Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-03-02


In 1918 Missouri applied for admission into
the Union. The free States awoke to the dan
Ter of the total overthrow of the original policy
of the country. They saw that no State had
taken measures for the abolition of slavery ence
the adoption of the Constitution They SAW
that the feeble attempt to restrict the intrcduc-
ton of slaves into the territories acquired from
Georgia and from France had utterly failed.
They insisted, therefore, that in the formation
of constitution, the people of the proposed
State should embody in it a provision for the
gradual abeitien Of the existing slavery, and
prohibiting the further introduction Of slaves.
BY this time he slave interest had become strong,
and the slave power was pretty firmly establish
ed. The demand Of the free States was vehe-
menAy contested, A bill preparatory to The adj
mission Of Missouri, containing the proposed
restriction, was passed by the House and sent to
the Senate In that body the bill was amended
by striking out IKE restriction; the House re-
fused to concur in the amendment; the Senate
insisted upon it, and the bill failed. At the
next session of Congress the controversy was re-
newed. In the mean time Maine had been
severed from Massachusetts,, had adopted con-
stitution, and had applied for admission into
the Union. A bill provididg for her admission
passed the House, and was sent to the Senate.
This bill was amended in the Senate by lacking
to it bill for the admission of Missouri, and by
the addition of a section prohibiting slavery in
all the territory acquired by louisiana north of
80 deg. So min, The Hoas, refused to concur
in these amendments, and the Senate asked for
committee of conference, to which the House
agreed During the progrcss of these events;
IL f+,,, hn hn
also passed bill for the admission of Missouri.
embodying the restriction of slavery in the State.
The Senate am ended the bill by striking out the
restriction, and by inserting the section prohib-
iting slavery north of Sc deg. so min.
This section came from the South, through
Mr. Thomas, Senator from Illinois, who had
uniformly voted with the slave States against
all restriction. 1t was adopted on the 18th Of
February 1920, as an amendment to the Maine
and Missouri bill, by thirty-four ayes, against
ten noes
Mr.. Hunter. think that the provision pas
sad without division in the Senate.
Mr.. Chase The Senator is mistaken. Four
teen Senators from the slave States, and twenty
from the free States voted for that amendment
Eight from the former, and two from the latter
voted against it. No vote by ayes and noes wal
taken when the same amendment was engraftet
upon the separate Missouri BILL a few days la
TER; the sens of the Senate having been ascer
tanned by the FORMER vote.
This was the condition of matters when tho
committee of conference, for which the Senate
had asked, made their report. The members o
the committee from the Senate were, of course
flyorabl, to the Senate amendments. In tht
IIous4, the Speaker, Henry Clay, was also il
favor of them, and he had the appointment of the
committee. OF coarse he took care, as he hat
since iniormed the country, to constitute the
committee in such manner and Of such persona
as would be most likely to s3cure their adoption
The result WAS what might have been expected
1t recommended that the Senate ehoald reced;
from its amendments to the Maine BILL and tina
the iloas, should concur in the amendments t.
the Missouri bill. Enough members from tn,
free States We're found to turn the scale agains
the proposed restriction of slavery in the State
and the amaldm,n of the Senate striking it on
Was concurrcd in by ninety yeas against eighty
seven nays From this moment successful oppo
sition to tncintroduction of Missouri with slave
w was impossible. Nothing remained but t.
determine the character of the residue of tn
| Louisiana acquisition and the amendment pro
hibiting slavery north of 36 deg. 80 min. wa
concurred in by one hundred and thirty-fou
yeas against forty two nays. Of the yeas, thir
ty-eight were from slave and nincty-six from fire.
States of the nays, thirty seven were from slav
States and five from free. Among those witt
voted with the majority was Mr., Lowndes, o
South Carolina, whose vote, estimated by tn
worth and honor of the nan, outweighs man,
opposites. :.
&laE G.. t,.,,a Il,
line established between slavery and freedom il
this country
Let lis pause, and ascertain upon what prin
ciples this compromise was adopted, and +
waat territory it applied. The controversy wa
between the two great sections OF the Union
The Subject was a vast extent of almost unoC
curied co2ntry, embracing the whole territor
west of the Mississippi. 1t was territory i
which slave law existed at the time Of acquis
ton. The compromise section contained ne pre-
vision allowing slavery south of &c 80. Itcoul
never have received the sanction eff Congress
it had The continuance of slavery there wa
left to the determination of circumstances
There was, probably, an implied understandin
that Congress should not interfere with the OPP
ration OF those ciscumstances-and that was all
The prohibition north of 80 80 was 'solutc an
perpetual. The act in which it was containe
was Submitted by the President to his Cabinet
for their opinion upon the constitutionality {
that prohibition. Calhoun, Crawford, an
Writ were members of that Cabinet. Each, i
a written opinion, affirmed its constitutionaht5
and the act received the sanction of the Pres
deut. Thus we see that the parties to the III
rangemant were the two sections of the couRtr
the free States on one side, the slave States 0
the other The subject of it was, the whol
territory west of the Mississippi, outside of til
State Of Louisiana and practical operation
it was, the division of this territory between I'll
institution Of slavery and the institution of fre
dom.
The arrangement was proposed by the sla,
States. 1t was carried by their votes. A 1ars
ma;oritity of southern Senators voted for 1T
majority of southern Representatives yetca f,
it. 1t was approved by all the southern men
bers Of the Cabinet, and received the sanctiC
of southern President. The compact was en-
bodied in single bill containing reciprocal pr
Visions The admission of Missouri with slav
ry, and the understanding that slavery shou
not be prohibited by Congress south Of 80 81
We're the considerations Of the perpetual prob
bition north Of that line, And that prohibitic
WIS lllc cOislucfdllOn Vi Vie dunllSSlOH anu I'll
understanding. The slave States received lar,
share Of the consideration coming to them, pa
in hand. Missouri wls admitted without r
striction by the act itsAE Every other part
the compact, on the part of the free States, HI
been fulfilled to the letter. No part Of the cor
pact on the part of the slave States has be,
fulfilled at all, except in the admission of low
and the organization of Minnesota and now tt
slave States propos5 to break up the contra
without the consent and against the will of tt
free States, and upon doctrine of sapersedu
which, if sanctioned at all, must be inevitab
extended SO as to overthrow the existing prob
bition Of slavery in all the organized territore
LIT me read to the Senate some paragraph
from Niles Register, published at Baltimor
March llth, 1920, which show clearly VIII
was then the understanding in respect to tn
arrangement
g The territory north of SO deg. 80 min.
IA r. 10, H., lnI a.