Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-03-17
Moic of the Douglas Logic.


Mr.. Douglas ,lys a, lnlow,:
" But, Sir, thcsr Abolition crnfrlcratcs. in
their manifesto. have also referred to tho
wonderful result, of their policy in the State
Of Iowa and the Territory of Minnesota -
Hero again they happened to be in fault Il, to
the laws Of the land The Act to organize
the Territory of Iowa. did not prohibit slavery:
but the p"oIl" Of Iowa were allowed to do as
they pleased under the Territorial Govern
mcnt for the sixth section 81 that Net pro-
vidcd that Tia" legislative authority ,louli cx-
tend to all rigItiu objects Of legislation, OK
c.rt as to the disposition of tho public lands.
and taxes IN ror'din cases but not cvcnrtir.
slavery. 1t may, however, he said bv some
that slavery wits prohibited in Iowa by ,ir-
tue of that clause IN the Iowa Act which do
clared the laws Of Wisconsin to he in force
therein, lnismuch as the Ordinance of ~
was one Of the Laws of Wisconsin, IT, how
ever, they say this. they defeat their object.
because the very clause which transfers tho
laws of Wisconsin To Iowa, and makes them
OF force therein, also provides that those laws
are subject to b" altered modified. or repealed,
by the Territorial Legislature Of Iowa Iowa.
therefore. was left to do aa she pleased. Iowa.
when she came to form Constitution and
state Government. prepare tory to admission
and Hllv" Constitutions calmly. disrassion-
ately, withoutany restraint or dictation, and
determined that it would he to the interest of
her people. it, their climate. and with their
productions to prohibit slavery and hence
Iowa became Il Fra" State, by virtue of this
great principle Of allowing tho people To- do ,,s
they please. aud not in obedience to any Fed
cral Command
\ correspondent of the y. V Tp,,s shows
him up as follow,
d" wish to give these statements. in tlrir
Who'll" drift and intent, a fiat denial. Iowa
was divided from Wisconsin by Act Of Com
gross of Jun" l.. ISIS. Ihc .WSSou,J Cam
promise wdS tbW m torc' IN TINT Tcrloiory. and
0hr0YS h06 ban. Wisconsin Territory was cs-
tt,liNhrl as lat" a. April 20. 1896 and the
:" Act To attach the Territory of the United
States west of the Mississippi River. and
north of Missouri, to the Territory Of Mirhi
@In, WIS passed. as lat" rs June p. lS3+-
The Organic Law Of Wisconsin rcatlirnr.d the
Ordinance ~ and as the Organic Law of
Iowa allowed the Legislature of Iowa To alter.
modify. or repeal the Wisconsin Laws. the
Territory. argues Mr.. Douglas. was left ut
liberty To- admit slavery. The senator in his
hot haste, has gone dry-shod over the great
fact that no power was ever given 10 - alter.
-
This Territory, after lS20. was protected from
Slavery hv tire cnactmcnts, instead of one, as
h" seems to suppose. When Michigan was
extended west of the Mississippi, the MSsou-
ri Act had been in force here fourteen years
when Wisconsin Territory was established.
sixteen wears, and when Iowa Territory was
established. that Act had protected the soil
from Slavery eighteen years, and No power
had been given to aHy Territorial Legislature
to latter = it in the slightest p~ticular.-
The very first case in the Iowa supreme Ter
ritorial Court was that of Ralph, IA colprcd
man, sent here by his master, who WIS nd
puget free under the Act of lS2o. The
language of Chief Justice Mason, (now Com
missioner of Patents,) was
ThiS seems to us an entire and final prvhibitipn
The Act does not, in exprc,, terms, declare forfeit
uro OF slave property but it does, in fleet declare
that s"'b property shall ,I,,t. The ma ter who
subsequently to that Act permits hi, slave become
resident hero, cannot afterwards cy, rci,c any act
of ownership over him within thi Territory. The
Law docs not TAX" away HI property expires term,
'"' "'''"r'' " NJ i'pcT IN b. pr,p'rfy a, aH'
he Geographic report of Mr.. Douglas un-
fortunate speech gives the following reckless
assertion, which L. not in the Giobe and Ta,on
edition " Some slaves were carried there and
held. and he believed the Census of lSjO
showed there were few in the state vet. -
Here l. discovery No citizen of Iowa was
aware before of the existence of Negro Slavery
this side the Missouri DR. Richard :. Fisher,
lhStrCr Of N" CersuS Of l.iO has Il table of
the .,Dccennial Movement Of Slave Popula-
ton, which gives the number Of slave, IN
Iowa from l79n to lsjo-pon.. not one. in
any single year according t. the Gcnsu, -
- Believed For So atrociuus an end at the
Nebraska bill cmbodier, Mr.. Dou.ll, ought
to EUo.c what he Saws II