expressly
authorizing the people to exclude slavery from the limits of every
Territory, General Cass proposed to Chase, if he (Chase) would add to his
amendment that the people should have the power to introduce or exclude,
they would let it go. This is substantially all of his reply. And because
Chase would not do that, they voted his amendment down. Well, it turns
out, I believe, upon examination, that General Cass took some part in the
little running debate upon that amendment, and then ran away and did not
vote on it at all. Is not that the fact? So confident, as I think, was
General Cass that there was a snake somewhere about, he chose to run away
from the whole thing. This is an inference I draw from the fact that,
though he took part in the debate, his name does not appear in the ayes
and noes. But does Judge Douglas's reply amount to a satisfactory answer?

[Cries of "Yes," "Yes," and "No," "No."]

There is some little difference of opinion here. But I ask attention to
a few more views bearing on the question of whether it amounts to a
satisfactory answer. The men who were determined that that amendment
should not get into the bill, and spoil the place where the Dred Scott
decision was to come in, sought an excuse to get rid of it somewhere.
One of these ways--one of these excuses--was to ask Chase to add to his
proposed amendment a provision that the people might introduce slavery if
they wanted to. They very well knew Chase would do no such thing, that Mr.
Chase was one of the men differing from them on the broad principle of
his insisting that freedom was better than slavery,--a man who would not
consent to enact a law, penned with his own hand, by which he was made to
recognize slavery on the one hand, and liberty on the other, as precisely
equal; and when they insisted on his doing this, they very well knew they
insisted on that which he would not for a moment think of doing, and that
they were only bluffing him. I believe (I have not, since he made his
answer, had a chance to examine the journals or Congressional Globe and
therefore speak from memory)--I believe the state of the bill at that
time, according to parliamentary rules, was such that no member could
propose an additional amendment to Chase's amendment. I rather think this
is the truth,--the Judge shakes his head. Very well. I would like to know,
then, if they wanted Chase's amendment fixed over, why somebody else could
not have offered to do it