Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1839-02-22

the exercise Of an exclusive authority OF
the General Government TO render This
place safe and SECURE seat of Guverp.
mont. and 10 promote The well being of the
inhabitants Of the District. The power
granted, ought 10 be interpreted and exer.
c'sed solely to the end for which it was
granted The language Of The grant was
necessarily broad. comprehensive and ex
elusive. because all the ex,gences which
might arise to render this secure seat of
The General Government cnuld no, have
been forcscen and provided for. The Ian.
guage may possibly be sufficiently compre.
hens,ve TO include a power of abolition. bu,
1t would NOT at all thence follow that the
power could be r'gh'fnlly exercised. The
case may be resmbled to that of p!enipo.
ton''ary invested with plenary power, hu,
who, at the same time, has positive lns,rnc
f"ns from h's Geve'nmnn' NJ TO the kind nf
treaty which he is to negotiate and c,n
c'ndc. II he vln'a'os those Instructions.
and concludes a different trea,v, h,s Gov
eerumenf is not bound by it. Aud If the
foreign Government. is aware of the viola
ton. It ucs in bad faith. Grit NAV BE-
illustrated by an example drawn from
private life. ! am an endorser for my
friend on note discounted in bank. H.
applies TO me to endorse another 10 renew
It, which do in blank. Now. this gives
him power to make any other use of Inv
note which he pleases. But, instead of
applying it to the intended purpose. he
gees To q broker and sells it, thereby doub
ling my responsibl'v for him. he commits
breach Of trnst, and violation Of the good
faith implied in the whole transaction.
But, Mr. President. If This reasoning
were as erroneaus as I believe It to be
correct and conclusive. is the affair of the
liberation OF SIX thousand negro slaves in
tins District. disconnected with the three
millions of slaves in the Unit States, of
sufficient magnitude to aguate, distract,
and emblt'er this great Confederacy,
The next case in which the petitioners
ask the exercise Of the power Of ongress.
relates 10 slavery 10 the Territory OF
Florida.
Florida is the extreme southern portion
OF the United States. II is bounded on eli
its land SIDES BY states. and is several hun.
dred miles from the nearest free State. L,
almost extends within the topics, and the
nearest 'mportan, island to it on the water
s'ds 's Cuba. slave island. This simple
statement OF its geographical position
should Of itself decide the question. When
by the treaty Of 1919 with Spain, it was
coded 10 the United States, slavery exisre
within II. BY the terms Of that tren'v
the effects and property Of the lnhab,an :
are SECURED 10 them, and they are allowed
n nh ,T
! thlnk proper To do so, without l,mltatio as
TO tune II It were expedIent, therefore
10 abolish slavery in il. It could no, BE-
done consistently with the treaty. w,,hou,
granting to The ancient inhabitants q rea
sonabe tlmo to remove their slaves Bul
further. BY the compromise which took
place on the passage Of the &C, for the
admission OF Missouri into the Union. in
the year 1920, 1t was agreed and under
stood that the line of SO deg. 80 min. OF
| north latitude should mark the boundary
between The free States and the slave
SAFES to he created in the territories @!
he United States coded by The treaty o'
Louisiana; those situated south of f.
bang slave Safes. and those north Of it
Tree States. Bu' Farda Is south of that
line. and, consequently. according 10 the
The spirit of The understanding which pre-
vailed At the period alluded To, should b.
slave State. II may be true that ,he
COMPROMISE does not in terms emb re
Florida, ard that il is not absolutely bind
'ng and obligatory; but all candid aud
impartial men must agree that it ought no,
10 be diSrogarded without he mas, welgh,y
considerations, and that nothing could BE-
more to be DIP" Gated than to ooen anew
the bleeding wonnds which were happly
b"uod up and healed by that compromise
Florida Is the only rema'ning Tertl'ory
to be admitted into the Union with the
INSTITUTION of Of domestic slavery. white
Wisconsin and Iowa are now nearly ripe
Tor admission without il.
Inc next instance IN which he exercise
OF the power Of Congress is solicited Is ha
OF prohibiting what Is denom,na'ed by the
petitioners the slave trade between Tn.
S'n'es, or. as 1t is described in abolition
petitions, the traffic in human beings be.
tween the States. THIS exercise of the
power of Congress is claimed und,r tina,
clause Of he Constitution winch invest. |,
with authority to regulate commerce with
foreign nations. and among The several
States, and with the Indian tribes. The
power to regulate commerce among the
several States, like other powers 10 the
Constitution, has hitherto remained ID,
mant IN respect to the interior trade b,
lana between the States. II was a powe,
granted NE ali the olner powers of tn,
"eneta' GoverIment, to secure peace an,
harmony among the States. Hitherto !
mas not been necessary to exercise il. Al
the cases in which, during the progress o
time, it may become expedient to exert h,
general authority to regulate commerc,
between the s, a,es, cannot be conceived
We may easily imagine however, contn
gencles which, if they were TO happen
might require the in'erposliion of the CON
mon authority. II, for example. the Stat,
"i Ohio were, by law, to prohibit any YES
al