vote to move the capital from Vandalia, and then in
carrying a direct vote for Springfield through the
joint convention by the assistance of the southern
counties. His personal authority accomplished
this in great part. Mr. Dubois says: “He
made Webb and me vote for the removal, though we belonged
to the southern end of the State. We defended
our vote before our constituents by saying that necessity
would ultimately force the seat of government to a
central position. But in reality we gave the vote
to Lincoln because we liked him, because we wanted
to oblige our friend, and because we recognized him
as our leader.” To do this, they were obliged
to quarrel with their most intimate associates, who
had bought a piece of waste land at the exact geographical
center of the State and were striving to have the
capital established there in the interest of their
own pockets and territorial symmetry.
The bill was passed only a short time before the Legislature
adjourned, and the “Long Nine” came back
to their constituents wearing their well-won laurels.
They were complimented in the newspapers, at public
meetings, and even at subscription dinners. We
read of one at Springfield, at the “Rural Hotel,”
to which sixty guests sat down, where there were speeches
by Browning, Lincoln, Douglas (who had resigned his
seat in the Legislature to become Register of the Land
Office at the new capital), S. T. Logan, Baker, and
others, whose wit and wisdom were lost to history
through the absence of reporters. Another dinner
was given them at Athens a few weeks later. Among
the toasts on these occasions were two which we may
transcribe: “Abraham Lincoln: He has
fulfilled the expectations of his friends, and disappointed
the hopes of his enemies”; and “A.
Lincoln: One of Nature’s noblemen.”
THE LINCOLN-STONE PROTEST
[Sidenote: 1837.]
On the 3rd of March, the day before the Legislature
adjourned, Mr. Lincoln caused to be entered upon its
records a paper which excited but little interest
at the time, but which will probably be remembered
long after the good and evil actions of the Vandalia
Assembly have faded away from the minds of men.
It was the authentic record of the beginning of a
great and momentous career. The following protest
was presented to the House, which was read and ordered
to be spread on the journals, to wit:
Resolutions upon the subject of domestic
slavery having passed both branches of the General
Assembly at its present session, the undersigned
hereby protest against the passage of the same.
They believe that the institution of
slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy,
but that the promulgation of abolition doctrines
tends rather to increase than abate its evils.
They believe that the Congress of
the United States
has no power under the Constitution
to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the different
States.
