ortant declared
object. They were working for the election of either General Cass or
General Taylor. The speaker then went on to show, clearly and
eloquently, the danger of extension of slavery likely to result from the
election of General Cass. To unite with those who annexed the new
territory, to prevent the extension of slavery in that territory, seemed
to him to be in the highest degree absurd and ridiculous. Suppose these
gentlemen succeed in electing Mr. Van Buren, they had no specific means
to _prevent_ the extension of slavery to New Mexico and California;
and General Taylor, he confidently believed, would not encourage it, and
would not prohibit its restriction. But if General Cass was elected, he
felt certain that the plans of farther extension of territory would be
encouraged, and those of the extension of slavery would meet no check.
The 'Free Soil' men, in claiming that name, indirectly attempt a
deception, by implying that Whigs were _not_ Free Soil men. In
declaring that they would 'do their duty and leave the consequences to
God,' they merely gave an excuse for taking a course they were not able
to maintain by a fair and full argument. To make this declaration did
not show what their duty was. If it did, we should have no use for
judgment; we might as well be made without intellect; and when divine or
human law does not clearly point out what _is_ our duty, we have no
means of finding out what it is but using our most intelligent judgment
of the consequences. If there were divine law or human law for voting
for Martin Van Buren, or if a fair examination of the consequences and
first reasoning would show that voting for him would bring about the
ends they pretended to wish, then he would give up the argument. But
since there was no fixed law on the subject, and since the whole
probable result of their action would be an assistance in electing
General Cass, he must say that they were behind the Whigs in their
advocacy of the freedom of the soil.

"Mr. Lincoln proceeded to rally the Buffalo convention for forbearing to
say anything--after all the previous declarations of those members who
were formerly Whigs--on the subject of the Mexican War because the Van
Burens had been known to have supported it. He declared that of all the
parties asking the confidence of the country, this new one had
_less_ of principle than any other.

"He wondered whether it was still the opinion of these Free Soil
gentlemen, as