Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/301

 FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON Phelps

(Vt), Whigs, and Bright

(Ind.),

285

and

Dickinson

(N. Y.), Democrats, for the North.

The committee immjediately proceeded to its work, but it found nearly as much difficulty in reaching a basis of compromise as had the Senate

itself. In the first place an unacceptance of the compromise line (36 30') was rejected, but Dickinson suggested a modification of what he had proposed on the floor of the Senate chamber; that is,

qualified

non-interference with the question in New Mexico and California. Upon this basis the committee reached a tentative proposition of the following nature: the existing land laws which prohibited slavery in Oregon were to be left in force until altered

New

by the

territorial legislature; in

California and

Mexico the

legislative power should be vested in a Governor, Secretary and three Judges for each territory, and these men should be restricted by Congress from legislating

slavery, leaving the question, if it should to the Calhoun, who was brought to conarise, judiciary. ference with the President through the mediation of Colonel

upon the question of

38

Franklin H. Elmore of Charleston, told Polk, who approved the plan, that he would support the proposition much dethe President who would the pended upon appoint judges who be men northern for but for the other two might Oregon

territories they

must be southerners

in

order that the southern

views on slavery might be maintained. "The tone of his conversation," wrote Polk, "on this point seems to be designed to elicit a pledge

from me to

I at once felt the this effect. promptly replied that that was a subject upon which I could not speak, that if the laws passed in the form suggested I would do my duty, and jocosely added that my friends, as Gen'l Harrison's Cincinnati committee in 1844 [1840?] said for him, must have a 'generous

delicacy of

my

situation

&

confidence' that I would do so." Elmore had asked Polk to request Calhoun to 38 Polk, Diary, IV, 17-24. (he had not done so since the Oregon treaty of the year before) but Polk that the Senator was an older man and had been longer ini public life, and a request of this sort would make it appear that he was seeking some sort of influence over him; he would, however, be glad to see Calhoun.

call

said