ut it has at the same time afforded me an
excellent opportunity of collecting the sense of the people on
the great question which is now agitating the State. And I am
happy in assuring you, from the best information I have been able
to collect from all parts of the State, I am more confirmed in my
belief that a majority of the people will be opposed to calling a
convention for the purpose of altering the Constitution so as to
make this a slave-holding State. But the extraordinary efforts
that have been made here during the last three or four weeks by
the friends of Slavery, in organizing their party, and enabling
its leaders to act with the most concert and effect, convince the
friends of freedom that their opponents are yet in the field, and
that they should be on the alert, for fear by some _ruse de
guerre_, at which their opponents are known from sad experience
to be great adepts, the advocates of oppression should triumph.
Nearly all the leading friends of a convention have been
assembled here, and held caucuses for the purpose of deliberating
upon the best means of promoting the success of their favorite
measure; have adopted sundry resolutions, and made many
arrangements; among others have appointed committees for each
county in the State, and requested that the county committees
appoint a committee in each township, for the purpose of
corresponding with each other, and of influencing by every
possible means the public opinion.

With respect to your inquiry whether there is not some more
expeditious and safe mode of sending out the pamphlets than
through a commercial house at St. Louis, I can think of no other,
except to forward them, as pamphlets, by mail to me to this
place, which is at this season of the year slow and precarious.

The pamphlet you forwarded me by mail, along with your last
letter, I received safe; but have been so busy as not yet to have
had time to read it. Two thousand of each kind, will, I presume,
be enough, and as many as I shall be able conveniently to
distribute. There will be for the next six months, so few persons
visiting this place, that I shall be compelled to rely chiefly on
the mails, as the means of distributing pamphlets, or other
information to the public. If possible, I intend to have all the