About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Dudley Marvin, Letter of the Hon. Dudley Marvin, of New York 1 (1848)

handle is hein.slavery/letdumar0001 and id is 1 raw text is: LETTER OF THE H1ON. DUDLEY MARVIN, OF NEW YORK. FREWSBURG, N. Y.,%1tgust 15, 1848. Hon. DUDLEY MArtvIV: DEAR siR: Presuming upon the short acquaintance we have had, I take the liberty to address a few ;ines to you. Arid, first, believing you to be honest in your views, I wish your opinion of the pro- priety of supporting the nominees of the Buffalo Convention; whether you think a person honestly opposed to the extension of slavery could support, consistently, either nominee of the other Conven- ,tions? Yours, respectfully, JAMES PARKER. JAMES PARKER, Esq.: DEAR SIR: Congress adjourned on Monday, the 14th inst. Important business ,having detained me for a few days, your letter of the 12th instant reached me here, ,to which I have the pleasure to reply. You ask my opinion of the propriety of supporting the nominees of the Buffalo 'Convention, and whether I think a person honestly opposed to the exten-ion of sla- very could support, consistently, either nominee of the other Conventions. . An interesting inquiry, truly, and one to which I would be glad to respond per- sonally, in the hearing of every one of my constituents, to whichever of the political parties of the day he may belong, or may be disposed to attach himself. Not one among them all can be unsolicitous upon the absorbing subject embraced in your inquiry. Not one can be found among them all, I venture to assert, who is not, in heart and soul, honestly opposed to the extension of slavery. Assuming this to be the honest feeling of the citizens in Western New York, what course does wisdom prompt as most likely to attain the object which must be near the heart of every good man among them? You ask my opinion-and I am free to say, in relation to the first branch of your inquiry, that my opinion is, it would not be wise to cast a vote for the nominees of the Buffalo Convention. The grounds for this opinion will be given with all frankness. I assume the question of free or slave territory, as your inquiries would presup- pose, to be paramount to all others, and shall state in my reply how, as I believe, most effectually to guard against the extension of slavery. The first exercise of power, in relation to this question, lies with Congress. And I feel as certain as I can be, upon any fact depending on future legislation, that the present Congress will pass no law which shall sanction the existence of slavery in the territories re- cently acquired from Mexico. Indeed, the recent votes in relation to Oregon may well warrant the presumption that no bill can pass the present House of Rep- resentatives which does not contain a prohibitory clause. Should such a bill also pass the Senate, the communication of the President, accompanying his approval of the Oregon bill, leaves no doubt it would be met by an Executive veto. If I am correct in these suggestions, perhaps we can only look to a future Congress for the extension of a civil government, in due form, over the newly acquired territories. At all events, it is only in connexion with the acts of a future Congress that the question of the next Presidency becomes material. I shall not dwell on the new position of Mr. Van Buren, but shall assume in this connexion that, however directly opposed to the acts of his entire political life, his uiew professions will be adhered to, and that, if elected President, he will, in the exercise of the veto power, carry out the principles avowed at the Buffalo Conven- ti6. I lirect my attention to the inquiry whether the true friends of the bond man, not the politicians of such varied hue who have, from every extreme of political J. & G. &. Gideon, printers.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most