Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1850-10-28

preparatory to coming into the Union as a State
BY the resolutions OF annexation, it is provided
New States, Of convenient size not exceeding
four in number, in addition to the said State oil
Texas: and having sufficient population, may
hereafter, by consent OF said State, be formed
out of the territory thereof, which shall be en-
titled to admission under the provisions of the
Federal Constitution and sucn States as may
be formed out ofthat portion of said territory
lying south Of $50 so Of north latitude, COM
monty known as the Missouri compromise
line, shall be admitted into the Union pith or
apithom slaue1y, as The people Of each State ask
ing admission nlay desire. And in such State
Or States as shall be formed out of said territory
north OF said Missouri compromise line, sl0very
or Involuntary ssfvttu1e, {e1cept for crime,)
shall be prohibited" Most of the territory last
referred to is included within the limits Of New
Mexico.
The act establishing territorial government
for New Mexico provides, ''that when admitted
as State, the said Territory, or any portion
of the same. shall be received into the Union,
qrlth or rithout slauerg, as their constitution
mag prescribe at The tine Of admission" The
absolute prohibition OF slavery north of $50 so
is removed by this provision.
But it is said that slavery is prohibited in New
Mexico by Mexican law. How can that be if,
as is contended, all Of it east of the Rio Grande,
vhich contains nearly the Nhole Of her popula-
ton, be fexian territory? But suppose those
who deny the title OF Texas, and maintain that
all the territory within the limits OF New Mexico
is Mexican territory, are right still deny that
there will be any Mexican law in force in that
territory which will prohibit slavery. | am not
going into the question: W hich has been so ably
discussed whether the Mexican laws prohibit
ing slavery were abrogated or not by the con-
quest and treaty. 1t scas the opinion OF the
South that they were abrogaed and our sup
port OF the Clayton compromise was based upon
it. Be that, however, as ii may, ii is clear be-
vond cavi OF doubt, that the territorial bills abro
gate all Mexican laws and substitute others
The civil law is the law OF Mexico. The terri
orlal bills recognize the existence of the COM
mon law. The section relative to the ;urlsdlc-
ton OF the courts declares that !the supreme
aud district courts respectively shall possess
chaucery and common law iarisdiction." To
administer Mexican law? Certainly not but
the common law and the ehaneery law derived
from England. 1t may be said that African
slavery cannot exist under that law. know
there is an o5iter dictaNm Of Lord Mansfield TO
that effect. 1t is but dictitn, for the case of
Somerset, turned upon the want Of a remedy
Both Lord Talbot and Lord Aardwicke decided
otherWise and so has that great lurst, Sir Will
liam Scott, afterwards Lord Stowe1l, as late as
1927, in the celebrated case OF the slave Grace
Besides, we all know that slavery was intl odp
ced into the British Colonies of America in the
absence of statute, and solely under the pro-
lection of the common law. But shall not 90
into that question. In this case it is unneces-
sary for the territorial bills and the fugitive
slave bill each recognize the legality of slavery
ia the Territories. In the former it is enacted
that
''Writs of error and appeals, from the final de-
cisions of said supreme court shall be allowed
and may be taken TO the Supreme Court of the
United States in the same manner and under
the same regulations as from the circuit courts
of the United States, where the value of pro-
perty or the amount OF controversy, to be as
certaned by the oath or affirmation of either
party, or other competent witness, shall exceed
one thousand dollars, Except only that IN all
cases inuolung title TO sldueS, ttut SAID 1rylts of
error or appeals shall be allotced and decided by
the said supreme court acithout regard to the
ealue Of The matter, property or title IN contro
uersg and except also that writ OF error or
appeal shall also be allowed to the Supreme
Court of the United States from the decision of
said supreme court created by this act, or Of
any judge thereof, upon azy qrrH Of hdbcas cor
pus inuoluing the question Of personal freedom."
1t will be perceived that there are two classes
of cases here provided for. The last, between
the negro and his master, involving the question
OF his personal freedom. The first, between 9TH
er parties, involving title to slaves. This last
clearly contemplates the existence of slavery in
the territories
Besides this, the act providing fer the recap
ture of fugitive slaves Throughout conemplates
the escape of slaves from our Territories. 1t
enacts: '.that when any person held to service
or labor in any State or territory, or IN the Dis.
trct of Columbia, shall escape,0 &C. Slavery
is prohibited in Minnesota and Oregon and if it
is also prohibited in Utah and New Mexico our
only other Territories, then there is no subject
10 which part of that law can refer
But this is not all. The New Mexican bill
not only recognizes the legality of slavery with
in the Territory, but it contains clauses which
will restrain the territorial legislature from a.
polishing it. They are in the one declarins
that the question is to be decided by the people
when they form State Constitution, and of
course not before and in the other, in these
words emo citizen of the United States shall be
deprived of his life, liberty, Or property, Ill said
Territory, except by the Judgement OF his peers
and the laws OF the land"
The person and the laws referred to, of course,
are comelative. These words are taken from
9 the great charter and they have an ascertain
ed and fixed meaning. 1t protects, inviolably,
vested rights aud so it has always been held i'll
England.
But this clause was unnecessary; for the Ter
ritorial Legislature, in the absence of it could
not have abolished slavery This established
| think, fully, in a speech made on this sub
iect on the 3rd of August, 1913, But will not
repeat what then said, They would be res
trained by the provision Of The Constitution,
which declares that private property shall not
be taken for public use, without just compensa-
ton. Except for public use," ii cannot be in
yaded at all, either with or without compensa-
ton.
Ii thus appears that Texas has not been brib-
ed TO surrender slave territory TO lree-soilism.
The two territorial bills are framed precisely
after the model which the South itself has fur
nished Her own doctrine OF non-interyention,
that doctrine which leaves to the people to be at
fected by them the right to frame the institutions
under which they are to live The doctrine that
lies at the foundation OF DIR system of govern