If any man at this day sincerely believes that the proper division of local from Federal authority, or any part of the Constitution, forbids the Federal Government to control as to slavery in the Federal Territories, he is right to say so, and to enforce his position by all truthful evidence and fair argument he can.  But he has no right to mislead others who have less access to history, and less leisure to study it, into the false belief that “our fathers who framed the government under which we live” were of the same opinion—­thus substituting falsehood and deception for truthful evidence and fair argument.  If any man at this day sincerely believes “our fathers who framed the government under which we live” used and applied principles, in other cases, which ought to have led them to understand that a proper division of local from Federal authority, or some part of the Constitution, forbids the Federal Government to control as to slavery in the Federal Territories, he is right to say so.  But he should, at the same time, have the responsibility of declaring that, in his opinion, he understands their principles better than they did themselves; and especially should he not shirk the responsibility by asserting that they understood the question just as well and even better than we do now.

But enough!  Let all who believe that “our fathers who framed the government under which we live understood this question just as well, and even better than we do now,” speak as they spoke, and act as they acted upon it.  This is all Republicans ask, all Republicans desire, in relation to slavery.  As those fathers marked it, so let it again be marked, as an evil not to be extended, but to be tolerated and protected only because of and so far as its actual presence among us makes that toleration and protection a necessity.  Let all the guaranties those fathers gave it be not grudgingly, but fully and fairly maintained.  For this Republicans contend, and with this, so far as I know or believe, they will be content.

And now, if they would listen,—­as I suppose they will not,—­I would address a few words to the Southern people.

I would say to them:  You consider yourselves a reasonable and a just people; and I consider that in the general qualities of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other people.  Still, when you speak of us Republicans, you do so only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best, as no better than outlaws.  You will grant a hearing to pirates or murderers, but nothing like it to “Black Republicans.”  In all your contentions with one another, each of you deems an unconditional condemnation of “Black Republicanism” as the first thing to be attended to.  Indeed, such condemnation of us seems to be an indispensable prerequisite—­license, so to speak—­among you to be admitted or permitted to speak at all.  Now, can you or not be prevailed upon to pause and to consider whether this is quite just to us, or even to yourselves?  Bring forward your charges and specifications, and then be patient long enough to hear us deny or justify.