Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 1.djvu/63

Rh miles from the metropolitan seat of government. And yet, although she has set up a provisional government for herself, and that provisional government has taken on itself the enactment of laws, it is left to the will of every individual to determine for himself whether he will obey those laws or not. She has now reached a point beyond which she can exist no longer?" The opposition spirit is illustrated in the equally exagerated remarks of John C. Calhoun: "The separation of the north and south is now completed. The south has now a solemn obligation to perform to herself, to the Constitution, to the Union. She is bound to come to a decision not to permit this to go on any further, but to show that, dearly as she prizes the Union, there are questions which she regards as of greater importance. "She is bound to fulfill her obligations as she may best understand them. This is not a question of territorial government, but a question involving the Union.' It is interesting to hear Mr. Webster's views as summed up in the Congressional Globe: "His objection to slavery was irrespective of lines, and points of latitude. He was opposed to it in every shape, and in every qualification. He was against any compromise of the question.' At the close of the day a motion to lay the bill on the table was defeated. The evening was given to discussion, and a motion to adjourn was lost. As the night passed away, the friends of the bill reclined in the ante-rooms ready to vote if an opportunity came, while a few kept guard in the senate chamber. A motion at midnight to adjourn was lost. A senator from Mississippi arose for the purpose of killing time. Until 9 o'clock the following morning, which was Sunday, he gave a rambling history of the world, beginning with the story of the creation. Exhausted, either