Secession Era Editorials Project

Thos. H. Benton and the Extension of Slavery.--

New Orleans, Louisiana, Bee [Whig]

(29 May 1854)

To those who, through ignorance or obstinacy, still insist that the passage of the Nebraska bill will extend slavery, we commend the following remarks from the late speech of Col.Benton in Congress:

"The question of slavery in the Territories, if thrown open to Territorial action, will be a question of the majority against slavery, and what chance would slaveholders have in the contest? None at all. The slave emigrants will be outnumbered, and compelled to play a most unequal game, not only in point of numbers, but also in point of stake. The slaveholder stakes his property, and has to run it off, or loose it, if outvoted at the polls. I see nothing in which slaveholders are to gain under this bill -- nothing but an unequal and vexatious contest, in which they are to be the losers.

We don't like Col. Benton, and never expect to like him, either as an individual or as a statesman, although we are bound to concede him great intellect, and in some cases, patriotism and honesty of purpose. His arrogance, egotism and selfishness, have impaired his usefulness on many occasions, and caused disgust and admiration to prevail in the mind of the reader while looking over his mightiest efforts. This have been unfortunate for him, and especially unfortunate for his constituents. Yet, the old many very frequently talks the best of common sense in the plainest and most unmistakable of language. The above is a fair specimen. Every word is true, and every sentence has practical application.

We had almost made up our minds that the "Nebraska bill," as the words are popularly known, would never again appear in our columns. But Col. Benton's remarks were so true and appropriate that we could not refuse to give them an insertion. On such subjects no man in the Union is capable of speaking more intelligently than the great Missourian.

In one sense he is slightly wrong. He supposes it possible that slaves will be carried to Nebraska. We doubt it. Should slaveholders be fools enough to go there they will encounter precisely the difficulties Col. B. so graphically depicts. But we do not believe any such fools can be found South of Mason [amp;] Dixon's line.