Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-03-19
States Laws, vol. /, p. 4ss, edition Of 1916 by

slavery was lnteruicteu IN the territory In the
southwest it was established and both, having
these peculiar characteristics, came together
under the federal government, and where de-
| signed to be the theatre Of new States on an
equal footing with the original States in all re-
| spects whatever. Such was the condition Of
| the States and territories when the Constitu.
ton was adopted, and the government went in.
to operation.
| Now, ] ask, sir, when the convention came
| together to frame this Constitution, and when
the people assembled to adopt it, extend
| ing over slaveholding States, and nonslave.
| holding States, over slaveholding territory
| and non-slaveholding territory, | ask if it
is possible that when they were setting up
new government, they were about to confer
on that government the power to pass uni
form law that should apply to this Institution,
| in the States or in the Territories7 five turn
| to the Constitution, and look into the enumer-
ated powers conferred upon Congress, we shall
find no one that can be tortured into grant
of power to interfere with the domestic rela
tons Of any present or any future State
either before or after its admission. If we look
| into other parts of the Constitution, we shall
| find equal difficulty in discovering any such
grant Of power; but we shall find there pro-
vision bT which Congress was forbidden to in
terfere with the slave-trade until the year 1905
We shall find provision by which the slave
population in the States is made the basis of
representation. We shall find q provision by
which, if slave escapes from one State into
another, the fugitive shall be delivered up-a
supreme uniform, irrepealable, universal law
that the the fugitive shall be delivered up. We
shall find another provision that the powers
not delegated to the United States by the Con.
stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people From these provisions, and from the
absence of any grant, it is perfectly clear that
| Congress has no power whatever to interfere
| with the domestic institutions Of any State.
! This is true not only Of the original States,
| but of the new States also. With regard to the
Eve States northwest Of the Ohio, the ordinance
Of 's7 provides, by the fifth article Of compact
that they shall be admitted "on an equal foot
ing with the original States in all respects
whatever" As to the States formed out of the
Territory Of Louisiana, there are in the treaty
by which we acquired it provisions Of equiva-
! lent import. But deem any such provision
entirely nugatoryy for, independently Of any
ordinance or any treaty, every State admitted
into the Union comes in upon footing Of per.
feet equality with all others in respect Of poitj
cal sovereignty. Congress may admit new
States into the Union. The honorable senator
from New York Mr.. SEWARD has expressed,
or at least intimated, singular opinion, that,
as the greater embraces the less, therefore Con-
gress may admit a State with something less
than the usual sovereign powers of State;
that we have the power Of imposing condi-
ton taking away from q new State portion
of its sovereignty and, therefore, may admit
new States Of every grade. Certainly, if yon
| can take away the sovereignty OF new State
in one respect, you can in another, and may
strip it of half its political power on its admis'
| sion into the Union.
| The word State in the Constitution, is word
| Of precise and definite meaning. 1t applies
| equally to every State that comes into the
Union. 1t imports no more nor less of politi-
cal power in one case than another. They are
all absolutely sovereign in al! respects, except
those in which their sovereignty is limited BY
the Constitution.
"The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited By u 10 the
States, are reserved to the States respectively
the people,
The same standard is applied to all. The
same powers are delegated, thesame powers are
prohibited, and the same powers are reserved,
and it is impossible that there should be any
difference in the result. The same measure
being applied to all, it is legal impossibility,
that the result should be different; as impossi-
BILE as it is that things which are equal to
the same things should yet not be equal
to each other. But, sir, the equality Of the
States is generally admitted. The equal SOW
ereignty Of the States, and the want of any
power in Congress to deprive any State of any
part of its sovereignty upon its coming into the
Union, are points which are generally admitted.
Indeed so far rs slavery exists in the States, it
seems now to be admitted on all sides, by all
parties, at least by both the great political par
ties of the country, that the federal government
has no control over it, and no right, directly or
indirectly, to interfere with it, because the Con-
stution left it as it found it, subject to State law
and to State control only 1t lis unnecessary,
therefore, to enter into any more particular
examination ofthe Constitution for the purpose
of establishing the proposition, which almost
no one denies, ofthe absolute and total exemp.
ton of African slavery as it exists inthe States
/ speak not of the District of Columbia-from
all interference on the part Of this government
and the utter invalidity OF any law Of Congress
designed to interfere with it.
Sir, pause here for moment. IL what
have said be true, then every law Of Congress
that interferes with the absolute equality Of the
States in regard to their sovereign powers, by
undertaking TO dictate on their admission, any
fundamental condition restricting or curtailing
those powers, is unconstitutional and void.
The restriction Of 1920 is obnoxious to this
objection. will not stop to read it. | can
quote it accurately. 1t undertakes to prohib-
it slavery, not only in the Territories while
they are Territories, but in the States to be
formed therein while they are States, in Ian
guage clear and unequivocal-not susceptible
Of any doubt or qualification Language which
| is quoted now every day for the purpose Of
proving to the people Of the United States
that slavery is forever abolished in these Terri
tories. The language is: "Shall be, and is
hereby, forever prohibited So far, then, as
that restriction applies to these future States,
it is clearly and manifestly unconstitutional
an assertion of unconstitutional power. 1t ia
now coming under revision. am called upon
to pass upon the question whether it shall re,
main on the statute-book as a valid law, and
under the obligation upon me to support the
Constitution Of the United States, must give
my vote against it.
Mr.. President, this principle Of nDn.interven-
,;op hv Cono and of leaving the subject Of