rest, at a railroad center named Mendota, to which place the
converging trains brought after midnight a number of excited
Republican leaders, on their way to attend the great meeting at the
neighboring town of Freeport. Notwithstanding the late hour, Mr.
Lincoln's bedroom was invaded by an improvised caucus, and the ominous
question was once more brought under consideration. The whole drift of
advice ran against putting the interrogatory to Douglas; but Lincoln
persisted in his determination to force him to answer it. Finally his
friends in a chorus cried out, "If you do, you can never be Senator."
"Gentlemen," replied Lincoln, "I am killing larger game; if Douglas
answers, he can never be President, and the battle of 1860 is worth a
hundred of this."

When Lincoln had finished his opening speech in the Freeport debate,
and Douglas in his reply came to interrogatory number two, which
Lincoln had propounded, he answered as follows:

[Sidenote] Lincoln-Douglas Debates, p. 95.

The next question propounded to me by Mr. Lincoln is, Can the
people of a Territory in any lawful way, against the wish of any
citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from their limits,
prior to the formation of a State constitution? I answer
emphatically, as Mr. Lincoln has heard me answer a hundred times
from every stump in Illinois, that in my opinion the people of a
Territory can, by lawful means, exclude slavery from their limits,
prior to the formation of a State constitution. Mr. Lincoln knew
that I had answered that question over and over again. He heard me
argue the Nebraska bill on that principle all over the State in
1854, in 1855, and in 1856, and he has no excuse for pretending to
be in doubt as to my position on that question. It matters not
what way the Supreme Court may hereafter decide as to the abstract
question whether slavery may or may not go into a Territory under
the Constitution, the people have the lawful means to introduce it
or exclude it, as they please, for the reason that slavery cannot
exist a day or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local
police regulations. Those police regulations can only be
established by the local Legislature, and if the people are
opposed to slavery they will elect representatives to that body
who will by unfriendly legislation effectually prevent the
introduction of it into their midst