the nominee. Nine States, in Committee, voted yea on the amendment Pennsylvania and Wisconsin being the only free States of the list. Twenty States voted nay. Now, far after night, Yancey moved a resolution that the Committee re-adopt the provision of the party platform, since 1836, condemning internal improvements by the federal government, and the resolution was promptly passed. Great was the dismay of the Committee to discover the following morning, on its re-assembling, that Senator Cass had voted to pass, over President Polk's veto, every bill for internal improvement! A motion made to recant was fiercely denounced by Yancey as "a base surrender of principle" and failed of passage.

Messrs. Yancey, of Alabama, Commander, of South Carolina, and McGehee, of Florida, presented, in Convention, a minority report incorporating Yancey's amendment. In all other provisions it was identical with the majority report. The vote on the minority report was taken by States. The States voting yea, had 36 electoral votes; the States voting nay, had 216 electoral votes. The majority report was then adopted, and when the vote was declared Mr. Yancey announced to the Convention that, in accordance with the instructions of his State, he would not longer participate in the proceedings of the body. Mr. Wray, of Alabama, announced his purpose to pursue the same course. The other delegates from Alabama disregarded their instructions, retained their seats and assented, in their action, to the nominees.

June 1, the Whigs met at Philadelphia and nominated General Taylor, for President, and Millard Fillmore, of New York, an avowed Abolitionist, for vice-President. More than a month before, General Taylor wrote from his plantation to J. S. Allison expressing grave doubts of his fitp the Presidency. He said he was without sufficient knowledge of the current political events to declare an opinion upon them. Moreover, he did not think the opinions of the Executive should control Congress and a candidate "who cannot be trusted without pledges cannot be confided in merely on account of them."

Martin Van Buren was the candidate of the Abolitionists, now called "Free Soilers." So soon as the Baltimore Convention adjourned the Van Buren men of New York held a

meeting in the city of New York, declaring that the Convention in refusing to accede to the Alabama demands, had virtually declared for free soil. The candidature of Van Buren, it was at once perceived, embarrassed the nominations made at Baltimore to a peculiar extent. On all occasions this " "political magician," as the Democrats were only lately proud to term him, had been a consistent friend of the South. He was the favorite, among public men, of General Jackson, he had striven with Harrison, he had been favorable to the annexation of Texas and had voted against the Abolitionists. Many had been his claims, in the past, upon the South and dear were his present principles to the hearts of many Democrats at the North. Tens of thousands in both sections had enjoyed the honors and emoluments of federal patronage at his hands. His was now in:

"The patient search and vigil long

Of him who treasures up a wrong."

The important part Mr. Fillmore acted in the history of the sectional conflict and the measure of confidence in which he was held at the South, long after he had been repudiated at the North, by all parties, is one of the most remarkable personal experiences of his day. That he was an advanced Abolitionist at heart no one doubted. He never denied the letter he wrote in answer to categorical questions of the AntiSlavery Society, in 1838, which committed him to all their measures before Congress, nor explained his unfriendly votes to the South in the House. He was wise enough to perceive that the peaceful operation of the federal system, unamended, would exterminate slavery in as brief time as peaceful influences would admit.

Yancey belongs the distinction of having first made the issue with political party organism, that the platform of doctrine should precede the choice of candidates.

CHAPTER 9.

The Campaign.

1848.

Travel from the East to Alabama lead, in 1848, along the Atlantic coast, by rail and boat, as far as Charleston. At Charleston Mr. Yancey accepted an invitation to speak, on his way home. It was an indignant and fiery impeachment of the Baltimore Convention. "These virtuous politicians, these trustworthy representatives of Democracy discovered that avowal of truth would put error to blush; that the honor due to a patriot would be the condemnation of a heretic. Southern delegates had sacrificed their principles to an election, and from Alabama men were found who, to secure even the vice-Presidency, were willing to be allured from their most solemn committals to the people." These and many equally sententious sentences marked his utterance.

Winston had preceded him and spoken in vehement denunciation of his conduct in the Convention, to a public meeting at Montgomery. "The object of holding a Contion (he said) was to consult and to surrender personal preferences to the majority will; to concentrate our strength on the candidate most acceptable to the majority. Why go into a Convention if instructions carried from home are to govern? Yancey's code of morals would authorize him to go into Conventions and if he could carry all his points, and his man, too, he would be bound to abide the decision; if not, he would oppose platform and nominee." Winston, Sanford, Salomon, Porter King and A. J. Saffold, each, wrote an elaborate letter

Mr.

to the press, explaining the course of the delegation and denouncing Yancey.

A large meeting assembled at Montgomery to hear Yancey in his first appearance after his return. He was received with demonstrations of unusual interest. No hall could contain the audience, therefore, he spoke from the porch of the Exchange Hotel, the street being wide there. He said he had only plain words to give in answer to the torrents of contumely which had been turned upon him from almost every Democratic newspaper in Alabama, for many months. At . Baltimore he had brought forward no demand before the high assembly of his party, save that which the Democratic party of Alabama, in solemn convention, had made it his bounden duty to bring. He had complained of nothing that had been done; he had presented the demand of Alabama that certain things should be done more than the Baltimore Convention would consent to do. That was the sum of his sinning. He had no innovations to offer the party, nor did he propose the least alteration of the structure of society. He did not propose to invade any people, to molest any customs, to disturb any institutions or amend any form of government. Adversity was often a good school for politics. Office had no charms to seduce him from his sense of duty, nor a minority position terrors to deter him from the dictates of his conscience. "When the resolutions of previous Conventions of the National Democracy on the slavery question (he said) were adopted they covered the question presented in those earlier times. The Democratic party was then eminently just to the country in its action. Then abolition and faction sought to enter the federal temple to disturb the harmony of its inmates. As worshippers at the sacred fane you have driven them out. You have solemnly declared, there is no power in the federal government to interfere with slavery in the States of this Confederacy. It was no light thing, I grant, that you should undertake to defend even that position at the North. In the conflict that ensued many a noble spirit was sacrificed. Few now are so hardy as to declare that doctrine wrong. But the great enemies of Constitutional equality, and order, driven from their positions in the federal temple, have taken up a new position on the frontiers of the Confederacy

- upon the

borders of your territory, in the bosom of which lies the incipient germ of many a State to be added to our galaxy. There they meet the pioneer immigrants, and, if their doctrine is to be maintained, they will welcome the laborer of the North and turn back the laborer of the South. * I was instructed by the organized Democracy of Alabama to proceed to Baltimore and to be guided by the specific injunction, unanimously imposed, to vote for no men for President and vice-President who would not unequivocally avow themselves to be opposed to either of the forms of restricting slavery described in the instructions. I rendered faithful obedience to those instructions, and the Democratic party of Alabama pledged itself to the country and the members of the Convention pledged themselves to each other, under no political necessity whatever,' to support for the offices of President and vice-President of the United States any persons who shall not be opposed openly and avowedly to either of those forms of restricting slavery. I shall stand immovably by the Alabama Platform. I cannot support General Cass for the Presidency."

The popular demonstrations, in consequence of Mr. Yancey's course, in Alabama were, perhaps, not the least interesting of the personal phenomena of his career. The meeting he addressed at Montgomery passed resolutions far from denouncing him, but appealing affectionately to him to resume his leadership. His former fellow townsfolk of Wetumpka specially invited him to address them, explaining his position, and, when the speech was over, the meeting passed feeling resolutions beseeching him to sacrifice his own sense of duty to aid his party, and expressing unbounded confidence in the integrity of his purposes. The Democrats of Lauderdale county, at a public meeting, passed a long series of party resolutions, two of which were devoted specially to Yancey. One of the two resolved, "that while we admire the ability, moral worth, indomitable energy, integrity of purpose and the sternness of principles which have hitherto guided the political course of the Hon. William L. Yancey, we must, at the same time, in justice to ourselves, disapprove his course at and since the adjournment of the Baltimore Convention." The next, made "an appeal to his better judgment, his sober second thought, hoping that he will yet resume his high