The State guard., 1848-08-22

= dently of the Constitution, which does not create, but recognises and protects it from violation by any law or regulation of any State, in the cases to WI ich the Constitu- ton applies" :"
 Thus, sir, by a fair interpretation of the express provisions of the Constitution, the practical operations of the Government under il, and the decisions Of the highest judicial tribunal in the land, the right of property in a slave is fully recognised.
 And now, by the bill under considera- ton, it IS proposed to extend the, Constitu- ton and laws of the United States over Oregon, and like purpose exists with re- gard to California and New Mexico.-
 These arc the common property of all the States, each of whom have an undiyi- ded interest in the whole. The citizens of each, having the same rights to that which is common to all, will, therefore, in emigrating to these distant territories, go under the protecting Hgis of the Constitu- ton. and by it's solemn guaranties, be se- cured in their rights of property of every description.
 Mir. Chairman, have already said that negro slavery was, at the formation of the Government, common to all the States of the Union. Nay, it dates its existence from the times of their colonial condition. when il was forced upon this country un- der the royal sanction of that proud and graspng monarchy to which we trace our lineage. As slave labor gradually became unprolitable in the Northern States, from the accidents of climate, and the increase of white population, and when the social condition of society approximatcd that point at which the wealthy and powerful could brlbc the necessities of the poor to degrading and menial services, the slave himself, by natural laws, passed to the more congcnial. latitudes of the South, where his labor would be more available. The Northern States passed their aboli- ton laws, which wore invariably prospec- tive in their operation; the slaves in all cases being sold before the period arrived for the laws to take effect. Hence it was that the obscrvant and philosophical De Iocqueyille was induced 10 make the re- mark, that ''altlioush the North had pas sed laws to abolish slavery, no abolition had taken place. The southern free. men, trusting to the good faith of their brethren, and the guarantics of the Con- stitution, became the purchasers, while the philanthropists of the North poclxctcd the wages of what they now call iniquiiy.- Suffer it to say, that all the slaves, thus sold and purchased, together with their descendants, arc now in the South; that they constitute the enormous item of nine hundred millions of dollars in the estimate of our capital, and arc the legitimate sub ject of governmental protection in any territory which is the common property of the Union.
 In the face of all thcsc considerations, Mir. Chairman, which so strongly invite to just and moderate counsels, the inien- ton is eNprc ssed, and the power is asscr- fed oil the part of the Congress, to exclude from the new territories inst acq'lircde. ihc citizens of fifteen States of this Union. Quitting all criticism upon the injustice of such a course, l propose to examine the grounds upon which the power is claim ed.
 In the first place, the authority of legis- lative precedent has been invoked to justi- fy the interference of Congress in this dangerous question. The ordinance of 1767, and the Missouri Compromise act, and such other laws as were enacted Tn furtherancc of their original objects, from the basis on which this argument rcsits.
 Sir, is it necessary for me to say to this committee, containing as it does so much legal learning, that mere legislative prece- dent cannot conclude question of con stitulional power? Judicial decisions, even, arc of no avail, where they do not comport with the great principles of jus tice, and the spirit of the laws on which they are founded. Surely, then, a legisla- tive act can have no greater weight, and loses all its force when adopted without authority. A legislator, sworn to support the Constitution, must ever refer to the authority Under which he acts for the measure of his power, and not to the dues- tionable conduct of his predecessors The ono denotes the path of safety; the other is almost certain to mislead
 What, then, is the force of the ordi- nance of l757, and how far can it justify tho exercise of the power nUw claimed ? Sir, tho Government under the Articles of Confederation, like that under which we now live, was ono of limited powers; and in vaiG do you search 1t fer the authority to pass. the ordinance. If you look to the deed by which Nirginia ceded the North western Territory to the United States, your search is equally futile. On the contrary, it is expressly stipulated in that deed that the States to be formed out of it were tobe admitted into .he Union with "equal rights, privileges, and immunities," with the other States. Sir, every State, then in the Union, Massachusetts alone eAcep- ted, recognised within its limits the insti- tuition of slavery, and all claimed the fright and privilige" of doing so. Then, whe. ther we look to the Articles of Coniedera- ton, or to the Virginia grant, the power exercised was wanting {; and this famous ordinance, now appealed to as authority, was in equal derogation of both. The ,,tto. ,bzonco ,,c ,II ,,oxyar fn nacc if ir