Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-04-25

eighth section of the act Of Congress OF the
United States entitled, An act 10 authorize the
People Of the Missouri Territory to form a
Constitution and State Government, and for me
admission of such State into the Union on an
equal footing pith the original States, and 10
prohibit Slavery in certain Territories APPROX
ed March 8, 1920"
with an instruction to the Senators, and a re-
quest to the Representatives in Congress, to
vote accordingly
"The peace, permanency and welfare OF the
Union depend upon strict adherence TO the
Missouri Compromise of 1890" so resolved
the General Assembly of Missouri as late as
1847. believe the Assembly was right then
| believe it now and 30 believing shall "ad-
heren to the Compromise now, as then.
should oppose any movement to impair that
Compromise, made in an open, direct manly,
manner: much more shall oppose it it made
in covert, indirect, and unmanly way. The
bill, or bills before ns, undertake to accomplish
their object without protesting it--upon rca-
sons which are contradictory and unfonnded--
in terms which are ambiguous and inconsist-
ent--and by throwing on others the RESPONSE
bility Of its own act. X processes not to inter
fere with the sovereign right OF the People TO
legislate for themselves; and the very fret line
of this solemn profession throws upon them q
horse. load Of law, which they have no right to
refuse, or time to road or money to purchase,
or ability to understand 1t throws upon them
all the laws Of the United States which are
not locally inapplicable; and that compre
bends all that are not specially made for other
places: also, it gives them the Constitution Of
the United States, but without the privilege Of
voting Mt Presidential or Congressional cleo
tions, or Of making their own judiciary. This
in non-interference with vengeance. "A COM
munity to be buried under a mountain Of
strange law, and covered with Constitution
under which they are not to have one single
political right. Why this circumlocution
this extension Of a mountain of irrelevant law,
with the exception of the only one relevant
and applicable? Sir it is the crooked, insid-
ious, and pusillanimous way Of effecting the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise line. 1t
includes all law for the sake of leaving out one
law; and effects repeal by an omission, and
legislates by an exception. It is a new way of
repeating law, and bungling attempt to
smuggle Slavery into the Territory, and all the
country out to the Canada line and up the
Rocky Mountains.
The crooked line Of this smuggling process
is this: "abolish the Compromise line, and ex-
tend the Constitution over the country; the
Constitution recognises slavery; therefore, sla-
very is established as soon as the line is abol-
iahed, and the Consultation extended: and
being put there by the Constitution, it cannot
be legslated OUT This is the English of this
smuggling process; and certainly nothing more
unworthy of legislaton-m0re derogatory to g
Legislative body-was ever attempted to be
made into law. Sir, the Constitution was not
made for Territories, but for States. its pro-
visions are all applicable to States, and cannot
be put in operation in Territories They cannot
vote for President, or Vice President, or mem
bers of Congress- nor elect their own officers,
or prescribe the qualifications of voters, or adj
minister their own laws by their own judges.
shcriffs, and attorneys; and tho clause extend
ing the Constitution to them is a cheat and an
illusion, and a trick to smuggle slavery into the
Territory. Nor is it intended that they shall
have any Legislative right under the Constitu-
ton, even in relation to slavery. They may
admit it because it is to be there by the Con-
they cannot exclude it, because the
Constitution puts it there. That is the argyll
ment; and it is ijuggle worthy of the trick Of
one egg under three hats at the same time
and under neither at any time. Besides, the
Constitution is an organic not an administra-
tive act 1t is code of principles, not of laws.
Not clause in it can be executed except by
virtue of a law made under it--not even the
clause for recovering fugitive slaves.
But am not done yet with the beauties Of
this mode Of repeating law by an exception.
There is further consequence to be detected
in it. The Missouri Compromise consists Of
two distinct parts: first, an abolition of slavery
in all the ancient Louisiana north and west Of
Missouri; secondly provision for tho recov-
cry of fugitive slaves in the territory made free.
By the omitted extension Of this section, both
these parts are repealed A tract of country
larger than the old thirteen Atlantic States,
and bordering thousand miles on the British
dominions, is made an asylum for fugitive
slaves There will be no law to recover a slave
from all that vast region. The constitutional
is limited to States; the provision in
the act of 1897 il limited to the Northwest
Territory the second part of the Missouri Com
promise extended this right to oil the territory
north and west OF Missouri; and that being ".
pealed, that right Of recovery is lost. oficct
to this on the part of the State of Misso,lTl--.
the State to be most injured by converting all
the territory north and west of b. qaite oug
to the British line into an asyluya cF funaway
slaves. The blunder cannot " corrected ~.
least, in the opinion Of these sh0 dany ~ soa
stitutional power of Con- crss b legisss 81
slavery in Tcrritorics) r., ~ as Of Cangrce
Then comes the y aaop ior e1ecutiuR .
Missouri Compromi rom TIE extension h :
is given to a mas' lews which lila a9t re,
and denied to Z L which i sbaro y rea-
son had bee naeagse ID wae Al acre, it
would hav .agical sd .chensiblo
reason ie rot the signed and
those bid aesgec eually numer.
ous ta1 9riuus ana Of examination.
Prs ~ sose wos >dcd by certain acts
~ merit fAtt consistent with those
~ tbel operative; and, finally,
ttnt oepe ges q, being dead in its birth
n4ng go4Gs,aon, ard yaid from tho DO
rtutps
's6 into these reasons, seridtim, as
tao say and first Of suppression. 1t
Is 81 Il the measures Of 1850 superseded
t& promise Of 1920. II 30, why treat it
noF ~ still existing and therefore to be
aled by an exception in order TO got rid Of