BBECKINBIDGE AND LANE CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS, No. 4. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE EVENING OF MONDAY, JULY 9, 1860. 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY: 
 
 ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEMOCKATIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 1860. 
 
VTSIA1MAO 3D1AJL 
 
 II o a 
 
 
 
 . 
 
Ubimrr 
 
 GEEAT NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC DEMONSTRATION. 
 ... . 
 
 THE PEOPLE BY THOUSANDS RATIFYING THE NOMINATIONS OF' 
 
 BRECKINRIDGE AND LANE. 
 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION AND THE UNION UPHELD. 
 
 
 GRAND AND ENTHUSIASTIC RALLY! 
 
 SPEECH OF PRESIDENT BUCHANAN. 
 
 
 
 Oif the evening of Monday, July 9, 1860, 
 by far the largest, most imposing, and en- 
 thusiastic political demonstration that has 
 been made by any party in Washington City, 
 or perhaps in the country, during the pres- 
 ent campaign, was 1 made in the large square 
 in front and arb'tfrid the City Hall of Wash- 
 ington. The people were out by thousands 
 upon thousands, and from the steps of the 
 Hall to the distant sidewalks opposite, as 
 well as up and down the street, the whole 
 space was filled by an enthusiastic, eager, 
 and determined multitude, anxious to show 
 their devotion to the national cause. The 
 capital, with its congregated masses from 
 all the States, sends greeting to the country. 
 
 So far as the means of estimating the 
 numbers of the crowd, without being upon 
 the platform, enable us to judge, we have no 
 hesitation in saying that TEN THOU- 
 SAND people were gathered in the space 
 devoted to the meeting. The outskirts of 
 tlie multitude were not within hearing dis- 
 tance of the orators ! 
 
 It was a glorious rally of the democracy! 
 
 If the temper of the people elsewhere re- 
 semble that displayed on that night, our 
 noble candidates, Messrs. BRECKINRIDGE and 
 LANE will be elected by the popular vote ! 
 
 This meeting was especially significant in 
 many aspects, well deserving the thoughtful 
 attention of the country. It was presided 
 over by the Mayor of the Metropolis ; its 
 various officers were of the most respectable 
 and leading citizens, chosen from every pro- 
 fession and pursuit of life. In fact, the peo- 
 ple of the District of Columbia have ren- 
 dered the verdict of the "jury of the vicin- 
 age." 
 
 Early in the evening a considerable assem- 
 blage gathered around the speakers' stand, 
 which was tastefully decorated with a full- 
 length portrait of the National Democratic 
 
 nominees on each side, and the American 
 flag floating above. In the rear of the 
 stand, in an elevated position and in con- 
 spicuous letters, the following inscription 
 was visible : 
 
 " THE CONSTITUTION AND THB EQUALITY OF 
 STATES THESE ABE THE SYMBOLS OF EVERLAST- 
 ING UNION. LET THESE BK THE RALLYING CRIES 
 OF THE PEOPLE." BRECKINRIDGE. 
 
 Underneath was " The Sentiment of Our 
 Candidate : the Motto of Our Party!" 
 
 Below the stand was " Equal Protection, 
 to the Citizens of the States." 
 
 Shortly after 8 o'clock the Fifth and Sixth 
 Ward delegations, forming a long proces- 
 sion, with music, banners, and fireworks, 
 approached, and deposited their banners in 
 front of the stand. Among the sentiments 
 inscribed upon the banners were the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 "Union and State rights Breckinridge and 
 Lane." 
 
 "The gallant young orator of Kentucky the 
 young men of the country are for him." 
 
 " Joe Lane. An honest man's the noblest work 
 of God. The true democracy delight to honor 
 Mm." 
 
 ' Non-intervention by Congress or Territorial 
 Legislatures." 
 
 " Democracy is good for all, 
 
 And * Old Abe ' must have a dose next Fall." 
 
 " The Union we love it for the memories of the 
 past; we cling to it for -the blessings of the pros 
 ent," 
 
 Soon after the speaking commenced, the 
 First and Second Ward delegations, with 
 the delegation from Georgetown, with a long 
 line of transparent banners, and preceded 
 by music, joined the assembled multitude, 
 and were received with enthusiastic cheers. 
 The foremost transparency in this proces- 
 sion boi'e the couplet : r- 
 

 " Let millions join the, loud refrain 
 Hurrah for Breckiuridge and Lane ! " 
 
 And other mottoes were 
 
 "No rail party or Union splitters!" 
 
 "Cuba must be ours ! " 
 
 " Iron bands shall soon unite the Atlantic and 
 Pacific ! " 
 
 " General Joe Lane, the Marion of the Mexican 
 war." Cu.Q 
 
 "Joe Lane was fighting the battles of his country 
 in Mexico when Abe Lincoln was voting against 
 supplies for the soldiers ! " 
 
 / f - y 
 
 The following we take at random, with- 
 out undertaking to select the best, and we 
 have not space for all : 
 
 n;Tcr T 
 
 " General Joseph Lane raised the siege at Pue- 
 
 bla!" 
 
 " General Lane, the Marion of the Army! " 
 
 " Breckinridge, the Man of Destiny ! " 
 
 '* State Sovereignty, Honesty, Fair Dealing, 
 
 Good Money, and Low Taxes ! " 
 
 At 8:30 P. M., Mr. William Flinn called 
 the meeting 1 to order, and nominated the 
 Hon. James G-. Berrit, Mayor of Washing- 
 ton, as presiding officer, who was enthusiasti- 
 cally elected to that position. On taking 
 the chair, Col. Berrit made a few appropri- 
 ate remarks, returning thanks to the assem- 
 bled multitude for this inark of their confi- 
 dence. 
 
 The organization was then completed by 
 the choice of the following gentlemen : 
 
 Vice Presidents William T. D.ove, Jonah 
 D. Hoover, William W. Corcoran, John M. 
 Brodhead, W. B. B. Cross, W. D. Davidge, 
 J. C. McGuire, Hugh Caperton, Dr. B. Boh- 
 rer, Alexander Provest, R. W. Carter, W. 
 H. Thomas, T. J. Fisher, Esau Pickrell. Jno. 
 F. Coyle, C. W. C. Dunrdngton.Dr. C. Boyle, 
 T. Hutchinson, Dr. A. W. Miller, Z. D. Oil- 
 man, F. McNerhany, C. S. Wallach, Wm. 
 5>rown, Dr. F. B. Culver 1 , S. Pumphrey, B. 
 Ii. Curran, William E. Spalding, Reuben 
 iry, Joseph Ilamlin, G. E. Jillard, John 
 Pettibonc, J. W. Drane, G. A. Bohrer, G. E. 
 Kirk, and Andrew Coyle. 
 
 Secretaries J. E. Kendall, E. B. Rob- 
 ins, Thos. W. Berry, Wm. J. Donohoo, 
 James Espey, L. F. Clarke, J. M. Stake, J. 
 D. 0: Donnefl, W. G. Hunt, James Maguire, 
 ami Frank Reilly. 
 
 Walter Lenox, ESC&., submitted the follow- 
 ing' resolutions, which were unanimo'usly 
 adopted : 
 
 Resolved by the Democratic citizens of 
 the District of Columbia, That they view 
 with deep anxiety the present distracted con- 
 dition of the country ;' that they 'esteem it to 
 be the duty of every citizen, North and 
 South, to sacrifice his party and personal 
 prejudices, and to unite in one common, earn- 
 est effort to suppress domestic strife, and to 
 
 restore to our beloved land the blessings of 
 peace and tranquillity. 
 
 Resolved, That the principles of the Na- 
 tional Democratic party, agreed to at the 
 National Democratic Convention which as- 
 fcembled at the Maryland Institute, Balti- 
 more, have our most hearty and cordial con- 
 currence. 
 
 Resolved, That we reprobate and condemn 
 the intolerant and' anti-democratic action 
 taken by the Convention at the Front Street 
 Theatre, Baltimore, in excluding the regu- 
 larly elected . delegates from several of the 
 sovereign States of this Union ; that we 
 deem such action revolutionary and disor- 
 ganizing in its character, and as justly de- 
 serving the condemnation of the American 
 democracy. 
 
 Resolved, That we render our special 
 thanks to the members- of the Convention 
 for presenting the names of John C. Breck- 
 inridge, of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane, of 
 Oregon, for the offices of President and Vice- 
 President citizens worthy not only of their 
 party, but of their country. Ripe in coun- 
 cil, earnest, in action, disciplined in the 
 school of life by its stern realities, clear in 
 their robes of office, they stand forth proud 
 exemplars of the nobility of American citi- 
 zens-Jiip. In their lives and characters we 
 have the highest .guarantees that under their 
 guidance the honor of the country would be 
 maintained abroad, its prosperity and peace 
 upheld 'at home. 
 
 Resolved, That we sternly condemn the 
 doctrines and purposes of the political party 
 known as the Black Republican. We re- 
 gard them as subversive of the Constitution, 
 the rights of the slaveholding States, and 
 this District. Of necessity, they foment 
 strife between the North and the South, in- 
 terrupt the peaceful flow of their business 
 intercourse, and if persisted in, directly or 
 indirectly, must endanger the perpetuity of 
 the Union, bringing not only dishonor upon 
 the American name, but untold calamities 
 upon our country. To repel such a foe from 
 the citadel of the " Constitution," to pre- 
 serve the "Union" of pur Fathers, and, as 
 we trust, pf our children's children, let us 
 all, citizens by birth or adoption, stand 
 pledged heart with heart, hand in hand. 
 
 Resolved, That, both as fellow-democrats 
 and as citizens and neighbors, it is a most 
 pleasing and grateful duty to express our 
 high estimation of the ability and integrity 
 with which our Government has been ad- 
 ministered by our venerable ajid experienced 
 President, JAMES BUCHANAN. We approve 
 the policy of his administration, and we be- 
 lieve that his maligners and traducers will 
 only be saved from oblivion, if saved at all, 
 by the record of their infamous assaults or. 
 his personal character and public adminis- 
 tration. 
 
The meeting was then addressed by James 
 M. Carlisle, Esq., a distinguished member 
 of the Washington bar, the Hon. A. B. Meek, 
 of Mobile, Ala., Hon. Isaac I. Stevens, of 
 Washington Territory, Hon. A. O. Brown, 
 .and Hon. Jefferson Davis, U. S. Senators from 
 Mississippi, and the Hon. Thomas B. Flo- 
 rence, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Numerous 'letters were received from dis- 
 tinguished gentlemen, regretting their in- 
 ability to attend. Amongst them one from 
 a, distinguished Statesman of the Empire 
 State, as follows : 
 
 " BINGHAMTON, July 6, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : I am duly honored by 
 your favor of the 3d, inviting me to attend 
 and address a democratic meeting at Wash- 
 ington on the 9th, called to ratify the nomi- 
 nations of Breckinridge and Lane by the Na- 
 tional Democratic Convention at Baltimore. 
 I thank you for your courteous invitation, 
 and regret that circumstances prevent its 
 acceptance, for I have some things to say to 
 the whole people of this Union, and I would 
 prefer to say them at the national capital. 
 But I am engaged, if I can leave home, to 
 speak in New York city on the 10th, and 
 oannot consistently visit both places now. 
 
 I shall support the nomination of Breck- 
 inridge and Lane not only because I regard 
 them as personally and politically worthy, 
 but because their nomination emanates from 
 States which can give democratic votes in 
 the electoral college, and because they are, 
 therefore, representatives of democracy and 
 its principles. 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 " D. S. DICKINSON." 
 
 HON. ISAAC I. STEVENS, Chairman Com- 
 mittee, &c. 
 
 The vast assemblage then gave three en- 
 thusiastic cheers for the nominees, and ad- 
 journed to the Executive Mansion to pay 
 their respects to the Chief Magistrate of the 
 nation. On arriving there, the baud per- 
 formed some spirit-stirring airs, when the 
 President appeared, and spoke as follows : 
 
 FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS : I thank 
 you from my heart for the honor of this visit. 
 I cordially congratulate you on the prefer- 
 ence which you have expressed for Major 
 Breckinridge and General Lane as candi- 
 dates for the presidency and vice-presidency 
 of the United States over all competitors. 
 [Applause.] They are men whose names 
 are known to the country ; they need no 
 eulogy from me. They have served their 
 country in peace and in war. They are 
 statesmen as well as soldiers, and in the day 
 and hour of danger they will ever be at their 
 post. They are conservative men; and in 
 the course of their administration they will 
 be equally just to the North and to the South, 
 to the East and to the West. [Applause.] 
 
 Above all, and first of all, they are friends 
 of the Constitution and of the Union, 
 [cheers,] and they will stand by them to the 
 death. [Renewed cheers.] But we ought 
 not to forget that they are also friends to the 
 equality of the sovereign States of this Union 
 in the common Territories of the country. 
 [Cries of " Good !"] They will maintain that 
 principle, which should receive the cordial 
 approbation of us all. Equality is equity. 
 Every citizen of the United States is equal 
 before the Constitution and the Laws ; and 
 why should not the equality of the sovereign 
 States composing this Union be held in like 
 reverence ? This is good democratic doc- 
 trine. Liberty and equality are the birth- 
 right of every American citizen ; and just as 
 certainly as the day succeeds the night, so 
 certainly will this principle of democratic jus- 
 tice eventually prevail over all opposition. 
 [Cheers.] But, before I speak further upon 
 this subject- and I shall not detain you very 
 long I wish to remove one stumbling-block 
 out of the way. 
 
 I have ever been the friend of regular no- 
 minations. I have never struck a political 
 ticket*in my life. Now, was there anything 
 done at Baltimore to bind the political con- 
 science of any sound democrat, or to prevent 
 him from supporting Breckinridge or Lane ? 
 [" No ! no !"] I was contemporary with the 
 abandonment of the old Congressional conven- 
 tion or caucus. This occurred a long time 
 ago; very few, if any, of you remember it. 
 Under the old Congressional convention sys- 
 tem, no person was admitted to a seat ex- 
 cept the democratic members of the Senate 
 and House of Representatives. This rule 
 rendered it absolutely certain that the nomi- 
 nee, whoever he might be, would be sus- 
 tained at the election by the democratic 
 States of the Union. By this means it was 
 rendered impossible that those States which 
 could not give an electoral vote for the can- 
 didate when nominated, should control the 
 nomination and dicta'te to the democratic 
 States who should be their nominee. 
 
 This system was abandoned whether 
 wisely or not, I shall express no opinion. 
 The National Convention was substituted in 
 its stead. All the States, whether demo- 
 cratic or not, were equally to send delegates 
 to this Convention according to the number 
 of their senators and representatives in 
 Congress. 
 
 A difficulty at once arose which never 
 could have arisen under the Congressional 
 convention system. If a bare majority of 
 the National Convention thus composed could 
 nominate a candidate, he might be nomi- 
 nated mainly by the anti-democratic States 
 against the will of a large majority of the 
 democratic States. Thus the nominating 
 power would be separated from the electing 
 
6 
 
 power, which could not fail to be destructive 
 to the strength and harmony of the demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 To obviate this serious difficulty in the 
 organization of a National Convention, and 
 at the same time to leave all the States their 
 full vote, the two-thirds rule was adopted. 
 It was believed that under this rule no can- 
 didate could ever be nominated without era- 
 bracing within the two-thirds the votes of a 
 decided majority of the democratic States. 
 This was the substitute adopted to retain, at 
 least in a great degree, the power to the de- 
 mocratic States which they would have lost 
 by abandoning the congressional convention 
 system. This rule was a main pillar in the 
 edifice of national conventions. Remove it 
 and the whole must become a ruin. This 
 sustaining pillar was broken to pieces at 
 Baltimore by the Convention which nomi- 
 nated Mr. Douglas. After this the body 
 was no longer a national convention ; and 
 no democrat, however devoted to regular 
 nominations, was bound to give the nominee 
 his support ; he was left free to act according 
 to the dictates of his own judgment and con- 
 science. And here, in passing, I may ob- 
 serve that the wisdom of the two-thirds rule 
 is justified by the events passing around us. 
 Had it been faithfully observed no candi- 
 date could have been nominated against the 
 will and wishes of almost every certain demo- 
 cratic State in the Union, against nearly 
 all the democratic senators, and more than 
 three-fourths of the democratic representatives 
 in Congress. [Cheers.] 
 
 I purposely avoid entering upon any dis- 
 cussion respecting the exclusion from the 
 Convention of regularly-elected delegates 
 from different democratic States. If the 
 Convention, which nominated Mr. Douglas, 
 was not a regular democratic Convention, it 
 must be confessed that Breckinridge is in 
 the same condition in that respect. The 
 Convention that nominated him, although it 
 was composed of nearly all the certain de- 
 mocratic States, did not contain the two- 
 thirds ; and therefore every democrat is at 
 perfect liberty to vote as he thinks proper, 
 without running counter to any regular no- 
 mination of the party. [Applause and cries 
 of " three cheers for Breckinridge and 
 Lane."] Holding this position, I shall pre- 
 sent some of the reasons why I prefer Mr. 
 Breckinridge to Mr. Douglas. This I shall 
 do without attempting to interfere with any 
 individual democrat or any State demo- 
 cratic organization holding different opinions 
 from myself. The main object of all good 
 democrats, whether belonging to the ono 
 or the other wing of our unfortunate divi- 
 sion, is to defeat the election of the republi- 
 can candidates ; and I shall never oppose 
 any honest and honorable course calculated 
 to accomplish this object. 
 
 To return to the point from which I have 
 digressed, I am in favor of Mr. Breckin- 
 ridge, because he sanctions and sustains the 
 perfect equality of all the States within their 
 common territories, and the opinion of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States estab- 
 lishing this equality. The sovereign States 
 of this Union are one vast partnership. The 
 Territories were acquired by the common 
 blood and common treasure of them all. 
 Each State, and each citizen of each State, 
 has the same right in the Territories as any 
 other State and the citizens of any other 
 State possess. Now what is sought for at 
 present is, that a portion of these States 
 should turn around to their sister States and 
 say, "We are holier than you are, and while 
 we will take our property to the Territories 
 and have it protected there, you shall not 
 place your property in the same position." 
 That is precisely what is contended for. 
 What the democratic party maintain, and 
 what is the true principle of democracy is, that 
 all shall enjoy the same rights, and that all 
 shall be subject to the same duties. Pro- 
 perty this Government was framed for the 
 protection of life, liberty, and property. 
 They are the objects for the protection of 
 which all enlightened governments were 
 established. But it is sought now to place 
 the property of the citizen, under what is 
 called the principle of squatter sovereignty, 
 in the power of the territorial legislature to 
 confiscate it at their will and pleasure. That 
 is the principle sought to be established at 
 present ; and there seems to be an entire 
 mistake and misunderstanding among a por- 
 tion of the public upon this subject. When 
 was property ever submitted to the will of 
 the majority? ["Never."] If you hold 
 property as an individual, you hold it inde- 
 pendent of Congress or of the State legisla- 
 ture, or of the territorial legislature it is 
 yours, and your Constitution was made to 
 protect your private property against the 
 assaults of legislative power. [Cheers.] 
 Well, now, any set of principles which will 
 deprive you of your property, is against the 
 very essence of republican government, and 
 to that extent makes you a slave ; for the 
 man who has power over your property to 
 confiscate it, has power over your means of 
 subsistence ; and yet it is contended, that 
 although the Constitution of the United States 
 confers no such power although no State 
 legislature has any such power, yet a terri- 
 torial legislature, in the remote extremities 
 of the country, can confiscate your property! 
 
 [A VOICE. " They can't do it; they ain't 
 going to do it."] 
 
 There is but one mode, and one alone, to 
 abolish slavery in the Territories. That 
 mode is pointed out in the Cincinnati plat- 
 form, which has been as much misrepre- 
 sented as anything I have ever known. 
 
That platform declares that a majority of 
 the actual residents in a Territory, when- 
 over their number is. sufficient to entitle 
 them to admission as a State, possess the 
 power to "form a constitution with or with- 
 out domestic slavery, to be admitted into 
 the Union upon terms of perfect equality 
 with the other States/' If there be squatter 
 sovereignty in this resolution I have never 
 been able to perceive it. If there be any 
 reference in it to a Territorial legislature it 
 has entirely escaped my notice. It pre- 
 sents the clear principle that, at the time 
 the people form their constitution, they shall 
 then decide whether they will have slavery 
 or not. And yet it has been stated over 
 and over again that, in accepting the nomi- 
 nation under that platform, I endorsed the 
 doctrine of squatter sovereignty. I suppose 
 you have all heard this repeated a thousand 
 times. 
 
 [A VOICE. " We all knew it was a lie !"] 
 
 Well, I am glad you did. 
 
 How beautifully this plain principle of 
 constitutional law corresponds with the best 
 interests of the people! Under it, emigrants 
 from the North and the South, from the 
 East and the West proceed to the Territo- 
 ries. They carry with them that property 
 which they suppose will best promote their 
 material interests ; they live together in 
 peace and harmony. The question of sla- 
 very will become a*foregone conclusion be- 
 fore they have inhabitants enough to enter 
 the Union as a State. There will then be 
 no " bleeding Kansas " in the Territories ; 
 they will all live together in peace and 
 harmony, promoting the prosperity of the 
 Territory and their own prosperity, until 
 the time shall arrive when it becomes neces- 
 sary to frame a constitution. Then the 
 whole question -will be decided to the gene- 
 ral satisfaction. But, upon the opposite 
 principle, what will you find in the Terri- 
 tories ? Why, there will be strife and con- 
 tention all the time. One Territorial legis- 
 lature may establish slavery and another 
 Territorial legislature may abolish it, and 
 so the struggle will be continued through- 
 out the ^Territorial existence. The people, 
 instead of devoting their energies and in- 
 dustry to promote their own prosperity, will 
 be in a state of constant strife and turmoil, 
 just as we have witnessed in Kansas. 
 Therefore, there is no possible principle 
 that can be so injurious to the best interests 
 of a Territory as what has been called 
 squatter sovereignty. 
 
 Now, let me place the subject before you 
 in another point of view. The people of 
 the Southern States can never abandon this 
 great principle of State equality in the 
 Union without self-degradation. [" Never !"] 
 Never without an acknowledgment that 
 they are inferior in this respect to their 
 
 sister States. Whilst it is vital to them to 
 preserve their equality, the Northern States 
 surrender nothing by admitting this princi 
 pie. In doing this they only yield obedi- 
 ence to the Constitution of their country as 
 expounded by the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. While for the North it is 
 comparatively a mere abstraction, with the 
 South it is a question of co-equal State 
 sovereignty in the Union. 
 
 If the decrees of the high tribunal es- 
 tablished by the Constitution for the very 
 purposes are to be set at naught and dis- 
 regarded, it will tend to render all property 
 of every description insecure. What, then, 
 have the North to do ? Merely to say that, 
 as good citizens, they will yield obedience 
 to the decision of the Supreme Court, and 
 admit the right of a Southern man to take 
 his property into the Territories, and hold 
 it there, just as a Northern man njay do ; 
 and it is to me the most extraordinary 
 thing in the world that this country should 
 now be distracted and divided because cer- 
 tain persons at the North will not agree 
 that their brethren at the South shall have 
 the same rights in the Territories which 
 they enjoy. What would I, as a Pennsyl- 
 vanian, say or do, supposing anybody was 
 to contend that the legislature of any .Ter- 
 ritory could outlaw iron and coal within the 
 Territory ? [Laughter and cheers.] The 
 principle is precisely the same. The Su- 
 preme Court of the United States have de- 
 cided what was known to us all to have 
 been the existing State of aifairs for fifty 
 years that slaves are property. Admit 
 that fact, and you admit everything. Then 
 that property in the Territories must be 
 protected precisely in the same manner 
 with any other property. If it be not so 
 protected in the Territories, the holders of 
 it are degraded before the world. 
 
 We have been told that non-intervention 
 on the part of Congress with slavery in the 
 Territories is the true policy. Very well. 
 I most cheerfully admit that Congress has 
 no right to pass any law to establish, impair 
 or abolish slavery in the Territories. Let 
 this principle or non-intervention be ex- 
 tended to the Territorial legislatures, and let 
 it be declared that they in like manner have 
 no power to establish, impair or destroy 
 slavery, and then the controversy is in ef- 
 fect ended. This is all that is required at 
 present, and I verily believe all that will 
 ever be required. Hands off by Congress 
 and hands off by the Territorial legislature. 
 [Loud applause.] With the Supreme Court 
 of the United States I hold that neither 
 Congress nor the Territorial legislature has 
 any power to establish, impair, or abolish 
 slavery in the Territories. But if, in the 
 face of this positive prohibition, the Terri- 
 torial legislature should exercise the power 
 
8 
 
 of intervening, then this would be a mere 
 transfer of the Wilmot proviso and the 
 Buffalo platform from Congress, to be car* 
 ried into execution in the Territories to the 
 destruction of all property in slaves. [Re- 
 newed applause.] 
 
 An attempt of this kind, if made in Con- 
 gress, would be resisted by able men on the 
 floor of both houses, and probably defeated. 
 Not so in a remote Territory. To every 
 new Territory there will be a rush of free- 
 soilers from the Northern States. They 
 would elect the first Territorial legislature 
 before the people of the South could arrive 
 with their property, and this legislature 
 would probably settle forever the question 
 of slavery according to their own will. 
 
 And shall we for the sake of squatter 
 sovereignty, which, from its nature, can 
 only continue during the brief period of 
 Territorial existence, incur the risk of di- 
 viding the great Democratic party of the 
 country into two sectional parties, the one 
 North and the other South? Shall this 
 great party which has governed the country 
 in peace and war, which has raised it from 
 humble beginnings to be one of the most 
 prosperous arid powerful nations in the 
 world shall this party be broken up for 
 such a cause ? That is the question. The 
 numerous, powerful, pious and respectable 
 Methodist Church has been thus divided. 
 Tb,e division was a severe shock to the 
 Union. A similar division of the great 
 Democratic party, should it continue, would 
 rend asunder one of the most powerful links 
 which binds the Union together. 
 
 I entertain no such fearful apprehensions. 
 The present issue is transitory, and will 
 speedily pass away. In the nature of things 
 it cannot continue. There is but one pos- 
 sible contingency which can endanger the 
 Union, and against this all Democrats, 
 whether squatter sovereigns or popular 
 sovereigns, will present a united resistance. 
 Should the time ever arrive when Northern 
 agitation and fanaticism shall proceed so far 
 as to render the domestic firesides of the? 
 South insecure, then and not till then will 
 the Union be in danger. A united North- 
 
 ern Democracy will present a wall of firo 
 against such a catastrophe ! 
 
 There are in our midst numerous persons- 
 who predict the dissolution of the great 
 Democratic party, and others who contend 
 that it has already been dissolved. Th ; 
 wish is father to the thought. It has been 
 heretofore in great peril ; but when divided! 
 for the moment, it has always closed up its 
 ranks and become more powerful, even 
 from defeat. It will never die whilst the 
 Constitution and the Union survive. It will 
 live to protect and defend both. It has its 
 roots in the very vitals of the Constitution, 
 and, like one of the ancient cedars of Leba- 
 non, it will flourish to afford shelter and 
 protection to that sacred instrument, and to 
 shield it against every storm of faction. 
 [Renewed applause.] 
 
 Now, friends and fellow-citizens, it is pro- 
 bable that this is the last political speech 
 that I shall ever make. [A voice, " "We 
 hope not !"] It is now nearly forty years 
 since I first came to Washington as a mem- 
 ber of Congress, and I wish to say this 
 night, that during that whole period I have 
 received nothing but kindness and attention 
 from your fathers and from yourselves. 
 Washington was then comparatively a small 
 towfl ; now it has grown to be a great and 
 beautiful city ; and the first wish of my 
 heart is that its citizens may enjoy uninter- 
 rupted health and prosperity. I thank you 
 for the kind attention you have paid to me, 
 and now bid you all a good night. [Pro- 
 longed cheering.] 
 
 The Hon. Howell Cobb being loudly 
 called for, responded in a few brief remarks, 
 cordially endorsing the nominations of 
 Breckinridge and Lane. 
 
 The immense procession then moved to 
 the residence of our candidate for the Pre- 
 sidency, the Hon. John C. Breckinridge, 
 and serenaded him, which compliment was 
 appropriately acknowledged by him. 
 
 Thus closed one of the most enthusiastic 
 demonstrations of the Democracy that has 
 ever been witnessed in the Federal Metro- 
 polis.