Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1848-07-28
The Territorial Rill

The Territorial Bill
Came up in the Senate last Saturday, and
was the occasion Of considerable debate, where.
Of the correspondent of the Journal of Com
merce makes the following notice:
The Bill to establish tcrritoih governments
in Oregon. California, and New Mexico, and 10
Compromise the Slavery question, was taken up
by the Senate, and with an apparent determine
ton to test the question without much debate--
The spcech-making was left pretty much to the
opponents of the Bill. Its friends did not wish
to embarrass it by much speaking. test vote
was taken on the bill, and at an early stage, Mr.
Baldwin moved to strike out all of the bill re-
lating to California and New Mexico, leaving
only that portion relating to Oregon. The mo-
ton was negalved, by vote of / ! to 81 The
yeas were, Mcssrs Baldwin, Bradley, Clarke.
Corwin, Davis of Mass, Dayton, Dix, Dodge,
Felch, Fitzgerald, Greene, Hale, Hamlin. Miller,
Niles, Upliam. Walker. This vote gives nearly
the whole strength of the opposition to the bill,
and, of course, it will pass the Senate
In the course of the debate, Mr. Clayton cx.
plained that the South wanted the Missouri line
but the North opposed it; though, as he said,
the area of the territory north Of the line of 50
deg 80 min. was l,5s9,277 square miles; and
south Of it only 262, 929 square miles. lie also
said that this bill would allay agitation of the
subject, for, in such country as this, agitation
would be perpetual. He spoke of the lSth sec
ton. 1t was misprinted in the bill. /, provided
that the existing laws now in force in the terri
tory Of Oregon, under the provisional Govern
ment, should remain in force till the meeting of
the Legislature, and three months after, subject
to be altered and modified by the Legislature
We could do no more unless we went on to pro-
hibit the Legislative Assembly from lepislatinr
on the subject This section must he tskcn in
connection with the 9th section. The 9Th section
provided that the legislative mower of the terri
tory shall extend to all rightful subjects of lcgis-
lation. consistent ,rith he Constitution of he
United States. The question would arise there
fore. whether the legislature could constitution.
ally net ON the subject of slavery. and Il must
be decided bv the proper tribunal. lie mir CT
had no doubt that Oregon would be free. But
it would be too much 10 reonire from the Sou,b
that slavery would be prohibited from, all terri
tories until thew sbould become States.
Mr. Niles ar6ued that the hill decided notb;n,
and that il contained no compromise. On one
side it was contended that Congress had no now
er over the territories. The other side rlaircd
full power over them. Did this bin affirm either
one or the other? IL not did IL comhromise
the question? And if so. how? Mr. CLAYTON
said the bill did not affirm nor DENY the mower.
1t left the question TO be decided by the Cons,i.
tuition. Mr. Miles asserted that the Committee
had left the question where they found II But
they had made provision for future decision
in favor of the admission of slavery. The OBJ
iect is to correct, by decision of Government
officers and the Supreme Court an INEQUALITY
uufavorable to the South, by promoting slavery.
The pretended compromise settled nothing
But, by it, freedom welded everything. But
nothing was settled and the auitation which the
bill sought to allay would be continued tmade
provision for the protection of slave property.-
1t made no law against slavery, but established a
common law in its favor, by a series of decisions.
Mr. Hale and Mr. Hamlin made arguments to
the same effect Mr. Hale said he would not
trust the question to the Supreme Court know
ing how that Court was constituted-how its
members were appointed.
The seventeen members who voted for Mr.
Baldwins motion, and who are relied on as the
only opponents of the bill in the Senate, are all
from Free States, and in politics are divided. 8
Wings Locos, and ! Independent The 81
who voted against the motion, and who may be
considered the friends of the bill, comprise IL
Wings and 20 Locofocos including Free State
% p ionoS s Il, AIen ., ono no, A1peI'on
son If n Y Uanneg,n 81 Ind Stnr5con Of
Penn, and Phelps of Vt.-all Locos but the
last named, who was member of the Commit
mittee which reported the bill. The Senators
who spoke against the bill on Saturday were
Messrs Niles and Baldwin OF Conn, Corwin Of
Ono, Hale oil n. H., and hamhn oil Maine, The
new Locotoeo Senator from that state, who IN
this, his hrst speech, has unequivocally taken
rank with the friends OF Free Soil. Neither OF
them made set speech, but contented them
selves with pointing out the objections which
they saw to exist in, or would be likely to arise
to, the bill.
iMr, Judiciai execution OF me law II would mol
De very e%eepuonaDiei o1t ne mao no commence
IN the supreme Court, because they had gone