The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-11

law CT the land, and let any one try it that
disputes it. We, in Missouri, are well
situated to make the experiment CONVENE
emily, and in all its forms. Let any one Of
Mr.. Calhoun's followers try it, and he will
soon see what becomes of his property, his
slave property. Let him remove to Iowa;
he will meet there the Sth section Of the act
Of Congress Of March 9th, 1s20-the CAL
houn proviso; and will in vain invoke State
rights and Missouri statutes. Let him re-
move to Illinois; he will find there the
Jefferson proviso, in the form Of the ordi-
nance Of 1887. Let him remove to Ken
lucky; the law Of Kentucky takes hold Of
his slaves, and converts the chattel interest
Of the Missouri slave into real estate; for,
in Kentucky, slaves are now made real es-
tate, and placed on the footing of land, as
they are in Louisiana. Let him move into
Arkansas, his chattel slave will remain chat
tel, but by virtue Of Arkansas law, and sub
Jet TO its regulation. Finally, let him re-
move west, and settle in the territory Of
Nebraska, when It shall be created and the
Calhoun provlso will be on him again, and
his property will evaporate. Thus citizen
Of Missouri cannot get out of his own State,
on any one Of its four sides, with his slave
property, without having its character al
tered, or holding it by another law; and
twice he will lose ton two sides of his
State-on contiguous territory--he will
lose it under an act OF Congress, which be-
came law under the advice and opinion OF
MIR. Calhoun, in his high character Of cabi-
net minister, and assisting at council armed
with the veto power. This is the case Of
the Missouri citizen, and has been ever since
Missouri was a State; and no one ever
thought the State sovereignty insu!ted, or
felt himself bound TO dissolve the Union
on account Of it.
! No! the citizens of the States cannot car
ry the laws Of their States wththem to Ore
gon and California; and il they could, what
a Babel Of slave law would be there! Four
teen States, each carrying code different,
in many respects, from each other; and all
TO be exercised by the same judges, in terri
tories where there is no slave law. What
absurdity! No such thing can be DONE
The only effect Of carrying slaves there
would be to set them free. II would be in
vain to invoke the constitution, and say it
acknowledges property in slaves. 1t does
so: but that is confined to States.
And now we arrive at substance--at a
practical point. Congress has the constitu-
tional power to abolish slavery in territories;
but she has no slave territory in which to
exercise the power We have no territory
but the remainder of Louisiana north and
west of Missour--that in California, New
Mexico and Oregon-and that north Of Wis
consin, now Minnesota In Louisiana, north
and west of US, it was abolished by Congress
in 1890 In the territory north Of Wiscon-
sin, now Minnesota, it was abolished by the
Jefferson proviso Of 1887. in Oregon it
was abolished by Congress in ls4s, by
what you may call the Benton proviso, il
you please In New Mexico and California
it was abolished by the Mexican govern
ment in lS29--confrmed in 1887, and
again in 1914. Here are the DEGREES, the
originals of which have read in the anthem
tic bound volumes of the Mexican laws, and
which We're produced in the Senate of the
United States by Mr.. Dix, of New York.
III ITranslaiion1
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.
| "The President Of the United Mexican States to
| the inhabitants of the republic:
Desiring to signaize, in the year 1929, tho ami
versary of independence by of national justice
and benefcencc, which may tend to the benefit and
support Of so important good; which may strength
| en- more and more the public tranquility; which may
cooperate in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Of the republic; ;
and which may restore to an unfortunate portion Of
its inhabitants the sacred rights which gave
| them, md the nation protected by wise and just
laws in conformity to the provision ofthe Both art
Gle OF the constituve act; exercising the extraor-
binary powers which are conceded to me, de de-
cree
L. Slavery is abolished in the republic.
2 Those who until to-day have been considered
slaves are consequently free.
g. When the condition Of the treasury will permit,
the owners of the slaves will be Unidentified in the
manner which shall be provided for by law.
MEXICO, 10th September, 1929, A. ID.
JOSE MARIA DE BOCANEGRA.
Laws Of 1897.
TRANSLATION. + Slavery is forever abolished, with
ont any exception, in the whole rep,lbc pril 9th,
1887 IColIeclon Of Laws and DEGREES of the General
Congress Of the United Mexican States, volume s,
page 20l
Translation The masters of slaves n,anlmitled
by the present law or by the decree of the 18th of
Seprmber 1879, shall be Unidentified, &c. IGollec-
ton OF Laws and DEGREES, &C., vol 8, page POI,
This is the decree, and this is the act Of
Congress confirming it, abolishng slavery
throughout the Mexican Republic. The
constitution Of 1914, does not abolish slave
ry, for that was done before, but prohibits
future establishment Thus, there is no
slavery now in Mexico and California and
consequently none in any territory belonging
to the United States and consequently
nothing practical, or real, in the whol- slave
ry question, for the whole Of the United
States to quarrel about. There is no slave
ry now by law in any territory and it can
not get there by law, except by acts of Con-
gress; and no such act will be passed, or
even asked for. The dogma Of no power
in Congress to legislate upon slavery in ter
ritories, kills that pretension. No legal es-
Enlistment Of slavery in California and New
| Mexico is then to be looked for. That is
certain. Equally certain it will never be
established in either Of them in the point of
fact The people Of both territories-the
old inhabitants--are unanimous against it.