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DOUGLAS AT PONTIAC, Douglas spoke of Pontiac on Thursday, 2d inst. His romancing lackey who writes for the Times, in his account of the * ” mod estly omit~ to place any estimate at all on the mag nitude of \'.o audience, further than this ; “Pontia is as it had a large crowd in 5 yi citizens of the place (if the per lea of by the ban (nor be ha - 4 om) are all of the true grit, for 1!re had not an y ensign waing over Democratic mottoes in serted thereon.” _ The other attendant, who writes for the St. Louis Republican, are manifests the siial delica cy. ‘The Pontine Seminar say about six hundred present, all told (the News amys three thou sand!!) and that “two fidge in of the two grog shops in Pontine were the only c that greet ed him,” . _ The speech was of the usual Douglas stripe. At [ie clove, Douglas invited any one who wished to ask any questions, to do good ‘in the crowd [according to the Jimee correspondent] said, “They say you have turned your cost half dozen times, we would like to know about , and somebody else asked, Do you believe in the right of the state of Minds to give up a fugitive slave?” After re plying to these questions, ‘several other questions were asked Senator Douglas, which he answered entrefactorily,”—so say the correspondenta of the Times and Rewhlken aforesaid; and that is all the light they give us on the subject. The Pontiac Sen tinel lets us into the sccret of what these latter ques tions were,one of its editors, Mr. Gagan, pro pounded some of them. We append the Sentinel's evvent . Question nit. You say in your hat Free- port that the people of a Territory have the power to exclude slavery by non-fetion. Do you mean by “excluding” avery they have, through their Ter ritorial Legislature, the power to declare that slaves brought in voluntarily by their masters, shall, by that aot, become free? If not, how can they ex clude slavery; and if no, how will that tally with the Supreme Court decision? While the gentleman to whom we gave the questions to propound to his “Judgeship” was reading this from manuscript. Douglas, in a regular bull-dog style, snapped him up, and said he would not listen to a speech! We ask any candid man if the above question was not a fair one, and one worthy of a respectful an ger! After Douglas abused him roundly, and in a manner worthy any other Five Points bully, he said the interrogator knew that he (Douglas) had answered that question at Free port!! and that it was only for the purpose of creating confusion the question was asked hima!!! Now is that worthy a Senator of the United States, thus to try tor answer ing the only question which would give the people to understand precisely where he stood for the very issue upon which he is seeking an selection . If he answered the same question in Freeport without creating confusion there, or could he not have answered the same here j without any, particular confusion’? That's ‘wot it, Mr. Douglas, it's a question you have not nor dare not answer. Seeing that Mr. McDowell, who propoun ded the first, was unwilling to ask any more questions, or desiring to be abused any fur ther, we stepped open the platform all pro pounded the following: 2d. If person holds a slave to a Territory by virtue of the Constitution of the United States, in which there are no “police regulations’’ enforcing his right to hold such property, and that slave goes into a Free State, can he be recovered as a Pugitive Slave, under the provisions of the fugitive slave law ! When we put this question to him, he look ed at us as though he would take perfect del light in voting us up, or would derive exquis ite pleasure in knocking the day out of us. Approaching us, with no hand and flashing eye, shaking his locks, and fairly trembling with rage, he answered ; “Yes, sir, he can be recaptured under the Fugitive Slave Law.” He then commenced a volley of billin te which would make a fishmonger brush, calling us an“ Abolition. fist, that we were “in the habit of going round lecturing in church basements, making abolition harangues, after the fashion of Love joy and other pro-cushion lecturers.” Well, if we got abused, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we got his answer, and that an swer convicts him as being the most impu dent trickster and political Knave in the Uni ted States. And why! For this reason: A map takes a slave from Virginia or Carolina into a Territory where there are no local laws to enforce that right, he must either be a slave or a free man. If he be slave,he Territory must tolerate slavery, and it is a slave Territory. But if slavery is * ex cluded,” is he not a free man by the volunta ry eet of his master in bringing him into a free Territory, and how can he be recovered a save slave under the Fugitive Slave Law, when there wit no slavery in the Terri tory from which he escaped! Phat’ the ‘rob. ‘That was a “poser” for the Little Giant; he knew he could not answer it with out showing up his hanbagging and knavery, ‘and hence he Baaped abuse on us for ‘ cor nering ” him, ting he could escape the odin of his audience by so doing. The third question which he would not an swer was tied. Would not the spirit of the Dred Scott De cision any al all the acts of the Territorial Legisla ture in case they enacted laws “ unfriendly’ to the holding of slaves in a Territory, while a Territory? Douglas, to get out of the scrape, said no gentleman would ask meh questions, and that it was to show our smartness” and gain no toriety we propounded them! If that isn’t cool, after telling the audience he was ready to answer any questions put to him !— The questions were handed to him before he commenced speaking, tod this shows that it was to escape answering by making the peo le forget the questions in the blackguarding s would give the interrogators. When the uestions were handed him by Capt. Payne, ouglis said, so loud that all could hear him, Let them ask them! Now if he wanted to answer them, why did he not do it without further equivocation! We leave every can did and intelligent man to decide. I effect Mr. Douglas had may be seen from the fact that when he got through, six men, three of whom were Democrats came into our office and subscribed for our paper. We a Douglas will visit Pontinc aga at an early day. He will do the Republican party more service than any orator in our own ranks, re? Madame D. was the happy assessor of a magnificent Maltese Cut. oC., her neighbor, for want of better game, one day, shot poor puss dead. Great was tribulation in the house of the Madame D, in consequence thereof. But Madame D., a woman of singu lar originality of mind, had vowed vengeance upon the C. family, and her threat was soon put into execution. She bought a number of mouse traps of every deagonary size and shape. These she had distrbuted about her own house and those of her friends. In a week, by these means, she had caught between three and four hundred rats and mice. She then had, this lively collection put into a large box, and directed to Madame de C, at her Chateau, Madame de C, opened the box herself, think ing it contained some dresses she had been expecting from her sister in Paris.The rats and mice made a precipitate exit, right and left, frightened Madame into a fainting fit, and escaped to infest the Chateau with no presence until again exter. At the bottom of the box was the follow ing laconic epistle, addressed to Madame je Cr: “Madame, your husband killed cat, and I scoutinely send you my to take care of,” to Mr. Buchanan is reported to have re cently declared to a friend, that, if he had his work of the last year and 4 half to do over again, he could make the best parts better.” But does he think he could make the worst parts worse —Louisville Journal, Gen. Casa is said to be worth five mill lions dollars. To the country his worth can an be estimated in dollars and cents.— Wash, Sur then, you estimate it in half after cents.—Lostwise Journal hem quarter cents, —.
Newspaper Details
Bloomington Weekly Pantagraph
Bloomington, Illinois, US
Wed, Sep 15, 1858
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Greg C.
USA 19 Jul 2026
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