SPRINGFIELD, March 1, 1840
DEAR STUART:
I have never seen the prospects of our party so bright in these parts
as they are now. We shall carry this county by a larger majority than
we did in 1836, when you ran against May. I do not think my prospects,
individually, are very flattering, for I think it probable I shall
not be permitted to be a candidate; but the party ticket will succeed
triumphantly. Subscriptions to the "Old Soldier" pour in without
abatement. This morning I took from the post office a letter from Dubois
enclosing the names of sixty subscribers, and on carrying it to Francis
I found he had received one hundred and forty more from other quarters
by the same day's mail. That is but an average specimen of every day's
receipts. Yesterday Douglas, having chosen to consider himself insulted
by something in the Journal, undertook to cane Francis in the street.
Francis caught him by the hair and jammed him back against a market cart
where the matter ended by Francis being pulled away from him. The
whole affair was so ludicrous that Francis and everybody else (Douglass
excepted) have been laughing about it ever since.
I send you the names of some of the V.B. men who have come out for
Harrison about town, and suggest that you send them some documents.
Moses Coffman (he let us appoint him a delegate yesterday), Aaron
Coffman, George Gregory, H. M. Briggs, Johnson (at Birchall's
Bookstore), Michael Glyn, Armstrong (not Hosea nor Hugh, but a
carpenter), Thomas Hunter, Moses Pileher (he was always a Whig and
deserves attention), Matthew Crowder Jr., Greenberry Smith; John Fagan,
George Fagan, William Fagan (these three fell out with us about Early,
and are doubtful now), John M. Cartmel, Noah Rickard, John Rickard,
Walter Marsh.
The foregoing should be addressed at Springfield.
Also send some to Solomon Miller and John Auth at Salisbury. Also to
Charles Harper, Samuel Harper, and B. C. Harper, and T. J. Scroggins,
John Scroggins at Pulaski, Logan County.
Speed says he wrote you what Jo Smith said about you as he passed here.
We will procure the names of some of his people here, and send them to
you before long. Speed also says you must not fail to send us the New
York Journal he wrote for some time since.
Evan Butler is jealous that you never send your compliments to him. You
must not neglect him next time.
Your friend, as ever, A. LINCOLN
RESOLUTION IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
November 28, 1840.
In the Illinois House of Representatives, November 28, 1840, Mr. Lincoln
offered the following:
Resolved, That so much of the governor's message as relates to
fraudulent voting, and other fraudulent practices at elections, be
referred to the Committee on Elections, with instructions to said
committee to prepare and report to the House a bill for such an act as
may in their judgment afford the greatest possible protection of the
elective franchise against all frauds of all sorts whatever.
RESOLUTION IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
December 2, 1840.
Resolved, That the Committee on Education be instructed to inquire
into the expediency of providing by law for the examination as to the
qualification of persons offering themselves as school teachers, that no
teacher shall receive any part of the public school fund who shall not
have successfully passed such examination, and that they report by bill
or otherwise.
REMARKS IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
December 4, 1840
In the House of Representatives, Illinois, December 4, 1840, on
presentation of a report respecting petition of H. N. Purple, claiming
the seat of Mr. Phelps from Peoria, Mr. Lincoln moved that the House
resolve itself into Committee of the Whole on the question, and take
it up immediately. Mr. Lincoln considered the question of the highest
importance whether an individual had a right to sit in this House or
not. The course he should propose would be to take up the evidence and
decide upon the facts seriatim.
Mr. Drummond wanted time; they could not decide in the heat of debate,
etc.
Mr. Lincoln thought that the question had better be gone into now.
In courts of law jurors were required to decide on evidence, without
previous study or examination. They were required to know nothing of
the subject until the evidence was laid before them for their immediate
decision. He thought that the heat of party would be augmented by delay.
The Speaker called Mr. Lincoln to order as being irrelevant; no mention
had been made of party heat.
Mr. Drummond said he had only spoken of debate. Mr. Lincoln asked what
caused the heat, if it was not party? Mr. Lincoln concluded by urging
that the question would be decided now better than hereafter, and he
thought with less heat and excitement.
(Further debate, in which Lincoln participated.)
REMARKS IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
December 4, 1840.
In the Illinois House of Representatives, December 4, 1840, House in
Committee of the Whole on the bill providing for payment of interest on
the State debt,--Mr. Lincoln moved to strike out the body and amendments
of the bill, and insert in lieu thereof an amendment which in substance
was that the governor be authorized to issue bonds for the payment of
the interest; that these be called "interest bonds"; that the taxes
accruing on Congress lands as they become taxable be irrevocably set
aside and devoted as a fund to the payment of the interest bonds. Mr.
Lincoln went into the reasons which appeared to him to render this plan
preferable to that of hypothecating the State bonds. By this course we
could get along till the next meeting of the Legislature, which was
of great importance. To the objection which might be urged that these
interest bonds could not be cashed, he replied that if our other bonds
could, much more could these, which offered a perfect security, a fund
being irrevocably set aside to provide for their redemption. To another
objection, that we should be paying compound interest, he would reply
that the rapid growth and increase of our resources was in so great a
ratio as to outstrip the difficulty; that his object was to do the best
that could be done in the present emergency. All agreed that the faith
of the State must be preserved; this plan appeared to him preferable
to a hypothecation of bonds, which would have to be redeemed and the
interest paid. How this was to be done, he could not see; therefore he
had, after turning the matter over in every way, devised this measure,
which would carry us on till the next Legislature.
(Mr. Lincoln spoke at some length, advocating his measure.)
Lincoln advocated his measure, December 11, 1840.
December 12, 1840, he had thought some permanent provision ought to be
made for the bonds to be hypothecated, but was satisfied taxation and
revenue could not be connected with it now.
1841
TO JOHN T. STUART--ON DEPRESSION
SPRINGFIELD, Jan 23, 1841
DEAR STUART: I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were
equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one
cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell; I
awfully forbode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die
or be better, as it appears to me.... I fear I shall be unable to attend
any business here, and a change of scene might help me. If I could be
myself, I would rather remain at home with Judge Logan. I can write no
more.
REMARKS IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
January 23, 1841
In the House of Representatives January 23, 1841, while discussing the
continuation of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, Mr. Moore was afraid
the holders of the "scrip" would lose.
Mr. Napier thought there was no danger of that; and Mr. Lincoln said he
had not examined to see what amount of scrip would probably be needed.
The principal point in his mind was this, that nobody was obliged to
take these certificates. It is altogether voluntary on their part, and
if they apprehend it will fall in their hands they will not take it.
Further the loss, if any there be, will fall on the citizens of that
section of the country.
This scrip is not going to circulate over an extensive range of country,
but will be confined chiefly to the vicinity of the canal. Now, we find
the representatives of that section of the country are all in favor of
the bill.
When we propose to protect their interests, they say to us: Leave us
to take care of ourselves; we are willing to run the risk. And this
is reasonable; we must suppose they are competent to protect their own
interests, and it is only fair to let them do it.
CIRCULAR FROM WHIG COMMITTEE.
February 9, 1841.
Appeal to the People of the State of Illinois.
FELLOW-CITIZENS:--When the General Assembly, now about adjourning,
assembled in November last, from the bankrupt state of the public
treasury, the pecuniary embarrassments prevailing in every department
of society, the dilapidated state of the public works, and the impending
danger of the degradation of the State, you had a right to expect
that your representatives would lose no time in devising and adopting
measures to avert threatened calamities, alleviate the distresses of
the people, and allay the fearful apprehensions in regard to the future
prosperity of the State. It was not expected by you that the spirit of
party would take the lead in the councils of the State, and make every
interest bend to its demands. Nor was it expected that any party would
assume to itself the entire control of legislation, and convert the
means and offices of the State, and the substance of the people, into
aliment for party subsistence. Neither could it have been expected by
you that party spirit, however strong its desires and unreasonable
its demands, would have passed the sanctuary of the Constitution, and
entered with its unhallowed and hideous form into the formation of the
judiciary system.
At the early period of the session, measures were adopted by the
dominant party to take possession of the State, to fill all public
offices with party men, and make every measure affecting the interests
of the people and the credit of the State operate in furtherance of
their party views. The merits of men and measures therefore became the
subject of discussion in caucus, instead of the halls of legislation,
and decisions there made by a minority of the Legislature have been
executed and carried into effect by the force of party discipline,
without any regard whatever to the rights of the people or the interests
of the State. The Supreme Court of the State was organized, and judges
appointed, according to the provisions of the Constitution, in 1824.
The people have never complained of the organization of that court; no
attempt has ever before been made to change that department. Respect for
public opinion, and regard for the rights and liberties of the people,
have hitherto restrained the spirit of party from attacks upon the
independence and integrity of the judiciary. The same judges have
continued in office since 1824; their decisions have not been the
subject of complaint among the people; the integrity and honesty of the
court have not been questioned, and it has never been supposed that
the court has ever permitted party prejudice or party considerations
to operate upon their decisions. The court was made to consist of four
judges, and by the Constitution two form a quorum for the transaction
of business. With this tribunal, thus constituted, the people have
been satisfied for near sixteen years. The same law which organized the
Supreme Court in 1824 also established and organized circuit courts
to be held in each county in the State, and five circuit judges were
appointed to hold those courts. In 1826 the Legislature abolished these
circuit courts, repealed the judges out of office, and required the
judges of the Supreme Court to hold the circuit courts. The reasons
assigned for this change were, first, that the business of the country
could be better attended to by the four judges of the Supreme Court than
by the two sets of judges; and, second, the state of the public treasury
forbade the employment of unnecessary officers. In 1828 a circuit was
established north of the Illinois River, in order to meet the wants of
the people, and a circuit judge was appointed to hold the courts in that
circuit.
In 1834 the circuit-court system was again established throughout the
State, circuit judges appointed to hold the courts, and the judges of
the Supreme Court were relieved from the performance of circuit court
duties. The change was recommended by the then acting governor of the
State, General W. L. D. Ewing, in the following terms:
"The augmented population of the State, the multiplied number of
organized counties, as well as the increase of business in all, has
long since convinced every one conversant with this department of
our government of the indispensable necessity of an alteration in
our judiciary system, and the subject is therefore recommended to the
earnest patriotic consideration of the Legislature. The present system
has never been exempt from serious and weighty objections. The idea of
appealing from the circuit court to the same judges in the Supreme Court
is recommended by little hopes of redress to the injured party below.
The duties of the circuit, too, it may be added, consume one half of the
year, leaving a small and inadequate portion of time (when that required
for domestic purposes is deducted) to erect, in the decisions of the
Supreme Court, a judicial monument of legal learning and research,
which the talent and ability of the court might otherwise be entirely
competent to."
With this organization of circuit courts the people have never
complained. The only complaints which we have heard have come from
circuits which were so large that the judges could not dispose of the
business, and the circuits in which Judges Pearson and Ralston lately
presided.
Whilst the honor and credit of the State demanded legislation upon the
subject of the public debt, the canal, the unfinished public works, and
the embarrassments of the people, the judiciary stood upon a basis
which required no change--no legislative action. Yet the party in power,
neglecting every interest requiring legislative action, and wholly
disregarding the rights, wishes, and interests of the people, has, for
the unholy purpose of providing places for its partisans and supplying
them with large salaries, disorganized that department of the
government. Provision is made for the election of five party judges
of the Supreme Court, the proscription of four circuit judges, and the
appointment of party clerks in more than half the counties of the
State. Men professing respect for public opinion, and acknowledged to be
leaders of the party, have avowed in the halls of legislation that
the change in the judiciary was intended to produce political results
favorable to their party and party friends. The immutable principles
of justice are to make way for party interests, and the bonds of social
order are to be rent in twain, in order that a desperate faction may
be sustained at the expense of the people. The change proposed in the
judiciary was supported upon grounds so destructive to the institutions
of the country, and so entirely at war with the rights and liberties
of the people, that the party could not secure entire unanimity in its
support, three Democrats of the Senate and five of the House voting
against the measure. They were unwilling to see the temples of justice
and the seats of independent judges occupied by the tools of faction.
The declarations of the party leaders, the selection of party men for
judges, and the total disregard for the public will in the adoption of
the measure, prove conclusively that the object has been not reform, but
destruction; not the advancement of the highest interests of the State,
but the predominance of party.
We cannot in this manner undertake to point out all the objections to
this party measure; we present you with those stated by the Council
of Revision upon returning the bill, and we ask for them a candid
consideration.
Believing that the independence of the judiciary has been destroyed,
that hereafter our courts will be independent of the people, and
entirely dependent upon the Legislature; that our rights of property
and liberty of conscience can no longer be regarded as safe from the
encroachments of unconstitutional legislation; and knowing of no other
remedy which can be adopted consistently with the peace and good order
of society, we call upon you to avail yourselves of the opportunity
afforded, and, at the next general election, vote for a convention of
the people.
S. H. LITTLE,
E. D. BAKER,
J. J. HARDIN,
E. B. WEBS,
A. LINCOLN,
J. GILLESPIE,
Committee on behalf of the Whig members of the Legislature.
AGAINST THE REORGANIZATION OF THE JUDICIARY.
EXTRACT FROM A PROTEST IN THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE
February 26, 1841
For the reasons thus presented, and for others no less apparent, the
undersigned cannot assent to the passage of the bill, or permit it to
become a law, without this evidence of their disapprobation; and they
now protest against the reorganization of the judiciary, because--(1)
It violates the great principles of free government by subjecting the
judiciary to the Legislature. (2) It is a fatal blow at the independence
of the judges and the constitutional term of their office. (3) It is a
measure not asked for, or wished for, by the people. (4) It will greatly
increase the expense of our courts, or else greatly diminish their
utility. (5) It will give our courts a political and partisan character,
thereby impairing public confidence in their decisions. (6) It will
impair our standing with other States and the world. (7)It is a party
measure for party purposes, from which no practical good to the people
can possibly arise, but which may be the source of immeasurable evils.
The undersigned are well aware that this protest will be altogether
unavailing with the majority of this body. The blow has already fallen,
and we are compelled to stand by, the mournful spectators of the ruin it
will cause.
[Signed by 35 members, among whom was Abraham Lincoln.]
TO JOSHUA F. SPEED--MURDER CASE
SPRINGFIELD June 19, 1841.
DEAR SPEED:--We have had the highest state of excitement here for a week
past that our community has ever witnessed; and, although the public
feeling is somewhat allayed, the curious affair which aroused it is very
far from being even yet cleared of mystery. It would take a quire of
paper to give you anything like a full account of it, and I therefore
only propose a brief outline. The chief personages in the drama are
Archibald Fisher, supposed to be murdered, and Archibald Trailor, Henry
Trailor, and William Trailor, supposed to have murdered him. The three
Trailors are brothers: the first, Arch., as you know, lives in town;
the second, Henry, in Clary's Grove; and the third, William, in Warren
County; and Fisher, the supposed murdered, being without a family, had
made his home with William. On Saturday evening, being the 29th of May,
Fisher and William came to Henry's in a one-horse dearborn, and there
stayed over Sunday; and on Monday all three came to Springfield (Henry
on horseback) and joined Archibald at Myers's, the Dutch carpenter.
That evening at supper Fisher was missing, and so next morning some
ineffectual search was made for him; and on Tuesday, at one o'clock
P.M., William and Henry started home without him. In a day or two Henry
and one or two of his Clary-Grove neighbors came back for him again, and
advertised his disappearance in the papers. The knowledge of the matter
thus far had not been general, and here it dropped entirely, till about
the 10th instant, when Keys received a letter from the postmaster in
Warren County, that William had arrived at home, and was telling a very
mysterious and improbable story about the disappearance of Fisher, which
induced the community there to suppose he had been disposed of unfairly.
Keys made this letter public, which immediately set the whole town and
adjoining county agog. And so it has continued until yesterday. The mass
of the people commenced a systematic search for the dead body, while
Wickersham was despatched to arrest Henry Trailor at the Grove, and Jim
Maxcy to Warren to arrest William. On Monday last, Henry was brought in,
and showed an evident inclination to insinuate that he knew Fisher to be
dead, and that Arch. and William had killed him. He said he guessed the
body could be found in Spring Creek, between the Beardstown road and
Hickox's mill. Away the people swept like a herd of buffalo, and cut
down Hickox's mill-dam nolens volens, to draw the water out of the pond,
and then went up and down and down and up the creek, fishing and raking,
and raking and ducking and diving for two days, and, after all, no dead
body found.
In the meantime a sort of scuffling-ground had been found in the brush
in the angle, or point, where the road leading into the woods past
the brewery and the one leading in past the brick-yard meet. From the
scuffle-ground was the sign of something about the size of a man having
been dragged to the edge of the thicket, where it joined the track
of some small-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse, as shown by the
road-tracks. The carriage-track led off toward Spring Creek. Near this
drag-trail Dr. Merryman found two hairs, which, after a long scientific
examination, he pronounced to be triangular human hairs, which term, he
says, includes within it the whiskers, the hair growing under the arms
and on other parts of the body; and he judged that these two were of the
whiskers, because the ends were cut, showing that they had flourished in
the neighborhood of the razor's operations. On Thursday last Jim Maxcy
brought in William Trailor from Warren. On the same day Arch. was
arrested and put in jail. Yesterday (Friday) William was put upon his
examining trial before May and Lovely. Archibald and Henry were both
present. Lamborn prosecuted, and Logan, Baker, and your humble servant
defended. A great many witnesses were introduced and examined, but I
shall only mention those whose testimony seemed most important. The
first of these was Captain Ransdell. He swore that when William and
Henry left Springfield for home on Tuesday before mentioned they did not
take the direct route,--which, you know, leads by the butcher shop,--but
that they followed the street north until they got opposite, or nearly
opposite, May's new house, after which he could not see them from where
he stood; and it was afterwards proved that in about an hour after they
started, they came into the street by the butcher shop from toward the
brickyard. Dr. Merryman and others swore to what is stated about the
scuffle-ground, drag-trail, whiskers, and carriage tracks. Henry was
then introduced by the prosecution. He swore that when they started for
home they went out north, as Ransdell stated, and turned down west
by the brick-yard into the woods, and there met Archibald; that they
proceeded a small distance farther, when he was placed as a sentinel to
watch for and announce the approach of any one that might happen that
way; that William and Arch. took the dearborn out of the road a small
distance to the edge of the thicket, where they stopped, and he saw
them lift the body of a man into it; that they then moved off with the
carriage in the direction of Hickox's mill, and he loitered about for
something like an hour, when William returned with the carriage, but
without Arch., and said they had put him in a safe place; that they went
somehow he did not know exactly how--into the road close to the brewery,
and proceeded on to Clary's Grove. He also stated that some time during
the day William told him that he and Arch. had killed Fisher the evening
before; that the way they did it was by him William knocking him down
with a club, and Arch. then choking him to death.