Ebook Speech of Hon. Joseph Lane, of Oregon, on the Report of the Peace Conference

But, sir, to go to the votes. It will be borne in mind, and every Senator on this ?oor will hear me out in m. Statement, that while the Davis resolutions — the series of whio I speak — were up, various prepositions were made to amend them, and I voted against all amendments. There are Senators here at this moment who will sustain me when I say that, when in caucus and we had under consideration this series of resolutions, I said, and said it boldly and in lain terms, that if every man from every southern State of this Union would come here and say, for the sake of peace, if you please, or any other reason, he was willing to aban don his equality, his right in the common territory, then, if alone, I would stand and protest against it; protest that he had no right to surrender a constitutional right; that none but a coward would do it; that every man had a right in the common territory; that it was his privilege, and he should never surrender it with my permission. On the other hand, I said that if every northern man in the Senate Chamber — nay, but even every northern citi zen — expressed a desire to surrender his right, his equality, his privilege, to go to the common territories with his roperty, I should enter my Solemn protest against it, and insist tiat he had a constitutional right to go there which he should never surren der with my consent. Then, how any man could assert that I ever entertained the opinion that slavery did not need protection from ag ression, is to me the stran est, i'alsest thingin nature. I said, as have shown you, thati rad voted awainst all amend ments, and would continue to vote against ali amendments, or any attempt whatsoever calculated to obstruct the mesage of the resolutions; for they asserted the right of the peopie to go to the Territories, asserted the power of the court to protect them in the possession of their property, and that it' the court failed to pro teet them, Congress should afford the necessary authority to do so.