n, who were on hand in abundance.

Mr. Toombs replied with great dignity and warmth. He said that the
Nebraska bill was a reiteration of the true intent of the compromise
measures of 1850; that whoever opposed the Kansas bill was opposed to
the South. It was a touchstone for fixing party affiliations. It only
carried out the Georgia platform protesting against Congressional
prohibition of slavery in the Territories. He paid high tribute to
Douglas as a patriot and friend to the South. "Whoever condemned
Douglas needed watching himself." Mr. Toombs charged that the
representatives of the Know-nothing party had voted for the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, and now claimed ignorance of its provisions. He
denied that either he or Mr. Stephens had declared that the Kansas bill
was identical with the Utah bill. Mr. Hill insisted that they had said
so. Affirmance and denial became heated, and talk of holding each other
"personally responsible" was indulged in, but pretty soon the debate
went back into the political grooves. Mr. Toombs denied that the bill
was a "Pandora's box of evil," or that its passage was violative of the
good faith of the South. This part of his argument, of course, was
directed to meet Northern criticism. "The North," Mr. Toombs said, "had
tried, by the Wilmot Proviso, to legislate the South out of the right of
equal enjoyment of the Territories. The South had endeavored to take the
question of these rights out of Congress, to establish the doctrine of
non-intervention." This doctrine triumphed in 1850 and, despite the
assertion of his opponent, was reaffirmed in the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
This Act of 1854 was the great measure of justice and equality to the
South.

Mr. Toombs ridiculed the assertion of Millard Fillmore that the repeal
of the Missouri Compromise was a violation of a sacred compact.
"Fillmore," said Mr. Toombs, "is an amiable, clever sort of fellow, not
to be trusted upon the great questions now before the country. He had
withheld action upon the compromise measures of 1850 until his
attorney-general told him that he must sign them."

Someone reminded Toombs that he had supported Fillmore for vice
president in 1848. He replied, "Yes, and I said then, that if Fillmore
was at the head of the ticket, I would not support it." Several persons
in the audience declared that they had heard him say it. "I am glad to
know," said he, "that, since my opponents address you people as if you
had no sense, you, a