, no describable, no estimable, no weighable or tangible right of the South, he said he
)uld sign the bill for the sake of enacting a law to form a government in that Territory, and let that
tirely useless, and, in that connexion entirely senseless, proviso remain. For myself, I will say
at we hear much of the annexation of Canada; and if there be any man, any of the Northern Demoacy, or any one of the Free-Soil party, who supposes it necessary to insert a Wilmot proviso in a
rritorial government for New Mexico, that man will of course be of opinion that it is necesa.ry to
otect the everlasting snows of Canada from the foot of slavery by the same overspreading wing of an
t of Congress. Sir, wherever there is a particular good to be done; wherever there is a foot of land
be staid back from becoming slave territory, I am ready to assert the principle of the excluston of
kvery.  I am pledged to it from the year 1837; 1 have been pledged to it again and again; aind I will
rform those pledges; but I will not do a thing unnecessary, that wounds the feelings of others, or
at does disgrace to my own understanding.
Mr. President, in the excited times in which we live, there is found to exist a state of crimination
d recrimination between the North and South. There are lists of grievances produced by each; and
ose grievances, real or supposed, alienate the minds of one portion of the country from the other,:asperate the feelings, subdue the sense of firaternal affection, patriotic love and mutual regard.
shall bestow a little attention, sir, upon these various grievances produced on the one side, and on the
her. I begin with the complaints of the South.  I will not answer, further than I have, the general
itements of the honorable Senator from South Carolina, that the North has grown upon the South
consequence of the manner of administering this Government, in the collecting of its revenues, and
forth. These are disputed topics, and I have no inclination to enter into them.  But I will state
ese complaints, especially one complaint of the South, which has in my opinion just foundation;
id that is, that there has been found at the North, among individuals and among the legislators of the
orth, a disinclination to perform, fully, their constitutional duties in regard to the return of persons
bund to service who have escaped into the free States. In that respect, it is my jludment that the
)uth is right, and the North is wrong. Every member of every Northern Legislature is bound by
*th, like every other officer in the country, to support the Constitution of the United States; and this
ticle of the Constitution, which says to these Stlates they shall deliver up fugitives from service, is as
nding in honor and conscience as any other article.  No man fulfils his duty in any Legislature who
ts himselfto find excuses, evasions, escapes from  this constitutional obligation.  I have always
ought that the Constitution addressed itself to the Legislatures of the States themselves, or to the
ates themselves. It says that those persons escaping to other States shall be delivered up, and I.nfess I have always been of the opinion that it was an injunction upon the States themselves. When
is said that a person escaping into another State, and becoming therefore within the jurisdiction of
at State, shall be delivered up, it seems to me the import of the passage is, that the State itself, in,edience to the Constitution, shall cause him to be delivered up. That is my judgment.  I have alays entertained that opinion, and'[ entertain it now.  But when the subject, some years ago, was:fore the Supreme Court of the United States, the majority of the judges held that the power to cause
gitives from secvice to be delivered up was a power to be exercised under the authority of this Govnment. I do not know, on the whole, that it may not have been a fortunate decision. My habit is
respect the result of judicial deliberations and the solemnity of judicial decisions.  But, as it now
ands, the business of seeing that these fugitives are delivered up resides in the power of Congress and
e national judicature, and my friend at the head of the Judiciary Committee has a bill on the subject
)w before the Senate, with some amendments to it, which I propose to support, with all its provions, to the fullest extent. And I desire to call the attention of all sober-minded men, of all conscien)us men, in the North, of all men who are not carried away by any fanatical idea or by any false idea
hatever, to their constitutional obligations. I put it to all the sober and sound minds at the North as
question of morals and a question of conscience. What right have they, in their legislative capacity,
~ any other, to endeavor to get round this Constitution, to embarrass the free exercise of the rights;cured by the Constitution to the persons whose slaves escape from them? None at all,; none at all.
either in the forum of conscience, nor before the face of the Constitution, are they justified, in my
)inion. Of course it is a matter for their consideration. They probably, in the turmoil of the times,
ve not stopped to consider of this; they h yve followed what seeras to be the current of thought and:motives as the occasion arose, and they neglected to investigate fully the real question, and to conder their constitutional obligations; as I am sure, if they did consider, they would fulfil them with
acrity.  Therefore, I repeat, sir, that here is a ground of complaint against the North well founded,'hich ought to be removed, which it is now in the power of the different departments of this Govern



12
ment to remove; which calls for the enactment of proper laws authorizing the judicature of this
ernment, in the several States, to do all that is necessary for the recapture of fugitive slaves, an
the restoration of them to those who claim them. Wherever I go, and whenever I speak on theject, and when I speak here I desire to speak to the whole North, I say that the South has be(
jured in this respect, and has a right to complain; and the North has been too careless of what I
the Constitution peremptorily and emphatically enjoins upon it as a duty.
Complaint has been made against certain resolutions that emanate from Legislatures at the iY
and are sent here to us, not only on the subject of slavery in this District, but sometimes recomn
ing Congress to'consider the means of abolishing slavery in the States.  I should be sorry to lbe
upon to present any resolutions here which could not be referrable to any committee or any pou
Congress; and, therefore, I should be unwilling to receive from the Legislature of Massachusett;
instructions to present resolutions expressive of any opinion whatever on the subject of slavery as
exists at-the present moment in the States, for two reasons: because; first, I do not consider thr
Legislature of Massachusetts has any thing to do with it; and next, I do not consider that I, as her r
sentative here, have any thing to do with it. Sir, it has become, in my opinion, quite too common;
if the Legislatures of the States do not like that opinion, they have a great deal more power to put it d
than I have to uphold it; it has become, in my opinion, quite too common a practice for the State L
latures td piesent resolutions here on all subjects, and to instruct us here on all subjects.  There
public man that requires instruction more than  ( do, or who requires information more than I d
desires it more hcc.rtily; but I do not like to have it come in too imperative a shape.  I took n(
with pleasure, of some remarks upon this subject made'the other day in -the'Senate of Massachu
by a pyoun5 man ci talent and character, of whom the best hopes may be entertained.  I mean
H41arrd.' He told the Senate of Massachusetts that he would vote for no instructions whatever
forw.:. dled to members of Congress, nor for any resolutions to; be'offered, expressive of the sen
Massacthusetts, as tb what her members of Congress ought to do.  He said that he saw no prop
in One set of public servants giving instructions and reading lectures to another set of public serv'T6b theii'own master all of them must stand or thll, and that master is their constituents.' I wish
sentiments could become more common, a great deal more common. I have never enteried int
question, and never shall, about the binding force of instructions.i I will, however, simply say
if there be any matter of interest pending in this body, while I am a member of it, in which' 
chusetts has an interest of her ownf not adverse to the general interests of the country, I shall pt
her instructions with gladness of heart, and with all the efficiency which I can bring to the occa
But if the question be one which affects her interest, and at the same time affects the interests of all,
States, I shall no more regard her political wishes or instructions than I would regard the wishes
man who might appoint me an arbitrator, or referee, to decide some question of important private' 
and who might instruct me to decide in his favor.  If ever there was a Government upon earth, it' i
Government; if ever there was a body upon earth, it is this body, which should consider itse
composed by agreement of all, each member appointed by some, but organized by the general co}
of all, sitting here under the solemn obligations of oath and conscience to do that'which they thiu
be best for the good of the whole.
Then, sir, there are the abolition societies, of which f alm unwilling to speak, but in regard to v~
I have very clear notions and opinions. I do not think them useful.  I think their operations fo
last twenty years have produced nothing good or valuable.  At the same' time, I know thousan
their members are honest and good men; perfectly well meaning men. They have excited feel
they think they must do something for the cause of liberty, and in their sphere of action they d(
seewhat else they can do, than to contribute to an abolition piess, or an abolition society, or to pa
abolition lecturer.  I do not mean to impute gross motives even to the leaders of these societies,;
am not blind to the consequences.  I cannot but see what mischiefs their interference with the S
has produced. And is it not plain to every man? Let any gentleman who doubts of that, rec
the debates in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1832, and he will see'with what freedom a pro
tion made by Mr. Randolph for the gradual abolition of slavery was discussed in that body. E
one spoke of slavery as he thought; very aignorminious and disparaging names and epithets wet,
plied to it. The debates in'the House of Delegate_  on t0 hat occasion, [' believe, were all publis
They were read by every colored man who could read,:and' if there were any who could not i
those debates were read to them by others.  At that time Virginia was not unwilling nor afrai
discuss this question, and to let that part of her population know as much of it as they could Ih
That was in 1832. As has been said by the honorable member from South Carolina, these abol
societies commenceht their course of action in 1835.  Itis said, I do not know how trtue it may be,
they sent incendiary ptiblieations into the slave States; at' any event, they attempted to arouse, ant
arouse, a very strong feeling; in other'words, they created great agitation in the North against Sr
ern slavery.  Well, what was the'result?  The bonds of the slaves were bound more firmly
before; their rivets were more strongly fastened.  Public opinion, which' inwVirginia had begun I
exhibited against slavery, and was opening out for the discussion of the question, drew back and
itself up in its castle.  I wish to know whether any body in Virginia can, now, talk as Mr. Rand(
Gov. McDowell, and others talked there, openly, and sent their remarks to' the press, in 1832?
all know the fact, and we all know the cause; arid every thing that this' agitating people have donem
been, not to enlarge, but to restrain, not to set free, but to bin'd faster'the'slave population of the S(
That is my judgment. Sir, as I have said, I know many aboliti'onists iri my: own neighborhood;
honest, good people, misled, as I think, by strange enthusiasm; but they wish to db0 sometl
and thev are called on to contribute, and they do contribute; and it is my firm opinion this day,




13
the last twenty years as much money has been collected and paid to the abolition societies,
ion presses, and abolition lecturers, as would purchase the fieedom of every slave, man, woman,
iild in the State of Maryland, and send themt all to Liberia.  I have no doubt of it. But I have
learn that the benevolence of these abolition societies has at any time taken that particular turn.
hter.]:in, sir, the violence of the press is complained of. The press violent! Why, sir, the press is
t every where. There are outrageous reproaches in the North against the South, and there:proaches no better in the South against the North.  Sir, the extremists of both parts
country are violent; they mistake loud and violent talk for eloquence and for reason. They
that he who talks loudest reasons best. And this we must expect, when the press is free,
is here, and I trust always will be, for, with all its licentiousness, and all its evil, the
and absolute freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of government on the basis of
constitution. Wherever it exists, there will be foolish paragraphs and violent paragraphs in
ess, as there are, I am sorry to say, foolish speeches and violent speeches in both Houses of
ess. In truth, sir, I must say that, in my opinion, the vernacular tongue of the country has
e greatly vitiated, depraved, and corrupted by the style of our congressional debates. [LaughAnd if it were possible for our debates in Congress to vitiate the principles of the people as
as they have depraved their taste, I should cry out, " God save the Republic!"
11, in all this I see no solid grievance, no grievance presented by the South, within the redress
Government, but the single one to which I have referred; and that is, the want of a proper
to the injunction of the Constitution for the delivery of fugitive slaves.
re are also complaints of the North against the South. I need not go over them particularly.
~st and gravest is, that the North adopted the Constitution, recognising the existence of slavery
States, and recognising the right, to a certain extent, of representation of the slaves in Congress,
a state of sentiment and expectation, which do not now exist; and that, by events, by circum-;, by the eagerness of the South to acquire territory and extend her slave population, the North
self, in regard to the influence of the South and the North, of the free States and the slave States,
it never did expect to find itself when they agreed to the compact of the Constitution. They comherefore, that, instead of slavery being regarded as an evil, as it was then, an evil which all
would be extinguished gradually, it is now regarded by the South as an institution to be chernd preserved, and extended; an institution which the South has already extended to the utF her power by the acquisition of new territory.
I, then, passing from that, every body in the North reads; and every body reads whatsoever
vspapers contain; and the newspapers, some of them, especially those presses to which I
luded, are careful to spread about among the people every reproachful sentiment uttered by
uthern man bearing at all against the North; every thing that is calculated to exasperate,
ate; and there are many such things, as every body will admit, from the South, or some
of it, which are spread abroad among the reading people; and they do exasperate, and
and produce a most mischievous effect upon the public mind at the North. Sir, I would'ice things of this sort appearing in obscure quarters; but one thing has occurred in this
which struck me very forcibly. An honorable member from Louisiana addressed us the
ay on this subject. I suppose there is not a more amiable and worthy gentleman in this
r, nor a gentleman who would be more slow to give offence to any body, and he did not mean
rmarks to give offence.  But what did he say?  Why, sir, he took pains to run a contrast behe slaves of the South and the laboring people of the North, giving the preference in all points
ition, and comfort, and happiness, to the slaves of the South. The honorable member, doubtl not suppose that he gave any offence, or did any injustice.  He was merely expressing his
Bat does he know how remarks of that sort will be received by the laboring people of the
Why, who are the laboring people of' the North.; They are the North. They are the peocultivate their own farms with their own hands; fireeholders, educated men, independentmen.
say, sir, that five-sixths of the whole property of the North is in the hands of the laborers of
th; they cultivate their farms, they educate their children, they provide the means of indee; if they are not freeholders, they earn wages; these wages accumulate, are turned into cap>new freeholds, and small capitalists are created. That is the case, and such the course of
mong the industri,us and frugal.  And what can these people think when so respectable and
a gentleman as the member from Louisiana undertakes to prove that the absolute ignorance and
ct slavery of the South are more in conformity with the high purposes and destiny of immortal,,human beings, than the educated, the independent, free labor of the North?
is a more tangible and irritating cause of grievance at the North.  Free blacks are constantly:d in the vessels of the North, generally as cooks or stewards. When the vessel arrives, at a
a port, these free colored men are taken on shore, by the police or municipal authority, imprind kept in prison, till the vessel is again ready to sail. This is not only irritating, but exceedjustifiable and oppressive. Mr. Hoar's mission, some time ago, to South Carolina, was a,nded effort to remove this cause of complaint. The North thinks such imprisonments illegal
Institutional; as the cases occur constantly, and frequently, they think it a great grievance.
sir, so far as any of these grievances have their foundation in matters of law, they can be reand ought to be redressed; and so far as they have their foundation in matters of opinion, in
It, in mutual crimination and recrimination, all that we can do is to endeavor to allay the
and cultivate a better feeling anti more fraternal sentiments between the South and the North.
resident, I should much prefer to have heard from every member on this floor declarations of




14
opinion that this Union should never be dissolved, than the declaration of opinion that, in any c a
under the pressure of any circumstances, such a dissolution was possible. I heat- with pain, E
anguish, and distress, the word secession, especially when it falls from the lips of those who are e0
nentfy patriotic, and known to the country, and known all over the world, for their political servic
Secession! Peaceable secession! Sir, your eyes and mine are never destined to see that mirac
The dismemberment of this vast country without convulsion! The breaking up of the fountains
the great deep without ruffling the surface! Who is so foolish, I beg every body's pardon, as to
pect to see any such thingP Sir, he who sees these States, now revolving in harmony around a cc
mon centre, and expects to see them quit their places and fly off without convulsion, may look
next hour to see the heavenly bodies rush from their spheres, and jostle against each other in the rea
of space, without causing the crush of the universe. There can be no such thing as a peaceable
cession. Peaceable secession is an utter impossibility. Is the great Constitution under which we
here, covering this whole country, is it to be thawed and melted away by secession, as the snt
on the mountain melt under the influence of a vernal sun? disappear almost unobserved, and die
No; sir! No, sir! I will not state what might produce the disruption of the States; but, sir, I se
as plainly as I see the sun in heaven, I see that disruption must produce such a war as I will
describe, in its twofold character.
Peaceable secession!-peaceable secession! The concurrent agreement of all the members of
great republic to separate! A voluntary separation, with alimony on one side and on the other. W
what would be the result?  Where is the line to be drawn? What States are to secede? What i1
remain American?  What am I to hbe?  An American no longer?  Where is the flag of the repu
to remain? Where is the eagle still to tower? or is he to cower and shrink and fall to the grou
Why, sir, our ancestors-our fathers and our grandfathers, those of them that are yet living amo'
us with prolonged lives, would rebuke and reproach us; and our children and our grandchildren wi
cry out shame upon us, if we, of this generation, should dishonor these ensigns of the power of
Government and the harmony of the Union, which is every day felt among uts with so much joy
gratitude.  What is to beconle of the army?  What is to become of the navy? What is to becom
the public lands? How is each of the thirty States to defend itself? I know, although the idea
not been stated distinctly, there is to be a Southern Confederacy. I do not mean, when I allud
this statement, that any one seriously contemplates such a state of things. I do not mean to say
it is true, but I have heard it suggested elsewhere, that that idea has originated a design to sepa
I am sorry, sir, that it has ever been thought of, talked of, or dreamed of, in the wildest flight
human imagination. But the idea must be of a separation, including the slave States upon one
and the free States on the other. Sir, there is not, I may express myself too strongly, perhaps,
some things, some moral things, are almost as impossible as other natural or physical things; a
hold the idea of a separation of these States, those that are free to form one government and those
are slaveholding to form another, as a moral impossibility. We could not separate the States by
such line, if we were to draw it. We could not sit down here to-day and draw a line of separ;
that would satisfy any five men in the country. There are natural causes that would keep and t
together, and there are social and domestic relations which we could not break if we would, and vw
we should not if we could.' Sir, nobody can look over the face of this country at the present mor
nobody can see where its population is the most dense and growing, without being ready to at
and compelled to admit, that ere long America will be in the valley of the Mississippi.
Well, now, sir, I beg to inquire what the wildest enthusiast has to say on the possibility of cu
off that river and leaving free States at its source, and its branches, and slave States down ne
mouth? Pray, sir; pray, sir, let me say to the people of this country that these things are wort'
their pondering and of their consideration. Here, sir, are five millions of freemen in the free <
north of the river Ohio: can any body suppose that this population can be severed by a line the
vides them from the territory of a foreign and an alien Government, down somewhere, the Lord k
where, upon the lower banks of the Mississippi?  What would become of Missouri? Will sh,
the arrondissement of the slave States? Shall the man from the Yellow Stone and the Platte be
nected, in the new Republic, with the man who lives on the southern extremity of the Cape of Flc
Sir, I am ashamed to pursue this line of remark. I dislike it, I have an utter disgust for it. I X
rather hear of natural blasts and mildews, war, pestilence, and famine, than to hear gentlemen t:
secession. To break up! to break up this great Government, to dismember this great country, to ast
Europe with an act of folly such as Europe for two centuries has never beheld in any Governl
No, sir; no sir! There will be no secession. Gentlemen are not serious when they talk of sece,
Sir, I hear there is to be a Convention held at Nashville. I am bound to believe that if worthy
tlemen meet at Nashville in convention, their object will be to adopt counsels conciliatory, to
the South to forbearance and moderation, and to advise the North to forbearance and moderation
to inculcate principles of brotherly love and affection, and attachment to the Constitution of the co
as it now is. I believe, if the Convention meet at all, it will be for this purpose; for certainly, i.
meet for any purpose hostile to the Union, they have been singularly inappropriate in their sel,
of  place.  I remember, sir, that when the treaty was concluded between France and England,
peace of Amiens, a stern old Englishman and an orator, who disliked the terms of the peace as
minious to England, said in the House of Commons, that if King William could know the tei
that treaty, he would turn in his coffin. Let me commend this saying of Mr. Windham, in all i
phasis and in all its force, to any persons who shall meet at Nashville fbr the purpose of cone
measures for the overthrow of the Union over the bones of Andrew Jackson.
Sir, I wish now to make two remarks, and hasten to a conclusion. I wish to say, in regard to ]




15
that if it should be, hereafter, at any time, the pleasure of the Government of Texas to cede to the
United States a portion, larger or smaller, of her territory which lies adjacent to New Mexico, and
north of 340 of north latitude, to be formed into free States, for a fair equivalent in money or in the
payment of her debt, I think it an object well worthy the consideration of Congress, and I shall be
happy to concur in it myself, if I should be in the public counsels of the country at the time.
I have one other remark to make. In my observations upon slavery as it has existed in the country,
and as it now exists, I have expressed no opinion of the mode of its extinguishment or melioration.
I will say, however, though I have nothing to propose on that subject, because I do not deem myself
so competent as other gentlemen to consider it, that if any gentleman from the South shall propose a
scheme of colonization, to be carried on by this Government upon a large scale, for the transportation
of free colored people to any colony or any place in the world, I should be quite disposed to incur almost any degree of expense to accomplish that object. Nay, sir, following an example set here more
than twenty years ago by a great man, then a Senator from  New York, I would r~turn to Virginia,
and through her for the benefit of the whole South, the money received from the lands and territories
ceded by her to this Government, for any such purpose as to relieve, in whole or in part, or in any
way to diminish or deal beneficially with, the free colored population of the Southern States. I have
said that I honor Virginia for her cession of this territory. There have been received into the treasury
of the United States eighty millions of dollars, the proceeds of the sales of the public lands ceded by
her. If the residue should be sold at the same rate, the whole aggregate will exceed two hundred
millions of dollars. If Virginia and the South see, fit to adopt any proposition to relieve themselves
from the free people of color among them, they have my free consent that the Government shall pay
them any sum of money out of its proceeds, which may be adequate to the purpose.
And now, Mr. President, I draw these observations to a close. I have spoken freely, and I meant
to do so. I have scught to make no display; I have sought to enliven the occasion by no animated
discussion, nor have I attempted any train of elaborate argument. I have wished only to speak my
sentiments, fully and at large, being desirous once and for all to let the Senate know, and to let the
country know, the opinions and sentiments which I entertain on all these subjects. These opinions
are not likely to be suddenly changed. If there be any future service that I can render to the country,
consistently with these sentiments and opinions, I shall cheerfully render it. If there be not, I shall
still be glad to have had an opportunity to disburden my conscience from the bottom of my heart, and
to make known every political sentiment that therein exists.
And now, Mr. President, instead of speaking of the possibility or utility of secession, instead of
Iwelling in these caverns of darkness, instead of groping with those ideas so full of all that is horrid
and horrible, let us come out into the light of (lay; let us enjoy the fresh air of Liberty and Union; let
as cherish those hopes which belong to us; let us devote ourselves to those great objects that are fit'or our consideration and our action; let us raise our conceptions to the magnitude and the importance
)f the duties that devolve upon us; let our comprehension be as broad as the country for which we act,
>ur aspirations as high as its certain destiny; let us not be pigmies in a case that calls for men. Never
lid there devolve on any generation of men higher trusts than now devolve upon us, for the preserva-:ion of this Constitution, and the harmony and peace of all who are destined to live under it. Let us
nake our generation one of the strongest, and the brightest link in that golden chain, which is destined,
[ fondly believe, to grapple the people of all the States to this Constitution, for ages to come. It is a
treat, popular, constitutional Government, guarded by law, and by judicature, and defended by the
whole affections of the people. No monarchial throne presses these States together; no iron:hain of despotic power encircles them; they live and stand upon a Government popular in its form,'epresentative in its character, founded upon principles of equality, and calculated, we hope, to last for-:ver. In all its history it has been beneficent; it has trodden down no man's liberty; it has crushed
to State. Its daily respiration is liberty and patriotism; its yet youthful veins are full of enterprise,;ourage, and honorable love of glory and renown. Large before, the country has now, by recent
vents, become vastly larger. This republic now extends, with a vast breadth, across the whole contitent. The two great seas of the world wash the one and the other shore. We realize, on a mighty
cale, the beautiful description of the ornamental edging of the buckler of Achilles" Now the broad shield complete, the artist crowned
With his last band, and poured the ocean round;
In living silver seemed the waves to roll,
And beat the buckler's verge, and bound the whole."