Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/446

428 when the people should decide at the polls upon the constitution and the questions accompanying it. The interval was filled with animated discussions upon slavery, on the rostrum and in the public prints; the pro-slavery papers being much more bitter against the constitution for not making Oregon a slave state than the opposition papers for neglecting to make it a free state. The latter gave the constitution little support; because, in the first place, it was well understood that the party which formed it was bent on admission, in order to retain in its own grasp the power which a change of administration might place in the hands of the free-soil party, under the territorial organization, as well as because they did not wholly approve the instrument. There was, as could only be expected, the usual partisan acrimony in the arguments on either side. Fortunately the time was short in which to carry on the contest. Short as it was, however, it developed more fully a style of political journalism which was not argument, but invective—a method not complimentary to the masses to be influenced, and really not furnishing a fair standard by which to judge the intelligence of the people.

The vote on the constitution resulted in a majority of 3,980 in favor of its adoption. There was a majority against slavery of 5,082; and against free negroes of 7,559. The counties which gave the largest vote in favor of slavery were Lane and Jackson. Douglas gave a majority of 29 for slavery, while only 23 votes were recorded in the county for free negroes. Indeed, the result of the election demonstrated the fact that the southern sentiment concerning the black race had emigatedemigrated [sic] to Oregon along with her sturdy pioneers. Enslaved, the negro might be endured; free, they would have none of him. The whole number of votes polled was only about 10,400; 7,700 voted against slavery; 8,600 against free negroes; the remaining 1,000 or 1,100 were probably