in it, so far as the House of Representatives was concerned. But at last
the President and Senate acquired the territory without asking the House
of Representatives anything about it, and took it without that
prohibition. They have the power of acquiring territory without the
immediate representatives of the people being called upon to say anything
about it, and thus furnishing a very apt and powerful means of bringing
new territory into the Union, and, when it is once brought into the
country, involving us anew in this slavery agitation. It is therefore, as
I think, a very important question for due consideration of the American
people, whether the policy of bringing in additional territory, without
considering at all how it will operate upon the safety of the Union in
reference to this one great disturbing element in our national politics,
shall be adopted as the policy of the country. You will bear in mind that
it is to be acquired, according to the Judge's view, as fast as it is
needed, and the indefinite part of this proposition is that we have only
Judge Douglas and his class of men to decide how fast it is needed. We
have no clear and certain way of determining or demonstrating how fast
territory is needed by the necessities of the country. Whoever wants to
go out filibustering, then, thinks that more territory is needed. Whoever
wants wider slave-fields feels sure that some additional territory is
needed as slave territory. Then it is as easy to show the necessity of
additional slave-territory as it is to assert anything that is incapable
of absolute demonstration. Whatever motive a man or a set of men may have
for making annexation of property or territory, it is very easy to
assert, but much less easy to disprove, that it is necessary for the
wants of the country.

And now it only remains for me to say that I think it is a very grave
question for the people of this Union to consider, whether, in view of
the fact that this slavery question has been the only one that has ever