say now that there is a sentiment in the country contrary
to me,—a sentiment which holds that slavery
is not wrong, and therefore it goes for the policy
that does not propose dealing with it as a wrong.
That policy is the Democratic policy, and that sentiment
is the Democratic sentiment. If there be a doubt
in the mind of any one of this vast audience that
this is really the central idea of the Democratic
party in relation to this subject, I ask him to bear
with me while I state a few things tending, as I think,
to prove that proposition. In the first place,
the leading man—I think I may do my friend
Judge Douglas the honor of calling him such advocating
the present Democratic policy never himself says it
is wrong. He has the high distinction, so far
as I know, of never having said slavery is either
right or wrong. Almost everybody else says one
or the other, but the Judge never does. If there
be a man in the Democratic party who thinks it is wrong,
and yet clings to that party, I suggest to him, in
the first place, that his leader don’t talk
as he does, for he never says that it is wrong.
In the second place, I suggest to him that if he will
examine the policy proposed to be carried forward,
he will find that he carefully excludes the idea that
there is anything wrong in it. If you will examine
the arguments that are made on it, you will find that
every one carefully excludes the idea that there is
anything wrong in slavery. Perhaps that Democrat
who says he is as much opposed to slavery as I am
will tell me that I am wrong about this. I wish
him to examine his own course in regard to this matter
a moment, and then see if his opinion will not be
changed a little. You say it is wrong; but don’t
you constantly object to anybody else saying so?
Do you not constantly argue that this is not the right
place to oppose it? You say it must not be opposed
in the free States, because slavery is not here; it
must not be opposed in the slave States, because it
is there; it must not be opposed in politics, because
that will make a fuss; it must not be opposed in the
pulpit, because it is not religion. Then where
is the place to oppose it? There is no suitable
place to oppose it. There is no place in the
country to oppose this evil overspreading the continent,
which you say yourself is coming. Frank Blair
and Gratz Brown tried to get up a system of gradual
emancipation in Missouri, had an election in August,
and got beat, and you, Mr. Democrat, threw up your
hat, and hallooed “Hurrah for Democracy!”
So I say, again, that in regard to the arguments that
are made, when Judge Douglas Says he “don’t
care whether slavery is voted up or voted down,”
whether he means that as an individual expression
of sentiment, or only as a sort of statement of his
views on national policy, it is alike true to say that
he can thus argue logically if he don’t see
anything wrong in it; but he cannot say so logically
if he admits that slavery is wrong. He cannot
say that he would as soon see a wrong voted up as