burners" by a convention convened at the direction of a majority of the Democratic members of the State Legislature. Both sets were admitted. The Barnburners withdrew under protest, and soon after Mr. Van Buren was placed in nomination for the Presidency, at Utica. The Hunker delegation declined participating in the acts of the convention. These points settled, the convention proceeded to put in nomination candidates for President and Vice-President. Mr. Cass was nominated for President. The fourth and final ballot resulted as follows: Mr. Cass, 179; Mr. Woodbury, 38; Mr. Buchanan, 33; and Gen. Worth, 3—Mr. Cass having a majority of twothirds. William O. Butler, of Kentucky, was unanimously nominated for the Vice-Presidency.

Nor did perfect concord prevail among the Whigs. At an early period, Gen Taylor, in view of his illustrious achievements in the Mexican war, had been named in connection with the Presidency. He was placed in formal nomination at public meetings in several States. In response to various letters, Gen. Taylor utterly refused to give his adhesion to any party. If elected, it must be independent of pledges. This was regarded by many leading Whigs as sufficient reason why he should not be placed in nomination by that party. There were others who still adhered to Mr. Clay, and regarded it the duty of the party to put him in nomination, believing that the people were prepared to honor him for his life-long devotion to Whig principles. The greatest objection, however, to the nomination of Gen. Taylor came from the Free-soil branch of the Whig party. The great mass of the party-especially at the North-had committed themselves heartily in favor of the principle embodied in the Wilmot proviso. They were unwilling to elevate to the Presidency a slaveholder; one who, if he did not op

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pose the principles they cherished, would do nothing to advance them.

It was urged, on the other hand, that Gen. Taylor was the only man who could unite the entire opposition, and ensure success. An exposition, to some extent, of his principles lessened, the opposition to him, and he was put in nomination by the Whig National Convention. This body assembled at Philadelphia on the 1st of June, 1848, every State in the Union being represented. On the first ballot, Gen. Taylor received 111 votes; Mr. Clay 97; Mr. Webster 42; Gen. Scott 43; Mr. Clayton 4; and Mr. McLean 2. The fourth, and final vote, gave Gen. Taylor 171; Mr. Clay 32; Gen. Scott 63; and Mr. Webster 13. Gen. Taylor was declared the nominee of the Convention.

Millard Fillmore, of New York, was nominated on the second ballot, for Vice-President, by a large majority.

The nominations of the Democratic Convention received the approval of the "Hunker" faction in New York, but were repudiated by the "Barnburners," who immediately called a State Convention, to be held at Utica, and nominated Martin Van Buren for President, and Henry Dodge, of Wisconsin, for Vice-President. The latter declined the nomination, the former accepted it. The New York delegates were empowered to participate in a more general convention, called to meet at Buffalo.

The candidates of the Liberty party were already in the field, John P. Hale for President, and Leicester King, of Ohio, for Vice-President. This party perfected its organization in the nomination of candidates in 1840, when James G. Birney and Thomas Earle were nominated for President and Vice-President of the United States. The entire vote for those candidates was something less

than 7,000. In 1844, the nominees of the Liberty party polled upwards of 60,000 votes.

The adherents of this party, who had now nominated Messrs. Hale and King, united with the opponents of slave extension in the convention which was held at Buffalo, Aug. 9, 1848. There was organized "the Freesoil party." The convention was large and respectable; representatives were present from all or nearly all the Free States and several Slave States. The deliberations of the convention continued for three days, and resulted in the nomination of Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams, for President and Vice-President of the United States.

The convention issued a platform of principles, wherein they affirmed their devoted attachment to freedom in the territories, and declared that Congress has no power to make a slave, to institute or establish slavery; that the government ought to free itself from slavery whereever it possesses the constitutional power, and that no more

slave States should be admitted into the Union. Resolves were also passed in favor of cheap postage, retrenchment, abolition of unnecessary offices, elections by the people, river and harbor improvements, free grants of public lands, revenue tariff, and the payment of the public debt.

The principles and nominees of the Buffalo convention were pressed with great earnestness in most of the Northern States.

As with the Democrats, so with the Whigs, it was found impossible to unite them in a hearty support of the candidates of their party. In convention, the Whigs had not laid down any platform of principles-they had refused to pass a resolution affirming the principles of the Wilmot proviso; and their candidate for the Presidency had accepted, with seeming pleasure and approbation, the

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nomination of various bodies of people in diverse parts of the country. Among these were a "no party" meeting held at Baltimore, and a convention of Democrats held at Charleston, South Carolina, who distrusted Gen. Cass's reliability on the subject of slavery, which was declared to be "paramount to all questions."

A counter spirit arose at the North. The fact of an indifferent adhesion to the Whig party by Gen. Taylor, and his unqualified approbation of the slaveholding Democrats in their nomination of him, was the inspiring cause of a large meeting of Whigs held at Albany, New York, where a strong determination was manifested to repudiate the nomination of Gen. Taylor. Other counsels prevailed, and support-reluctant though it may have been-was secured to the nominee of the Whig party.

Of the Presidential electors chosen at the election in November, 163 gave their votes for Taylor and Fillmore; and 127 for Cass and Butler.

The popular vote in 1848 was, Taylor 1,360,752 ; Cass 1,219,962; Van Buren 291,342; total 2,872,056.

GOVERNMENT FOR OREGON.

The establishment of a government for the Territory of Oregon was a fruitful theme for discussion during the session of 1847-'48. The treatment of this subject evolved a consideration of the power of Congress to legislate in and for the territories. Those favoring the system of slavery-at whose head was Mr. Calhoundenied to Congress all power over that interest in the territories. The opposite ground was as persistently maintained by those hostile to slave-extension.

The provisional government of Oregon had prohibited slavery therein. The Senate bill was regarded a virtual

abnegation of this provision, and as opening that Territory to the importation of slaves. It passed that body, 33 to 22, and being taken up in the House, was laid upon the table, 112 to 97. The House bill, which provided for the extension of the ordinance of 1787 over the territory, and a denial of the veto power to the governors, passed. that body on the 2d of August, ayes 129, nays 71. In the Senate, the restriction on the governor was removed, and the anti-slavery clause amended so as to extend the Missouri line, making it applicable to Oregon. These amendments were disagreed to by large majorities in the House, and the bill returned to the Senate-where, after a protracted debate, it passed, on the day prior to adjournment, by a vote of 29 to 25.

Protracted but ineffectual efforts were made at this, and the succeeding session, to establish governments for the newly acquired Territories of California and New Mexico.

During the last session of Mr. Polk's administration, the Department of the Interior was created; the head officer of which is appointed by the President, and is a member of the Cabinet.