The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-02-09

exposition OF the question, by which they might
facilitate the passage of the resolutions through
that Legislature Hence you find that, on the
Same morning that this document appears over
the names of these confedera ties in the Adolf
ton organ of this city, the same document ap-
pears in the New York papers-certainly in
the Tribune, Times, and Epening PostHin
which it is stated, by authority that it is sssign
| ed by the Senators and majority of the Rem
| resentatives from the State Of Ohio-a state-
| ment which | have every reason to believe was
| utterly false, and known to be 80 at the time
that these confederates appended it to the ad-
dress. Ii was necessary, in order to carry out
| this work of deception, and to hasten the &C
ton Of the Ohio Legislature, under misap-
prehension, to state that it was signed, not only
| by the Abolition confederates, but by the whole
Wing representation, and q portion of the
| Democratic representation in the other House,
| from the State of Ohio.
Mr.. CHASE Mr. President
| Mr.. DOUGLAS Mr.. President, | do not
yield the floor. A Senator who has violated
all the rules Of courtesy and propriety, who
showed consciousness Of the character of the
act he was doing by ooncealing from me all
knowledge OF the fact-who came to me with
a smiling face, and the appearance Of friend
ship, even after that document had been utter
ed-who could getu in the Senate and appeal
to my courtesy in order to get time to give the
document q wider circulation before its infamy
could be exposed-such Senator has no right
to my courtesy upon this floor.
Mr.. CHASE. Mr.. President, the Senator
misstates the facts
Mr.. DOUGLAS. Mr.. President, 1 decline
to yield the floor
| MIR. CHASE. And shall make my denial
| pertinent when the time comes
The PRESIDENT. Order.
| Mr.. DOUGLAS. Sir. if the Senator does
interpose, In violation of the rules of the SEN
ate, denial of the fact, it may be that shall
be able to nail that denial, as shall the state
ments here which are over his own signature
as base falsehood, and prove it by the solemn
legislation of this country.
| Mr.. CHASE. call the Senator to order.
The PRESIDENT. The Senator from ILL.,
nois is certainly out of order.
MIR. DOUGLAS. Then will only say that
| shall confne myself to this document and
prove it's statements to be false by the legisla
ton of the country. Certainly that is in order.
Mr.. CHASE. You cannot do it.
MIR. DOUGLAS. The argument of this man
ifcsto is predicated upon the assumption that
the policy of the fathers Of the Republic was
to prohibit Slavery in all the territory ceded
by the old States to the Union, and made Uni
ted States territory, for the purpose of being
organized into new Statos ! take issue upcn
that statement. Such was not the practice in
the early history of the Government 1t is true
that in the Territory northwest of the Ohio
river Slavery was prohibited by the Ordinance
| of l787; but it is also true that in tho Terri
tory south of the Ohio river, to wit, the Terri
tory OF Tennessee, Slavery was permitted and
protected; and it is also true that in the organ
ization of tho Territory of Mississippi, in 1898
the provisions of the Ordinance of 1887 were
applied to it. with the exception of the sixth
article, which prohibited Slavery
Then, Sir, you find upon tho statute books
under Washington and the early Presidents
provisions of law showing that in the south
western Territories the right to hold slaves was
clearly implied or recognised, while in the
northwest Territories it was prohibited. The
only conclusion that can be fairly and honestly
drawn from that legislation is, that it was the
policy of the fathers Of the.Republic to pre-
scribe O line of demarkation between free Ter.
ritories and slaveholding Territories by a
natural or geographical line, being sure to
mako that line correspond, as near as might
be- to the laws of climate, of production, and
probably of all those other causes that would
control the institution, and make it either de-
sirable or undesirable to the People inhabiting
the respective Territories.
Sir, wish you to bear in mind, too that this
geographical line, established by the founders
of the Republic between free Territories and
slave Territories, extended az far westward as
our territory then reached; the object being
to avoid all agitation upon the Slavery cues
ton by settling that question forever, as far rs
our Territory extended, which was then to the
Mississippi river.
When, in 1903, we acquired from Franco the
territory known az Louisiana, it became neces-
sary to legislate for tho protection of the in
habitants residing therein. 1t will be seen fy
looking into the bill establishing the Territorial
Government in 1905 for the Territory of New
Orleans, embracing the same country now
known as the State of Louisiana, that the Ordi-
nance of 1887 was expressly extended to that
Territory, excepting the sixth section, which
prohibited Slavery. Then that act implied
that the Territory Of New Orleans was to be
q slaveholding Territory, by making that ex-
cepton in the law. But, sir, when they came
to form what was then called the Territory of
Louisiana subsequently known as the Terrific
ry of Missouri north Of the thirty-thrd paral-
lel they used different language. They did
not extend the Ordinance of 1887 to it at all
They first provided that it should be governed
by laws made by the Governor and the Judges
and, when In 1912 Congress gave to that Ter
ritory, under the name of the Territory of Mis-
souri, Territorial Government tho people
were allowed to do as they pleased upon the
subject of Slavery subject only to the limita.
tons of the Constitution Of the United States
| Now, what is the inference from that legsla-
ton . That Slavery was, by implication, rec
ognised south of the thirty-third parallel; and
north of that the people were left to exercise
their own Judgment and do az they pleased
upon the subject without any implication for
or against the existence of the institution
This continued to be the condition Of the
country in the Missouri Territory up to 1920,
when the celebrated act which is now called
the Missouri Compromise act was passed.
| Slavery did not exist in nor was it excluded
from the country now known as Nebraska.
There was no code of laws upon the subject of
| Slavery either way: First, for the reason that
Slavery had never been introduced into Louisi-
ana, and established by positive enactment 1t
had grown up there by sort of common law,
and been supported and protected. When
common law grows up. when an institution be-
comes established under usage it carries it
so far as that usage actually goes, and no
| further. IL it had been established by direct
enactment it might have carried it 30 far as
the political jurisdiction extended; but be that
as il may By the act of 1872 creating the
Territory of Missouri that Territory was al
lowed to legislate upon the subject of Slavery
as it saw proper, subject only to the limitations
which have stated and the country not in
habited or thrown open to settlement was set
apart az Indian country, and rendered subject
| to Indian laws. Hence, the local legislation of
the State of Missouri did not reach into that
Indian country but was excluded from it by
the Indian code and Indian laws. The NUM-
cipal regulations Of Missouri could not go there
until the Indian title had been extinguished,
and the country thrown open to settlement.