intimation of a Conspiracy between Douglas, Pierce, Buchanan, and Taney
for the passage of the Nebraska Bill, the rendition of the Dred Scott
decision, and the extension of Slavery, but proceeded to dilate on the
"uniformity" issue between himself and Mr. Lincoln, in much the same
strain as before, tersely summing up with the statement that "there is a
distinct issue of principles--principles irreconcilable--between Mr.
Lincoln and myself. He goes for consolidation and uniformity in our
Government. I go for maintaining the Confederation of the Sovereign
States under the Constitution, as our fathers made it, leaving each
State at liberty to manage its own affairs and own internal
institutions."

He then ridiculed, at considerable length, Mr. Lincoln's proposed
methods of securing a reversal by the United States Supreme Court of the
Dred Scott decision--especially that of an "appeal to the People to
elect a President who will appoint judges who will reverse the Dred
Scott decision," which he characterized as "a proposition to make that
Court the corrupt, unscrupulous tool of a political party," and asked,
"when we refuse to abide by Judicial decisions, what protection is there
left for life and property? To whom shall you appeal? To mob law, to
partisan caucuses, to town meetings, to revolution? Where is the remedy
when you refuse obedience to the constituted authorities?" In other
respects the speech was largely a repetition of his Bloomington speech.

Mr. Lincoln in his speech, the same night, at Springfield, opened by
contrasting the disadvantages under which, by reason of an unfair
apportionment of State Legislative representation and otherwise, the
Republicans of Illinois labored in this fight. Among other
disadvantages--whereby he said the Republicans were forced "to fight
this battle upon principle and upon principle alone"--were those which
he said arose "out of the relative positions of the two persons who
stand before the State as candidates for the Senate."

Said he: "Senator Douglas is of world-wide renown. All the anxious
politicians of his Party, or who have been of his Party for years past,
have been looking upon him as certainly, at no distant day, to be the
President of the United States. They have seen in his round, jolly,
fruitful face, Post-offices, Land-offices, Marshalships, and Cabinet
appointments, Chargeships and Foreign Missions, bursting and sprouting
out in wonderful exuberance, rea