elf cannot stand." He declared the Government had
existed for seventy years divided into free and slave States as
our fathers made it; that at the time the Constitution was framed there
were thirteen States, twelve of which were slave-holding, and one a
free State; that if the doctrine preached by Mr. Lincoln that
all should be free or all slave had prevailed, the twelve would
have overruled the one, and slavery would have been established by
the Constitution on every inch of the Republic, instead of being
left, as our fathers wisely left it, for each State to decide
for itself. He then declared that:

"Uniformity in the local laws and institutions of the different
States is neither possible nor desirable; that if uniformity had
been adopted when the Government was established it must inevitably
have been the uniformity of slavery everywhere, or the uniformity of
negro citizenship and negro equality everywhere. I hold that
humanity and Christianity both require that the negro shall have
and enjoy every right and every privilege and every immunity
consistent with the safety of the society in which he lives.
The question then arises, What rights and privileges are consistent
with the public good? This is a question which each State and each
Territory must decide for itself. Illinois has decided it for
herself."

He then said:

"Now, my friends, if we will only act conscientiously upon this
great principle of popular sovereignty, it guarantees to each State
and Territory the right to do as it pleases on all things local
and domestic; instead of Congress interfering, we will continue at
peace one with another. This doctrine of Mr. Lincoln of uniformity
among the institutions of the different States is a new doctrine
never dreamed of by Washington, Madison, or the framers of the
Government. Mr. Lincoln and his party set themselves up as wiser than
the founders of the Government, which has flourished for seventy
years under the principle of popular sovereignty, recognizing
the right of each State to do as it pleased. Under that principle,
we have grown from a nation of three or four millions to one of
thirty millions of people. We have crossed the mountains and filled
up the whole Northwest, turning the prairies into a garden, and
building up churches and schools, thus spreading civilization
and Christianity where before there was nothing but barbarism.
Under that principle we have become from a feeble nation th