The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-05-18

be divided into distinct States" and it then goes on
prescribe the manner of their formation
The I'd provides that the free male settlers OF full
age, ION any territory purchased and offered for sale"
shall meet within their State for the purpose of esab
fishing temporary government, to adopt the consti'u-
uon ana laws OF any OF the original States 80 that such
lars nevertheless shall be subject TO alteration by their
ordinary legislature" &c.
have 10000 inhabitants, convention shall be called Of
them, Ito form permanent constitution and government
for themselves But it is provided that the temporary
and permanent governments be established on these prn
cples as lis basis
lst That they shall forever remain part of this
federacy of the United States of America
I'd That they shall be subject to the articles of confed
Grafton all those in which the original States
shall be subject and to all the acts and ordinances Of
the United States in Congress assembled, conomable
thereto
3D. That they in no case shall interfere with the pri
mary disposal Of the soil by the United States Congress
assembled, nor with the ordinances and regulations
in such soil TO the bona fd< purchasers.
4h. That they shall be subject to pay, part OF thu
federal debts contracted to be contracted to be appo
toned them by Congress according to the same COM
mon rule and measure by which apporhonmens thereof
shall be made the other States
9Th That no tax shall be imposed on lands the prop
erty of the United States.
9th. That their respective governments shall be repub-
lican
be taxed higher than those Of residents within
any new State before the admission thereof TO vote by
It's delegates IN Congress.
The 4th provides "That when any of said States
shall have OF free inhabitants many shall then be
any of the least numerous of the thirteen original
States such State shall be admitted by its delegates into
the Congress of the United States on an equal footing
with the said original States"
The last provides Tha the preceding articles shall be
formed into charter q 9qmpaet shall Be duly executed
bed shall be promulgated &c and shall be unalteable
from and after the sale Of anypart Of the territory such
State"
This, with the article relative TO slavery, which we
have stricken out, comprised the substance OF
the report of the committee
elapse before the formations in the mode directed OF
temporary government and the adoption OF the constu-
ton and laws of of the original States there
provision for the preservation OF the peace, &c
in the Territory. To remedy this, Mr.. Gerry moved
proposition, which was adopted, in these words:
Tha, measures not inconsistent with the yrnsss Of
and good order among the settlers in any Of the said
men, as Aforesaid may from time time be taken by the
United States in Congress assembled"
1t will be from this analysis of the first action of
Congress relative to the territory OF the United States
action which participated IN by the first statesmen OF
the republic comprising such men as Jeferson Sher,
man. and Gerry-that Virginia had coded
her jurisdiction well SOIL they did not propose to
for the Territories to interfere with their gov
enmen any further than the absolute necessity OF the
required This charter of compact they called
secured to the people in the Territories the full right OF
self-governmen at early period as possible and IN
the meantime other authority was assumed than so
very obvious that they were tempted to this last
solely by the necessity of the case. There are no
government, and in their subsequent legislation, any
further than was necessary to secure to the UNI.
to preserve the YtrR nB2ne5ty a bllc lands and
made the first imperative and the feeling Of dsloyay
the Unon which had been displayed in some parts of
the confederacy and the still greater fear OF it from the
character of the only then inhabitants OF the western
territory, made the last expedent
think it pretty evident from the language they used
that the trainers of this charter supposed that their author
ty to grant it grew of their ownership of the soil,
and their supposed rights to annex conditions to the sale
of in the shape of compact with the purchasers The
words have emphasized in the analysis have made,
think, shows this Be that as it may it is that
attempt at legislation was made and that in the charter
no restrictions were made except such as related to the
relating TO slavery-was stricken out. 80
On the 10th of March, 1885, Mr.. King renewed the
ntisavery restriction which had been defeated in 17s4
and it was again defeated.
The subject not to have been taken up again
until 1887, when the ordinance of that was passed.
That ordinance was itself rather in the nature of
charter than an ordinary law was rather the Frame
work-the form of a govenment-than an ordinary ACT
Of legislation. The language OF its enacng clause ls
dained" &C., and "Be it ordained and declared" And,
except in the second section, in which the course OF de-
scents prescribed and the mode OF conveyance establish
ed, which they seemed to think had immediate con-
nexion with their authority the public lands. and IN
the sixth article, in which slavery is prohibited nothing
is done which partakes OF the natsre OF Legislation It
of general assembly, pescrbes the qualification OF Off
and of voters, c and goes on to declare most OF
the fundamental principles of government, very much
in the manner of bill of rights, and it secures the right
of self-government-the most important Of them II
provides expressly that "the legislature shall nave au
hority to alter the laws they shall think mr. au-
thority which they freely exercised BUT snort nme
after the organization of the Territorial government OF
Ohio the legislature under altered the provisions Of the
ordinance in many particulars recolect particularly IN
reference to the course of descents and the mode OF con-
veying propery and they adopted in the words OF the
Virginia statute the laws of England in force prior to the
fourth wear of James l. Now, it seems very much like
absurdy me- say that Congress has the power to
egisate the Territories and at the same time concede
that the Territorial legislatures may repeal laws enacted
by it.
sdered that they were organizing "a State" for which
the ordinance to be temporary constitution unh II
could substitute one better suited to it's wants In Ms
first section it declares ''that the said Territory ioi the
purposes of temporary government, be one dls'Ict
subject, however, to be divided into two dstncis.
Afterwards it says The legislatures OF these asirics
or ne States shall never interfere IN the primary oispo
sal of the soil of the United States Again II says.
"And whenever any of the said States shall nave sixty
thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall be ad
mitted bG its delegates into the Congress OF the un'ed
States on an equal footing with the original states. u
s very evident that the Congress considered mat tney
we're organizing Statesnew States IN contradstncton
IN "the original thirteen to the admission OF which, by
s delegates into Congress- the only obstacle seemed to
be a requisite population. ,
In 1857 as in 1884, Congress very evidently dsrusted
their powers legsate for the Territories and hence
thew attempted to give show of validity TO such
portions of as partook of legislative character, by
STYLING them ga compact" some sorts of which Congress
had righ bv n vote of nine States to sanction But