Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1848-08-30

Il
portion of the southern people then.
But the men of that day determined,
they could not eradicate the evil from al
the States in which ii had taken root. the
wonld at least prevent It's extension int
territory which was then expected TO grow
up into States and become part of tn,
Confcderacy. Virginia had then Jus
coded TO the United States the magnificcn
territory northwest of the Ohio river. GU
Of which has since been formed the State.
of Ohio. Indiana. Illinois. Michigan. an.
Wisconsin. 1t was then forcseen that ,hi.
territory contained the germ Of great and
mighty States With "A foresight and a
patriotism which entities them to grateful
remembrance in all coming time. the rep
resent atives Of the nation, assembled i'm
the Congress Of the old Con'ederacv. de-
termiHed that this magnificent territory
the common property of all the States--to
be appropriated for their common benefit
should be consecrated to freedom They
determined that its soil should be tiled by
treemen alone-that the slave should
stand redeemed from his shackles the
moment he inhaled its atmosphere. Nor
was this a decision made upon any mere
sectional view of the question. 1t was
no arbitrary decree. forced by an ovcrbear-
ing majority upon reluctant minority. 1t
was the united voice of the States-Massa-
chusetts and South Carolina, Virginia and
New York. standing side by side. and adj
vocating the eternal principles of Iraman
frecdom-uniting their efforts to redeem
future empire from tie blight of slavery
There is something. Mr. Chairman,
morally grand and sublime in the union
Of all the States. slave and free. in the
adoption Of this ordinance. When we
contrast it with the course which we see
pursued by the descendants Of those men
the efforts now making TO extend
the confident assertion OF
the right. by southern statesmen, to carry
the peculiar institution of the South into
territory now free-with the effort so per-
adhered to TO extend slavery
into the northern regions of Orcgon-and
more especially when we contrast it with
the crawling sycophancv displayed by
northern politicians with southern princi- /,
pies. who ''out-lIerod IIcrod' in their at |
cmpt> 10 extend slavery-we are painfully
reminded of the depreciation of public /
virtue since those days.
The ordinance for the government of
nc territory northwest OF The river ONO
vas reported on the 18th July. 1897. The
committee which reported it consisted
IF Mcssrs. Darlington and Il. II. Lee, of
Virginia; Kcan, of South Carolina: Dane,
IF Massachusetts; and Smith, OF New
l ork. \ majority of the comittce were
southern men,.
The 9th section Of the ordinance was
n these words
"1here shall be- neither slavery nor involun-
airy servitude IN the said territory, otherwise
han in the punishment mt of Crimes whereof the
'arty shall have been duly convicted; prorided
l'rays, that any person escaping into the same,
rom whom labor or service is law fully claimed
II any one Of the original States, such fugitive
nay tie lawfully reclaimed sad conveyed 10 the
erson claiming his or her labor or service, as
foresad.''
The ordinance was passed on the 18th
uly. The Journal Of Congress thus re-
ties its PASSAGE:
"According to order the ordinance for the
overnment Of the te rrtory of the United States
o:thwest Of the river Ohio was read a third time