of two branches, like the legislatures of the different States and Territories of the Union; you confer upon them the right to legislate upon all rightful subjects of legislation, except negroes.  Why except negroes?"[356] Forced to a further explanation, he added, “I am not, therefore, prepared to say that under the constitution, we have not the power to pass laws excluding negro slaves from the territories....  But I do say that, if left to myself to carry out my own opinions, I would leave the whole subject to the people of the territories themselves....  I believe it is one of those rights to be conceded to the territories the moment they have governments and legislatures established for them."[357] In short, this was a policy dictated by expediency, and not—­as yet—­by any constitutional necessity.  Douglas was not yet ready to abandon the high national ground of supreme, Federal control over the Territories.

But the restrictive clause in the territorial bills satisfied the radical Southerners as little as it pleased Douglas.  Berrien wished to make the clause more precise by forbidding the territorial legislatures “to establish or prohibit African slavery”; but Hale, with his preternatural keenness for the supposed intrigues of the slave power, believed that even with these restrictions the legislatures might still recognize slavery as an already established institution; and he therefore moved to add the word “allow.”  Douglas voted consistently; first against Berrien’s amendment, and then, when it carried, for Hale’s, hoping thereby to discredit the former.[358] Douglas’s own amendment removing all restrictions, was voted down.[359] True to his instructions, he voted for Seward’s proposition to impose the Wilmot Proviso upon the Territories, but he was happy to find himself in the minority.[360] And so the battle went on, threatening to end in a draw.

A motion to abolish and prohibit peon slavery elicited an apparently spontaneous and sincere expression of detestation from Douglas of “this revolting system.”  Black slavery was not abhorrent to him; but a species of slavery not confined to any color or race, which might, because of a trifling debt, condemn the free white man and his posterity to an endless servitude—­this was indeed intolerable.  If the Senate was about to abolish black slavery, being unwilling to intrust the territorial legislature with such measures, surely it ought in all consistency to abolish also peonage.  But the Senate preferred not to be consistent.[361]

By the last of July, the Omnibus—­in the words of Benton—­had been overturned, and all the inmates but one spilled out.  The Utah bill was the lucky survivor, but even it was not suffered to pass without material alterations.  Clay now joined with Douglas to secure the omission of the clause forbidding the territorial legislature to touch the subject of slavery.  In this they finally succeeded.[362] The bill was thus restored to its original form.[363]