The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1854-03-29

shall be found fighting HIN upon the stump and
in the papers against slavery; and think
should beat him, greatly as now know him to
be my superior. But, sir, here we are together,
coequal States. half slave holding and half nom
slaveholdng, and am not willing to admit, by
my action, that the institutions Of the slave
States are better than those Of the free States,
and that the people will adopt the former, unless
their hands are shackled by congressional re.
strction. But, sir. if the converse of this pro.
position were TO prevail, and the Congress of
the United States was to declare that no State
whose constitution. established domestic slavery
should be admitted into the Union, self respect
would not permit these southern States TO con-
tinue any longer in the Coniederacy.
"The amendment is abstract and unusual:
but believe it has been brought forward be-
cause OF the extraordinary positions taken by
the Senator from New York, IMr. SEWARD
and others, and because we all plainly see that
the artillery of Abolltioniem Is everywhere
pointed, with the most deadly precision, at each
and every remaining citadel of State rights
Then, Mr.. President, on the other side. the
honorable Senator from South Carolina mir.
BuTLER] is perfectly rabid upon the subject of
The formation of new States, and is utterly
alarmed at the idea of the freemen in The noun.
talns and gorges of Utah and New Mexico de-
cioing Tor themselves whether they will have
degrees or not, and who is taxing his ingenuity
IN devislng ways and means to prevent them
from doing SO; and here is the Senator from
New York Mr. SEwARD] declaring tina, it is
absolutely necessary for Congress TO pass
preparatory act, and that in that act Congress
can shape the institutions of the embryo State
In accordance with the sentiments OF the people
OF ihe whole Union. Sir, you dare nNi thus
trappie under foot the sacred rights of Ameri-
can cltizens no may chance to be in Terri
tory. They are Intelligent, and 1 am willing
10 leave their domestic concerns to themselves
shall not, by my vote, infringe upon their
rights, nor do anything WHICH shall give Just
cause OF oitense to any portion Of this Union.
What now would be my position were to
oppose this bill? The amendment which the
record shows thus voted for would have been
proposed by southern gentlemen, and | would
oe put IN the position OF voting now directly in
opposition TO what did then Listen also, to
what was SAID by an advocate for gradual emau-
cipat'on, IN Kentucky, that good and pure man,
Judge Underwood, upon the occasion TO which
have referred:
81 rise TO express my hearty thanks to the
gentleman from Louisiana, and the gentleman
from New York, mir. Dickinson, I who are at
fording IN this movement the only ray of hope
that has been shed upon my mind in regard to a
compromise OF the difficulties of the country.
Sir, this Constitution of ours was based upon
the idea originally that local matters should be
left to the local jurisdiction of the State. and
all the difficulties that have had from the
date OF the Missouri compromise down to the
present day have grown out of the violation OF
that principle And here, sir, for the first time
in the last thirty years, is an amendment made
upon this floor, by which il appears that we are
to go back To the days of the foundation of the
Government
"Sir, what is the foundation of all our diff
cul,ies' tits an attempt on the part of mem.
bers of Congress TO regulate local matters in
local Jurisdictions. That was the foundation of
the Missouri difficulty. This principle, offered
by the gentleman from Louisiana, if it had be en-
applied TO the Missouri case, would have he aled
the difficulty at that time, and we would never
have had it to settle. Til. foundation Of that
difficulty was an effort on the par, of Congress
to refuse 10 the people of local jurisdiction the
right to shape their local government TO suit
themselves. That was the foundation of it.,
and il has been the foundation Of all the diff :