The Southerners found, as they always did sooner or later, that facts were against them.

The people of New Mexico petitioned for a territorial government and for the exclusion of slavery.

Mr.Calhoun pronounced this action "insolent." Slavery was not only to be permitted, but the United States government was to be made to force it upon the people of the territories.

Finally, a resolution was offered "to extend the Constitution" to the territories,--one of those utterly vague propositions in which the South delighted to hide well-defined schemes for extending, not the Constitution, but slave-holding, to fresh fields and virgin soil.

This gave rise to a sharp debate between Mr.Webster and Mr.Calhoun as to whether the Constitution extended to the territories or not.