he could answer me more fully if he answered me at greater
length. I will therefore put in as my answer to the resolutions that he
has hunted up against me, what I, as a lawyer, would call a good plea to a
bad declaration. I understand that it is an axiom of law that a poor plea
may be a good plea to a bad declaration. I think that the opinions the
Judge brings from those who support me, yet differ from me, is a bad
declaration against me; but if I can bring the same things against him, I
am putting in a good plea to that kind of declaration, and now I propose
to try it.

At Freeport, Judge Douglas occupied a large part of his time in producing
resolutions and documents of various sorts, as I understood, to make me
somehow responsible for them; and I propose now doing a little of the
same sort of thing for him. In 1850 a very clever gentleman by the name
of Thompson Campbell, a personal friend of Judge Douglas and myself, a
political friend of Judge Douglas and opponent of mine, was a candidate
for Congress in the Galena District. He was interrogated as to his views
on this same slavery question. I have here before me the interrogatories,
and Campbell's answers to them--I will read them:

INTERROGATORIES:

"1st. Will you, if elected, vote for and cordially support a bill
prohibiting slavery in the Territories of the United States?

"2d. Will you vote for and support a bill abolishing slavery in the
District of Columbia?

"3d. Will you oppose the admission of any Slave States which may be formed
out of Texas or the Territories?

"4th. Will you vote for and advocate the repeal of the Fugitive Slave law
passed at the recent session of Congress?

"5th. Will you advocate and vote for the election of a Speaker of the
House of Representatives who shall be willing to organize the committees
of that House so as to give the Free States their just influence in the
business of legislation?

"6th. What are your views, not only as to the constitutional right of
Congress to prohibit the slave-trade between the States, but also as to
the expediency of exercising that right immediately?"

CAMPBELL'S REPLY.

"To the first and second interrogatories, I answer unequivocally in the
affirmative.

"To the third interrogatory I reply, that I am opposed to the admission of
any more Slave States into the Union, that may be formed out of Texas or
any other Territory.

"To the fourth and fifth interrogatories I unhesitat