The North-Carolina standard., 1848-09-06
spEEcH OF SENATOR BADCi

o. AL
s..:.s Hi md N}. Claytbas Speech IN replyT
yOur readers VII remember that at the last session
Of CONGRESS. after every effort had been made to set
tie the question of slavery in Territories and had
uroyed rnitless and unayailing, last resort Com
m;ttee was appointed by the Senate to take the mat
Ter "a hand and, If possible to- prepare and propose
some plan which would operate fairly and justly to-
wards all sections and thus give satisfaction to both
the saveholding and the nen-slavehoding States OF
the Confederacy. This Committee consisted of four
Whips and four Democrats-fonr from the slaYehold-
;ng and four from non-slaveholdng States, to wit:
Messr1s. aClayton,I Caihoun Underwood, Atchison,i
Phelps. Clarke, Dickinson, and Bright All eyes
were turned to these gentlemen, and patriots and
lovers of the Union in all secons entertained strong
homes of happy issue from their labors. Inthat
Committee the South proposed the Missouri Com
promise. in spirit and eectthat all the Territory
north of 86 degrees 80 minutes should be free and ALI
south Of it open to slavery if the people there should
will t. This proposal of the South, to the Mis-
souri line through to the Pacific, would have given
one million six hundred thousand square miles to the
free States forever and would have left to the slave
bo,diao States only about two hundred and seventy
thonsand square miles; and get this proposition the
N,rth roted ao,rn hat then? Mr. Clayton, of Dcta=
ware in his able and conclusive Speech this ques
ton. in reply to Mr. Badger, describes the solemn
nause that took place in the Committee as soon as
this vote had been recorded and he adds, all hope
of ameable settlement vanished for the moment and
unnatural contention seemed likely to prevail among
us 1t was then proposed to try the last resort-the
Conrt established by the Constitution to settle all
judicial questions and to restour present hopes OF
settlement on this as the ark of our safety. 1ro-
thirds of the Committee Including Mr. Calhoun Joy
ousfu concurred in the proposition.'' The bill was
framed and reported by the Committee to the Senate
and in order to give readers full and clear idea
Of its provisions and its substance we quote the Ian
guage of its author, Mr.. Clayton: . sd. zs,fg ..sa
The great question to settle which the select COM
nttee was raised in the Senate whether the cl-
zens of the slavehodng States of this Union have
constitutional right to emigrate to the Territories:
which have been acquired by the common efforts OF
ali the States with their slaves. The South affirmed
this and the North denied it. On this question the
debate in this body had ragged for weeks, when /
made the motion to raise committee composed OF
equal numbers from both sections of the Union, and
equal numbers from both political parties. The COM
mittee, after exhaustng every other effort to effect
compromise between the parties, reported by ma
iority of twothrds, this bill to extend the laws over
the territories, to organize composed OF
q governor, the Judges, and secretary, for Calfor-
MIA and of governor and secretary, with two Judges
for New Mexico. These constituted the Legislative
power in each upon which the governor had no veto'
and that Legislature was restricted SO as TO De unable
to pass any law introducing or prohibiting African
slavery in the Territories thus leaving that question
not to the appointees of the President to legisate
slavery either out of the territories, but comm
ing the decision of the question OF slavery In he
Territories themselves the judicial tribunals there
with perfectly secured right of appeal, In all cases.
from their decision the Supreme Court OF the MI
ted States Thus, both the master and the friend OF
the slave entitled to try the question at once be-
L. rfnd hXyf Tho n
the republic to settle all conflicting questions of constl-
tutiona law, while Congress retained all Its political
and legislative power over the whole subject, to be
exercised or not, to its own wisdom should seem
fit. single decision OF the court MADE on 'ne very
first case presented at the next term, would, was
UNDERSTOOD have settled the question debated IN
halls for years past, and which we all know never
can be settled here. .asr- T. .
s.The whole select committee and their bill We're
assaied for having evaded the responsibility which
belonged to Congress- and delegated ITS power 10 the
Supreme Court. The senator from Ohio, Mr. Cor-
win1 endorsed this charge. By the senators from
Tennessee and North Carolina the n1 was also ae
over the way Mr.. Niles] let himself down so 10"
as to proclaim it cowardly measure
s.The whole of these charges against the bill as
being evasive, and stunning responsibility, arse out
Of and are resolved into one single mlsrePresenta
ton, which will proceed to expose and put 10 snae'
The MISREPRESENTATION consists IN this single oecla
ration-that the bill delegates and refers the Poocer
Congress to dec1de Lhe question VHe"bcI
it in the Territories to the Supreme Court Of The On'fed
Sntes Now the bill delegates no power OF congress
whatever. 1t simply provides that wit OF error OF
appea shall be had the suit of either party In case
of claim of freedom by any negro In either Caiuof-
MIA or New Mexico, to the Supreme CourI. Every
mower which Congress ever had the subject is
reserved because no word in the bill proposes TO
deyolye that power the Court or any other trioun
al The power of Congress over the SUBJECT is Pot-
tica and legislative; that OF the Court Is SIMPLY ju
dicial. r.s .a-.s .' @... -
AS to so much of the bill organizes terrltorl-
al government in Oregon, it is in truth no matter OF
real controversy between the different sections OF the
conntrv All men, northern and southern, agree that
Orepon-containing, by the official estimate OF the
Land Commissioner, 341 ,463 square miles, or 2lo'-
800 acres equal in to seven such States as
New York---is, by her present laws, and ought to
remain free from slavery. There is no pretext set
possibility be slave territory. No southern man has
asked or desired IL. Slave labor could not there COM
pcte with free labor. But, gentlemen who had all
their lives denied the constitutional power OF Con-
gress to exclude slavery from Territory, while con-
ceding this respectfully asked of their friends not to
put clause in the organic law for that Territory ex-
pressly excluding slavery from 1t, and thereby pre-
vent them from voting for the bill The only COM
promise in the bill was this single point was
agreed that this Territory should be organized by the
appointment Of governor three Judges secretary,
and Legislature to be elected by the free white male
citizens of the Territory. These people Were DEEM
ed prepared for self government while those OF Cal
ifornia and New Mexico to be governed in their
territorial state, by Legislature composed have
stated, of the governor, Judges and secretary; or
very much the Northwestern Territory was or
ganized by the ordinance of 1887. The compromise
was simply this. The present laws prohibiting
0f fhQ tn and