for sale, "large enough for any man, small enough for any boy."
They therefore had taken a position calculated to break down their single
important declared object. They were working for the election of either
Gen. Cass or Gen. Taylor. The speaker then went on to show, clearly and
eloquently, the danger of extension of slavery, likely to result from the
election of Gen. Cass. To unite with those who annexed the new territory
to prevent the extension of slavery in that territory seemed to him to
be in the highest degree absurd and ridiculous. Suppose these gentlemen
succeed in electing Mr. Van Buren, they had no specific means to prevent
the extension of slavery to New Mexico and California, and Gen. Taylor, he
confidently believed, would not encourage it, and would not prohibit its
restriction. But if Gen. Cass was elected, he felt certain that the plans
of farther extension of territory would be encouraged, and those of the
extension of slavery would meet no check. The "Free Soil" mart in claiming
that name indirectly attempts a deception, by implying that Whigs were
not Free Soil men. Declaring that they would "do their duty and leave the
consequences to God" merely gave an excuse for taking a course they were
not able to maintain by a fair and full argument. To make this declaration
did not show what their duty was. If it did we should have no use for
judgment, we might as well be made without intellect; and when divine or
human law does not clearly point out what is our duty, we have no means of
finding out what it is but by using our most intelligent judgment of the
consequences. If there were divine law or human law for voting for Martin
Van Buren, or if a fair examination of the consequences and just reasoning
would show that voting for him would bring about the ends they pretended
to wish--then he would give up the argument. But since there was no fixed
law on the subject, and since the whole probable result of their action
would be an assistance in electing Gen. Cass, he must say that they were
behind the Whigs in their advocacy of the freedom of the soil.

Mr. Lincoln proceeded to rally the Buffalo convention for forbearing to
say anything--after all the previous declarations of those members who
were formerly Whigs--on the subject of the Mexican War, because the Van
Burens had been known to have supported it. He declared that of all the
parties asking the confidence of the country, this new one had less of
pri