The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-05-09

most usually claim il AS resulting from the mower
to acquire territory by treaty.
IL being unimportant to my argument from
whence the power to legslate over the Territories
Is derived, shall not now discuss il. No matter
Wnere you place IT, the power to legisate against
slavery Is not legitimate incident to it, and cannot
by any just rule Of constitutional construction be
derived from it, The object the end is nowhere
sanctioned by the Constitution, therefore the
means cannot be implied The argument of the
North, stated briefly, is this: That the object Of
the power to legislate over the Territories is to
give them good government, and that the exclu-
sion OF slavery is a necessary and proper means to
secure that object. The conclusion is not war
ranted by the premises, even considering il as
general proposition, without reference to our pc
cnliar form Of government taken in that.eonncc-
ton, it is not only illogical but atrocious IL is
assuming that there was an implied power given to
the head Of our political system TO war against its
memoers-a power to stamp with reprobation the
institutions of fifteen States of the Republic to
declare their institutions inconsistent with good
government, and to forbid their adoption, even if
desired by the people, by the inhabitants of the
common domain of all the States. There lies the
real question between US. This pretension is not
only not war; inted by the Constitution but
brings you in direct collision with the fundamen-
tai principles Of this Government and Of all good
government This Government was established
for the protection of the rights of persons and the
rights of property of the political communities
| which adopted it, These are the primary objects
Of all good government. The protection of prop
erty Is the cornerstone Of industry, of nation
| al progress OF civilization. No Government can
stand in America, or ought TO stand anywhere,
which brings its powers in hostility to the prop
erty of the people. These principles are the
foundation of the positions which assumed at the
opening of this Congress They elected much
animadversion from the press of the North, and
some from people at the South who are among us
but not of US. | desire here, again, to re-aflirm
them. ] shall stand by them if their maintenance
by the South costs the Union, it is your fault not
ours. Our lives, our property our constitutional
privileges, are all really involved in the issue
| Your position offers the fate Of Hayti, or, at
! best, of Jamaica, or resistance TO lawless rule
| trust there is nothing in our past history which
ought to induce you to doubt which alternative we
shall accept. Though the Union may perish
though slavery may pelsh-I warn my country
men never to surrenderheir right to an equal
participation in the common property of the Re-
public, nor their right to full and ample protection
! of their property from their own Government
The day they do this deed, their fall will be like
that of Lucifer never to rise again
This general duty of Government to protect
the property of the people is so obviously Just
that it is usually admitted, with the qualification
ct sIssptiR@ slave pros@rsy This e.
ton is but asserting in more odious form hos
tility to our rights. The principle upon which
the exception is pretended to be based il, that
slavery is peculiar institution and is against the
common law Of mankind If slavery is peculiar
institution, have to reply, then our Government
is a peculiar Government, and our Constitution
is peculiar Constitution, for | have already
shown that both the Government and the Consti-
tuition impregnated with the popularity
"The common law of mankind" is at best but an
uncertain term Ii wants many of the essential
ingredients of good law 1t is difficult of ascer-
tainment, and more difficult to enforce 1 take
its best exponent to be the practice of mankind
Tested by this rule the position of our opponents
is untenable. There is no period in the his
tory of the human race in which slavery has not
existed in great portion of the earth 1t was the
universal practice of mankind from the DAYS of
Abraham until the formation of our Constitution
1t was expressly authorized and sanctioned by the
successor of st. Peter in the sixteenth century,
and was at that time the general law of Christen-
dom. At the formation of our Constitution,
property in slaves was recognised and protected
in some form by every civilized Government in
the world If our constitutional right to the
protection of our slave property is to be subjected
to this new test, this new invention of our oppo-
| nents the common law of mankind we claim
to stand upon the law as it stood when the obm-
pact was made. 1t is the legal and Just rule of
constructing private contracts il is equally Just
when applied to the exposition of public compacts
1t is the only mode Of arriving at the true sense
and meaning of the parties to the compact in re-
lation to the test applied At that day, slavery
was lawful in every country in the world where
it was not prohibited by law. The dictum of
| Lord Mansfield TO the contrary in Somersett's
case, in 1872, was outside Of the case before him.
against the express decision of Lord Hardwicke
and other eminent English jurists on the precise
point, and was disavowed fifty years afterwards
in judicial decision by Lord Stowell one of the
most able, learned, and accomplished of England's
judges That such was the common law of these
colonies Lord Mansfield himself in the case re-
ferred to, expressly affirmed and that such was
the understanding of the law by the States who
formed our Constitution is conclusively proved
! by the fact that emancp patton, where it has taken
place has been effected in every instance but one
by express prohibition and it is further shown
by the uniform protection which this Government
from its foundation, has given to property in
slaves, wthoutinquiry into its origin. This Gov
eminent has no power to declare what shall or
what shall not be property, or to regulate the
manner or places of its enjoyment, except in the
cases of patent rights and copyrights This pow
er belongs to the State Governments to the ex-
tent that it exists anywhere. Whatever any of
the States recognise as property, it is the duty
of this Government to protect. When it places
itself in hostility to property thus secured it be-
comes an enemy to the people, and ought to be
corrected or subverted. This is question which
affects the rights of all the States
This is the only rule which can preserve the
harmony of the Union, and enable the General
Government to perform impartialy its duties to
States having different interests and institutions
| We have no right to complain. and do not
complain of any policy which our confederates
may impose upon their own citizens in relation
| to slavery within their own limits nor do we
complain of the opinions of individuals in refer
ence to it, Massachusetts can send Abolitionists
here If she chooses and she makes a free use of
the right. What we have the right to demand
and what we do demand, is, that they shall not
impress their anti-savery opinions upon the
| legislation of this Government. We neither de-
sire to force our policy upon her, nor will we
submit to have hers forced upon us We offer
her the power and the resources of the Republic
to protect her property. We require the same
| for ourselves. What object of material wealth,
animate or inanimate, recognised by the laws Of
the Northern States, have we ever failed to pro-
| tect None. When have we ever attempted,
by legislation or otherwise, to war upon her do
nestle policy Never. We have not only pro-
tected her wealth, when created or acquired, but
we have done more-we have aided her, by our
legislation, TO create it. BY our navigation laws
we have given her the monopoly of our coasting
trade. BY discriminating tariffs we have invig-
GRATED and stimulated the arm of her industry.
We have followed with our laws her ships
freighted with her property, and her hardy sea-
men in pursuit Of wealth, the trackless ocean,
to the uttermost parts of the world. They have
traversed every ocean they have stood upon
every isle Of the sea and upon every continent of
the earth, securely pursuing the acquisition of
wealth, under that emblem of our nationality
the stars and stripes.
We have withheld no part Of the price-nei-