The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-09-17


in the Senate, certain amendments offered, Inc
effect Of which would have been to give the inhabitants
Of the reoy Of Orleans the an Of hs our
nal OF the Senate does not show by whom the amend.
meats offered but searching the records OF ina
Trasy's motion to amend Biz" think this may be
regarded as the original TO when subsequent ar,hp's
10 emancipate the Territories IRON he coh'Ioi o. .f
necessary To give them a representation in Congress
NAV be referred Whatever the doctrine may be con-
sdsred at the present day. il derived little support from
renuhIcan sources then 1t brought forward BY
Mr. Tracy an able and respectable iedealist from Con
necicut On the division, which was called on his mo-
ton strike out for the purpose OF inserting his amend
mens received but eight votes, including his They
were given by Timothy Pickering and John Quincy Adams,
of Massachusetts,; Uriah Tracy, the mover, and James
Hillhouse, of Connecticut James A. Bayard and Ste
phen White of Delaware Simeon Olcott, of New Hamp
shire and James Jackson, of Georgia With the ex-
cepon of Mr. Jackson, all these gentlemen fede
rss for It not until several years later that Mr.
Adams acted with the republican party. Some of them
among the brightest OF the federal party
OF that day, both in respect talents and private charac
ter and all were strenuous opponents of Mr. Jeferson
administration. Against these eight ayes twenty
four noes, given by the great body of Mr.. Jeiersons
supporters and some of his opponents Among The for
mer were Baldwin of Georgia, Giles of Virginia and
Smith of Mary land The supporters OF the WERE
with one exception. federallsts and opponents of Mr.
JefersOns administration Its opponents were chiefly
pubcans and supporters of his administration.
AT the same session of Congress memorials were pre-
seated to both houses of Congress from the inhabitants
siana The former prayed 10 be admitted Immediately
into the Unlon and insisted that they had right to such
admission under the treaty of cesson The latter asked
for territorial government the whole Territory, Dis
trct of louisiana II called lying north OF the SOD
parallel of latitude, having been virtually subjected,
respect to the administration of It's legislative, executive
and judicial powers to the governor and judges of the
Indiana Territory In both the inhabitants prayed
for the privilege of importing slaves These memorials
mittee of which Mr. John Randolph chairman.
On the 18th OF January, 1905, Mr. Rando pm made a
report which will be found at page All OF vol 30 Amer
State Papers, printed by Gales & Seaton concluding
with resolution that provision ought TO be made By
law for extending to the inhabitants OF Louisiana the
to, on the 2Sth of January, without division.
Mr.. Randolphs report, while asserting that "every in
dulgence not incompatible with the interests of the
Unon," should be extended TO the inhabitants of Louisi
ana, and while declaring that the object of the committee
IS TO give to Louisiana government of its
choice administered by officers OF its appointment
maintained at the time, that in recommending the
extension of this privilege to the people of that country
ii [wasl not the intention of the committee that it should
be unaccompanied by wise and salutary restrictions
Among these may be numbered prohibition of the
poraton OF foreign slaves, equally dictated by humanity
and policy, there follows enumeration of ether re-
strctons to which may be added, or further security
that such of the laws may bo dsapproved by Congress
within limited time after their passage, shall be OF
force and effect"
the right of Congress to provide for the government of
the Territories, to impose them such restrictions
demanded by the interests of the Union, and to
measure of humanity and policy.
Such was the action OF the two houses of Congress
this subec involving the question OF yielding to the in
habitants Territories the control of their domes-
tIc AFFAIRS and eXemptng their legislation from the
pervlsory and repeating power OF Congress If we
gard party measure, all the republican sanctions OF
that day against it, And if consider it po-
tica question. to be determined with regard to its
pexon, by reference 10 the genius of institutions
it singular that those who most deeply imbued
with the spirit of republcansm should have been
rayed against it.
Let me now examine for moment the question mme-
dately before motion is made strike out the
10Th section of this bill The section provides st That
'.the inhabitants of the said Territory shall be entitled to
all the rights privileges, and mmunites heretofore grant
ed and secured to the Territory OF Iowa. and to Its nhab
itants."
ID That the existing laws now in force in the Terri
tory of Oregon under the authority of the provisional gov
established by the people thereof shall continue
10 be valid and operative therein far the be
not incompatible with the provisions OF this act subject
nevertheless, be altered, modified, repealed by the
governor and Legislative assembly of the said Territory OF
Oregon"
3D. That "the laws of the United States are hereby
extended and declared to be force said territory
far the any provision thereof may be app
cable"
In order to what rights, privileges and r,munites
organizing the Territory OF Iowa. The 18th section
of this act provides that the inhabitants of the said Ter
rtory shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and
immunties heretofore granted and secured to the Terri
tory of Wisconsin and its Inhabitants &c.
We must next have to the act organizing the
Territory OF Wisconsin Inc l2tn SecuOn OF tn1S act
provides that the inhabitants of the said Territory shall
be entitled to, and enjoy all and singular the rights priv
eges and advantages granted and secured TO the people
of the Territory OF the United States northwest of the
river Ohio, by the articles of the compact contained in
the ordinance for the government of the said Territory,
passed the 18th day OF july 1857 and shall be sub
ject all the conditions and restrictions and prohibitions
in said articles OF compact imposed upon the people OF
the said Territory"
1t will be that there is an essential difference IN
the language OF the two sections The 18th section Of
the organizing the Territory of Iowa the
rights privileges and immunes secured to the Terri
tory OF Wisconsin and its inhabitants including the ord
Of l7S7 but does expressly impose the
dons, restrictions and prohibitions contained in that
ordinance. Now, suppose the exclusion of slavery
from the Northwest Territory by the ordinance is to be
referred rather 10 the class of restrictions and prohibit
tons than to that OF privileges and immunes. Under
such a construction of the act, slavery would have
been excluded from Iowa by the 18th section OF the
establishing government for that Territory, would
it be excluded from Oregon by that portion OF this bill
which to the inhabitants the rights, privileges
and immunies heretofore granted and secured to the
Territory of Iowa and its inhabitants"
know there is difference OF opinion in respect to the
construction of the twelfth section of the act organ
izng government for the Territory of Iowa. The
ator from Maryland MIR. JOHNSON whose legal opin
entitled to great weight Of opinion that the
slavery restrictions contained in the twelfth section of
the act organizing territorial government for Wiscon-
sin, from which Territory Iowa taken embraced
in the twelfth section of the act establishing govern
for the latter. The senators from North Carolina
and Georgia MIR. BADGER and Mr.. BERRIEN1 consider
the condilOns prohibitions and restrictions imposed by
the ordinance of 1857, the hand and the rights
privileges, and advantages secured the Other as dis
tnct, substantive propositions, OF which, the latter only
embraced in the twelfth of the last named act
And ,lth / NOT noNor al< a.