Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-04-06
THE NEBRASKA BILI-Ro. !.

HAVE THE UNITED STATES POWER TO PRO
HIBrT SLAVERY IN THEIR TERRITORIES?
The first question is, whether the People of
the United States, by their agents and servants
in Congress assembled, have the constitutional
power To prescribe to their Territories rule
excluding Slavery This is first TO me- because
up to the present moment the grossea deeeptions
and the miserablest delusions prevail IN re-
spect to It. Seeing what see in the Treasury
presses, and hearing what hear Of the effects
of their impostures upon uniformed and up
right men, ] nm intimately convinced that it is
perilous to slight this point, notwithstanding
that the authority in question has been cstsb-
lished by innumersble precedents, during
period approaching a century; and was never,
until very lately, seriously questioned. ! do
admit, also, considering how often Legislators
and judges have erred, that honest aud inteli-
gent men may feel reluctant to take anything
on mere precedent. Ii is always lawful, and
sometimes necessary, to try precedent at the
bar Of principle.
That il IL indispensable to do 80 in the pres.
emit casc, is proved by the constant, and by no
means Ineffective. rciteration, throughout oil
the land, and with all the imposing TRIcKERY
OF TYPES that FOR CONGRESS TO PROHIBIT
Slavery IA the Territories, rs a pioiafion Of The
great and Fundamental principle Of the soper.
signty Of the People, and Of their right Of SELF.
government
An objection 20 boldly blazoned, and in its
application 80 grave, not TO be despised, be it
well or i'll founded
The Territories of the United States have
been, and must be, either cessions from States
Of the Confederacy or from foreign States. A
cession Of q country is grant from one Ma
ton or Government TO another, OF the right of
coil, where that is not already appropriated,
and VI the right Of sovereignty everywhere,
unless the act or treaty Of cession contain some
express qualification II one or both Of these
rights Hence il follows, that the People Of
the United States, in receiving succeesively from
Massachusetts,, Connecticut, New York, vir-
ginia, North Carolina, Georgia, the Indian
tribes, France, Spain, and Mexico, cessions Of
territory, become invested with the full rights
OF sovereignty and soil, subject TO previous ap
preparations Of the one, and 10 express reserva
tions OF the other We shall find that in all
these cases there was but one instance Of the
reservation Of right belonging TO the sover-
eighty, but in many OF them Of rights touch
ing the ILL., Neither class Of reservations has
any bearing on the present stage Of this in.
curry Ia the ceseions Of Fame and Neric0
there was no reservation OF qualification what
ever OF the right Of sopere,gnfy IL was all
conveyed 20 the People Of the United States
We're the United States competent to receive
these grants Of sovereignty This cannot be
disputed, for il they were not thus competent,
then full sovereignty or perhaps any part Of
severe gnty, was not conveyed nor IL now pos
sessed by Us, but remains in France aud Mex.
ioo
The United States therefore, did receive. in
tbs case of tho French and Mexican ccssions,
the full sovereignty and supreme dominion
over the territories which were the subjects OF
those cessions Do they still hold III
They hold IL still, unless il has been wrested
from them by force, or voluntarily conveyed
by them TO some other Power. A large tract
Was oeded 10 Great Britain voluntarily, or from
fear Of the consequences 10 Slavery, viz: all
that tract lying between 40 dog and "a deg
40 min Of north latitude, containing about
100000 square miles, beside landowners and
other Islands on the coast thereof, and on our
present const, amounting probably TO 10000
square miles more, or $4,000 in all. All
this Slave President ON a solemn occasion
declared from the throne was sby right un-
questionable ours. All this the same Presi.
oent With the approval Of tho Senate, ceded to
Great Britain. No Soah<rn man ever denied.
Or viii now deny, the validity of that treaty.
In ~ probability, that treaty saved the south
from with o. 4 British steam squadron, and
. Brisink army, including CERTAIN regiments
from the West Indies, heraldsd BY procla-
maxion OF ths established policy Of Britain 10
rufakson % blaoks vancoavsr's Island, and all
~ ret, the Island appsFtainiDg. 10 fact, 70 that
pert u Oregon which remains % us are gone