The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1850-06-26

What can compensate the South fer suck
enormous wrong and spoliationG
But this is NOT tho end Of your cenees4
sons by this report. We must not clsl9
yield to the interests, but the prcjudices of
the Northern people. Slavery existed In
the District OF Columbia when Congress
accepted the cession of the territory com.
posing il from the State of Maryland. No
one can suppose that Maryland, slaves
holding State now, could have designed to
give Congress any power over the iiistita.
tion ot slavery in this territory. indepent.
ly ofWTong to the people Of the District, 10
emancipate their slaves, itwoud be ain in.
tolerable evil TO have District between
them, where emancipation prevails by The
authority of Congress. Congress-, IN tie
bill reported as part ofthe so-called Com.
promise, NOW begins the work Of emanci.
pattoA by declaring that iF any slave is
brought INTO the District for safe, ne shall
be liberated and free" lfasiaye is liber-
atcd because heis brought iato cid DIS.
fricl, is not difficult. The power 10 cmaie
cipate the slaves in the District of Co.unl.
bia is thus claimed and exercised by Con-
gress. Many of tho ablcst men of tho
South have denied that Congress posses
ses any such power whilst all agreed, un.
I'll lately, that for Congress to interfere with
this institution, whilst slavery existed in
Maryland and Virginn, would be gross
breach OF faith towards thrse States, and
an outrage upon the whole South. How
long will that facility which yields 70 the
prejudice against the buying and sellingN
slaves be able to resist the greater preju-
dice which exists against the holding of
slaves at all in the Distric, OF CoIualba :
EQr all these sacrifices 10 the interests
q ,,rV,it it6;c IF ho >t<> Dft 10
the South is rendered the last measure of
the Comproniisc---;he fugitive slave hiilas
they propose to amand It, To understand
the extent of the concessions the South re.
ccives on this point, we must look to the
rights the Constitution confers.
The frainers Of the Doastitaiion were
perfectly aware thar the General Govern
ment could have but little power to secure
TO tlicul their fugitive slaves in the nom
slavehnlding States. The whole internal
police OF State, and by this chiefly could
slaves be re-captured. The Constitution
therefore, not relying on the iegislsticis aof
Congress alone, requires that fugitive
slave, escaping into non. .slaveholding
| State, shall be "delivered upon claim OF The
| party" TO whom he belongs.
Fugitive slaves are put ON the footing ofs
/ fugitive criminals, and arc TO be delivered
4 M hs the State autheFitics. Ifthese aiss
iiiagit do not enforce the requrefiie eIss ofS
the Constitution, ansiailiin tile recnptafe
| and recovery of fugitive slaves. Congress
can do but little 10 enforce them. The bill
| providing for the cooperation of the few !
| officers of the United States Government
IN State, is practically quite insufficient
| in such State as Pennsylvania, 10 recover
| fugitive slaves, Yet if Congress does all
| that it can do, by legislation, to enforce the
Constitution, it only does its duty to The
| South. There can be no concession or IA
vor to the South, in giving her only what
she has right to have under the Constitu-
tion-unless, indeed the Constitution Tor
| her has no existence.
The bill then, is, in the first place, quite
| adequate TO restore to us our fugitive
slaves, and in the second place, gives the
| Sou,h nothing but whal~she entitled To-
| Ii this was all, there would be nothing in
the bill for which we should conccde any,
| thing TO The Forth. But it is not all.--
Under tho prcteHt of testowing on us
benefit, it perpetrates a usurpatinn on the
reversed rights OF the States. It provides
that slave may artaign his master, by tho
authority o! laws made hy Congress-, be-
fore The courts of the States and of llc
United States, TO try his right 10 his FREQ
dom. II Congress can lcgislate ct all be-
tween tho master and slave in State,
where can its power be stasedi 1t can
abolish slavery in the States. Thus D pow
er is assumed in that bill, which virtually
| extends the jurisdiction of Congress- over
slavery in The States. And ,hisis BENG
ht to The Souths Under tho g,iise of q
! benefit the bill is useless az rcmedy--aitd
worse than useless in its ,isufpatIons.---
/ -5nch are the various measures which con-
st'tntc this compromise. s!3s
! We do not believe that those In tho
| South who at an early day expressed
| willingness TO support it, had welstons!d- Z
| cred It's import or even contemplated sup
| porting it, without material amendments.
We fully appreciate and duly honor the
motives of those who would restore tran
| guilty 10 the country, nor shall We ifnpugn
| in any form those who have assisted tn
| frame or who hive yieldeda support to the
measures. Why the noutslareiipldRg
| States do not support these measures, We
are unable 10 understand unieEs it be. that
a naughty facaiicism, inflated with success,
dlsdaIns accomplishing It's objects by indi-
rectloih Ii these measures, however, were
really compromises in whichthe Soutli
had equal gains with tho North, il would
be OF doubtful expedicncy for the Sop,htp
| propose IL. Three times in Congress dlIr-
ing this controversy, tho South has rropes-
cd the Missouri cotnpfomise. which has
/ bcen three times rejected by The Norih.s
J Twice she has proposed d compromise
| by which she consented To leave II to the
courts of tho United States to detertniao
her rights, Instead Of requiring sternly
their recognition by Congress, fifteen SOW
ercign States have conscutedt to he ear
| ried into the courts tho country, and
there to submit their snvefeigr rights in d
territory belonging 10 thcni, to their final
arbitrament, Their humiliation did mol
win the respect or conRdenco OF tile Rottl;
and the proposition was twice rejected.
The South inour opinion, might aerapt
one other compromise, not beeaass il is
co-oxteRsivc with our rights, but because
il has been twice sanctibnea ythase VINO
have gone hniore ils. II the Nor;li offers
| the Missouri, Compromises. tp extend la the