Sir, this is not so much a plea against this law as it is in favor of blotting our territory with slavery. They say that slavery does not exist here, and that this measure is useless. This excuse will not now hold good, for a president's message has just reached us, in which it is declared, and in this opinion he is backed by a powerful party, that men have the right to bring slaves here, and to hold them as such, and that this is slave territory ...
The speaker is not opposing the law, but rather advocating for its implementation by allowing slavery to spread throughout the territory. They acknowledge that some argue it doesn't exist here and that it's pointless, but now a president's message has been received stating that people have the right to bring slaves into this area and own them as property.