Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/251

Slavery Question in Oregon. 227 tiou, vshall slavery be extended or restricted^ And to this the party in Oregon and nearly all of its individual members, in its application to themselves, and over the great, grand region they inhabited, were non-committal, mum— yea, as silent as the grave. And this partisan program of silence was generally accepted by the rank and file of the party. No conventions were called to consult, as is deemed necessary to promote whatever else is desirable; no public or private dis- cussion of the question so far as is known. They would not take opposition newspapers, attend free-state meetings, or tolerate questioning upon the subject by their free-state neighbors, at least if they were of different political ante- cedents. Those who had the temerity to inquire were, as a rule, answered uncivilly. One prominent and influential Democrat, upon being asked if he intended to vote for a slave State, asked in return, "Do you think I am a damned fool ? ' '* This was reassuring and if all would have answered in the same way, a census would have been practicable. But another one replied, "Why don't you Black Republicans stay at home and attend to your own business?" And this question about voting for a slave State was not put to these silent partisans to hector or tease them, but from a deep anxiety of the questioners as to the future condition of the State in which they had chosen to reside, had encountered great perils to reach, and from which they must emigrate provided slavery should be adopted. And, indeed, there were good 'grounds for their fears, other than the studied reticence of a majority of the people, before spoken of. Some pro- slavery Democrats, confident of the approval and patronage of the Washington administration, would not be silenced and were ^^ctive advocates, by speech and press, of their opinions. And they were far more numerous than those Democrats of free-state proclivities who dared speak out. And of these latter some would say, "I shall vote against slavery, but if it carries I shall get me a 'nigger.' " Add to all these the fact ♦Wesley Shannon.