e bill to the Senate and the concurrence of
the latter in the compromise amendment of Mr. Willey as amended by Mr.
Lane, Mr. Sumner advised that he had proposed to offer to the Senate
his amendment lately rejected in Committee. Referring to this
proposal, Mr. Lane asserted his assurance that the insertion of the
provision in question would cause the bill to fail before the House of
Representatives and to merit the disapproval of the people of West
Virginia. He urged, therefore, that it would be the better policy to
vote for the bill as already amended and to endure slavery in the
State for another generation, if need be. Despite the conformity of
this view with those of a majority of his colleagues, Mr. Sumner,
though declining to offer the amendment, stated his irrevocable
opposition to the admission of another slave State, even though the
term of slavery be for but twenty-one years. He considered it his
duty, therefore, to vote against the measure as it then stood.[103]

The engrossment of the bill for a third reading found its opponents
still unweary in their efforts to obstruct or defeat its passage.
Senator Trumbull, of Illinois, summed up his opposition to the bill in
two objections, namely: (1) since all persons over twenty-one years of
age were thereby doomed to perpetual slavery, the new State would be
in theory and in practice a slave State; and (2) he failed to see the
necessity for or wisdom in dividing any of the old States until the
situation could be seen as a whole. He let it be known, however, that
this statement should not be construed to commit him to the position
of opposing the admission of a slave State under all circumstances
whatever. In conformity with his conviction, he moved that all
consideration of the bill be postponed until the first Monday of
December next. The Senator from Illinois was ably supported by Mr.
Carlile, who, failing in his last attempt to amend the bill to the
effect that the State should come in without conditions, affirmed his
opposition to any proceedings whereby the organic law of a State is
framed by Congress and asserted that he would support the Trumbull
motion at the risk of misconstruction.[104]

Those Senators who favored the immediate passage of the bill were not
unprepared for the most determined attacks of its opponents. Mr.
Howard, of Michigan, requested of the Senators from Virginia, whether
the Wheeling Legislature had taken any action on the "Joint Resoluti