Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1819-06-05
FOR THE SPECTATOR.
NO.
TO THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS.


FELLOW CITIZENS,
The question recently agitated in
congress on the bill for enabling the
people ofthe Missouri territory to form
constitution and state government, is one
of the greatest importance. Onthe final
decision of this question, depends, in a
great degree, the future political charac-
ter of the United States.
The conditions annexed by the house
OF representatives to the Missouri state
bill, have been pronounced, by the adj
vocates OF slavery, unconstitutional, and
contrary to the stipulations of the treaty
of cession between the United States and
France.
l propose briefly to demonstrate
l. That congress have the constitu-
OF new state into the union such con-
ditions as they shall deem most condu-
Give to the general welfare of the nation.
2. That the treaty of cession between
the United States and France does not
take from congress this constitutional
power.
8. That as it is the right, so it is the
duty of congress to refuse to admit into
the union any new state, except upon the
express condition that the further intro
duction of slavery into such state shall
be prohibited.
/. The federal constitution (artcle 4,
section 3 declares that &C New states mag
be admitted by the congress into the
union" Here, then, is discretionary
power, vested in congress, to admit, or
to refuse to admit new states, as they
may think proper. If they may admit,
they certainly may refuse to admit. If
they have right to do this, they must
of course have right to say upon what
terms they will admit new state. The
power of annexing conditions to the adj
mission of new states, is necessary ap-
pendage to the power of admitting or of
refusing admission to them. The smaller
power is included in, and inseparable
from the greater. Would it not have
been the height of folly to vest congress
with the power of saying to the people
of new state, " We will not admit YOU
into the union on any terms" and at the
same time to deny them the power of
saying, Z" We will admit you into the
union, if you will prohibit the future in
PRODUCTION OF slaves; but if you will not
do this, we will not admit you 7" The
denial of the right for which / contend,
instead of being favorable to a. people
seeking admission into the union, would
place such people in most embarass-
ing situation, and might for ever prevent
them from being admitted. The admis-
sion of a new state is never completed
until the passage of a resolution by con-
gress, declaring such admission. This
admission is the result Of compact be-
tween the people of the. new state and
those of the states already belonging to
the confederacy. In the act authorizing
the formation ct a state governments,
congress offer to the people of the new
state certain conditions, upon the fulfil.
ment of which congress are willing to
admit such new state into the union,
The advocates of slavery have boldly
asserted that congress have not the pow
er OF anncxing any other condition than
that the constitution OF the new state shall
be republican,. This assertion, trust,
has been already rcfuted. The consti-
tuition requires congress to make this
condition, and hermits them to make
others, 1t will be found, on cxaIn;na-
ton, that congress have uniformly as
serted and exercised the right for which