Madison Whig advocate. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1839-1841, 1839-03-09

/ And now. Mr.. President. allow me 10 con-
slider the several cases IN winch me anthoiity
/ of Congress 10 invoked b. these abolition Pc
! tifioners upon the subject OF domestic slavery
/ The FRS, relates to il IL exists IN the Dis
rrict OF Columbia. The following Is the pro-
/ vision OF the Constitution OF the tinted States
/ in reference that matter:
! ssI,a exercise exclusive legislation IN all ca
i s.s whatsoever over such District (not exceed
ing ZEN miles square, may by cessioEi oil par
/ ticular States. and the acceptance OF Lon
gress. become the Scat OF goseiaiisHi q i-is
! United States.''
This provision proceeded, in the point of
4 time: the actual cessions which were made By
The States Of Maryland and Virginia The OBJ
Iect of the cession was TO eslaDAlsh a osnt q
Irorers,Hzeat Of the JJIted States; and the grant
lin the Constitution of exclusive legislation
must be understood, and should be always IN
/ teror,ted as hayinE~Ielation 10 the object OF
the cession. II was with iui kno%iedge oil
Z this clause in the Constitution that those two
States ceded TO the General Government the
4 Zen miles suuare. constituting the District OF
/ Columbia In making the cessIon, they sup
posed ii was to le applied. and applied solely-
] to the purposes of Seat OF Government, tor
which II was asked " men II was Iiaqe >
| slavery existed in both those Commo nv ealths,
and in the ceded territory, as It now contln-
ues 10 exist in all of them. Neither Maryland
nor Virginia could have anticipated that, whist
the institution remained within their respec-
tive limits. It's abolition would be attempted by
Congress without their consent Neither OF
them would probably have made an uncondi-
| tional cession, if thcv could have anticipated
| such a result.
| From the nature of the provision in the Con-
stitution and the avowed object Of the acqui-
sition of the territory, two duties arise on the
part of Congress. The first is, TO render the
District available, comfortable, and conve-
nient, as a seat of Government OF the whole
Union; the other is. to govern the people with
in the District so as best promote their hap
| piness and prosperity. These objects are to-
tally distinct in their nature, and, IN interpret
ing and exercising the grant OF the power oil
exclusive legislation, that distinction should
be constantly borne in mind Is II necessary,
in order TO render this place comfortable seat
| of the General Government, to abolish slave
~ within its limitsl No one can or VIII ad-
vance such a proposition. The Government
/ has remained here near forty wears without the
slightest Inconvenience from the presence OF
domestic slavery. Is it necessary 10 the well
| being of the people of the District that slave
nv should be abolished from amongst them
They not only neither ask desire. but are
almost unanimously opposed to it. 1t exists
here in the miidest and most mltigated form
In a population OF 1884 there were, at the
last enumeration of the population OF the Uni
ted States, but 6,ll9 slaves. The number has
probably not much increased since. They are
dispursed over the ten miles square, engaged
in the quiet pursuits of husbandry, or IN menI-
al offices in domestic life. If it were necessa-
sary to the efficiency of this place as seat OF
the General Government 10 aDoilSn slavery,
which is utterly denied, the abolition should
be confined 10 the necessity which prompts II,
that is, TO the limits of the city of Washing
ton itself. Beyond those limits, persons con-
cerned in the Government of the United States
have no more TO do with the inhabitants OF the
District than they have with the inhabitants of
the adjacent counties of Maryland and Virgin
ia which lie beyond the District.
To abolish slavery thin the district of Co !
lumbia while it remains in Virginia and Mary |
land situated hat District within ne |
very heart of those States, would expose them
TO great practical inconvenience and annoy |
ance. The District would become place of
refuge and escape for fugitive slaves from the
tn 0 States, and place from which srirlt 81 /, !,
discomfort, irsu coordination and .,,surrec,ion /
-oo lvstercd and encouraged in the two
States. Suppose, at one time under
consideration, Pennsylvania had granted ten
miles square within its limits for the purpose |
OF seat of the General Government; could |
Congress, without violation OF good iaith, |
have introduced and established slavery within |
the bosom of that Commonwealth, in the ced- |
ed territory, after she had abolished it So long |
as the year 1892 Yet the Inconvenience to
Pennsylvania in the case supposed would have
been much less than that to Virginia and Ma
ryland IN the case we are arguing.
1t was upon this view of the subject that the |
Senate, at Its last session, solemnIy declared |
that ii would be violation of implied faith, re-
sulting from the trai saction of the cession, to
abolish slavery within the District of Column
bia. A nd would it not be! By implied faith
IS meant that when grant is made for one
avowed and declared purpose, known to the
parties, the grant should not be perverted to
another purpose, unavowed and undeclared,
and injurious to the granrer. The grant, in
the case we are considering. of the territory OF
Columbia. was for a seat of Government.
Whatever power is necessary to accomplish
that object is carried along by the grant. But
the abolition OF slavery is not necessary TO the
an
Government. The grant in the Constitution,
OF exclusive power of legislation over the
District, was made to ensure the exercise of an
exclusive authority of the General Govern
ment TO render this place a safe and secure
seat OF Government. and TO promote the we'll
being of the inhabitants of the District. The
power granted ought to be interpreted and ex-
ercised solely to the end for which il was gran
ted. The language of the great was neces-
sarily broad, comprehensive, and exclusive
because all the exigencies which might arise
TO render this secure seat of the General
Government could not have been foreseen and
provided for. The language may possibly be
sufficiently comprehensive TO include a mower
OF abolition, but it would not all thence follow
that the power could be riuhtfullv exercised.
The case may be resembled 10 that of plen-
petentIary invested with plenary power, but
VINO, at the same time. has positive instructions
from his Government to the kind of treaty .
Inch he is TO negotiate and conclude. IF he
violates those instructions, and concludes q
different treaty, his Government is not bound
by ~ nd If the foreign Government is
aware OF the violation, II acts in bad faith. Or
i may be illustrated by an example drawn
from private life. l indorser for nv !
friend on note discounted in bank. He APP :
Plies 10 me to endorse another renew il, ,
which do in blank. Now, this gives him
bower TO make any other use of my note which
ne plcases- But If, instead Of APPLYING it to :
ne lntended purpose. he goes TO broker and :
'elis II, thereby doubling my responsibility to !
nm, he commits breach of trust. and vio- |,
alton OF the good faith implied in the whole +
But, Mr.. President, if this reasoning were
IS erroneous as believe il be correct and ?
conclusive, is the affair of the liberation oil Z
AZ thcusans negro slaves in this District dis f
onnected with the three millions of slaves in I
he United States, of sufficient magnitude TO f
g.taie, distract, and embtter this great Con- c
sderacy. 4,
The next case in which the petitioners ask il
ne exercise of the power of Congress relates c
. slavery in the territory of Florida. 9
Florida IS the extreme southern portion OF G
ne United States Ii is bounded on all its land
des BY slave States, and is several hundred a