Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-04-14

dill not ear, fT by the letter and spirit Of
the Missouri act tlic 'irc Of 30' 30 is made
to apply to the territory acquired from France
and to that only and the object Of che line
Wa- IT, settle the difficulties growing out Of che
admission Gf Missouri, and nothing more
To show that it had Il h'cai appli,ot'on TO the
territory acquired from France. and that
hence the refusal to extend 1t through Terri
tories subsequently acquired, or the adoption e
Of different principle MS tu Other Territories
could not sut,stsGdc it affect it, quote the
act itself
SEC. s. h. il f,ril,r ,noct,d, That III Al that
territory cedtd by Frame, n The Fpt,d Nat,, "Hd'r
me- ant n EouisoU1, which lies north of 3ts 30 of
north latitude. ro' Included within the Limits If the
state contemplated ny .his set, SLAVERY ASH iSvoL-
tSrARy srRvi,tpr. othcr~i1e thar a. the punish
mcnt OF crimes SNAIL nv, ASH Is HERtBf, tokbN
tR PROHIBITED"
| will nov cnll the attention Of The com
mittce to some remarkable declarations made +
by the Senator from Illinois f'e saws that
slavery was never excluded from one irnh Of
American soil by act Of Congress" that the .
ordinance of liS1 dll not accomplish any
such result that " the people pf Illinois
regarded thr ordinance of lIs1 as AN invasion
Of their rights and - as an usurpation on
the part Of the Federal Government, and
they determined they would never submit
to that freedom SO long as It Was forced on
]
| While Canada belonged To France settlements
were made into Illinois from Canada IN
| 1858 France cedod to England the country,
out Of part Of which the Territory of Hi
nois was formed Slavery was tolerated both
in the French and Engliah colonies, and the
French emigrdnts carried with thom into
Illinois the French laws tolcratin1 slafcfy.-
In IT'S General Clark at the head of mill
tary force, organized under the authority OF
Al. =. ...... 4.
from the country, and soon uftct organized
the cttnty IF Illinois, which embraced the
Conquered district IN lisa Virginia coded
the country to the United States protecting
in the deed of cession the right Of the cti
zens to hold slaves. Three years after cards
the ordinance Of l1S7 prohibiting slavery
was passed.
Now. sir, | condcnse from the Western
Annals, the work before quoted from, few
facts as to the history Of Slavery in Illinois.
That work informs MS that the ordinance Of
l7s1 was the subject of complaint by {" few
interested persons in Illinois" In 11pG. four
persons in the vicinity of kaskaskia petit
toned Congress for removal of the restriction
for limited period. IN 1sCt convention
at inccnncs sent to Congress a similar petit
ton. In fsni-'7 the Territorial Legislature
of Indiana Qllinols then being part of the
: Indiana Territory; pcttionc1 Congress :, to
suspend the ordinance for ten years But
the same work informs us, that this move
ncnt of the territorial government to suspend
the ordinances excited great opposition, and
that the opposition party brought out iona
than Jennings as II candidate for Congress.
, and elected him over the pru-slavcry candi-
date, and continued to rc-clcct him until the
, State Government was formed, when he was
: elected Governor, and continued in that Office
= till ls22. When the people OF Illinois formed
their State constitution, they declared IN tho
preamble to that constitution that it was
made - consistent with the ordinance Of
. l7S7,' and that constitution provided against
r the future existence Of slavery in the State
In 1919 Governor Coles moved to the state
t carrying with him twenty slaves, whom hi
Y emancipatcd, and purchased for each fi,mil y
/ one hundred and sixty acres of land. lr
n 1922, he wa, elected Governor, the question
l. of slavery having entered partially into thu
l. canvass. In 1888, the proposition to amen'
y the constitution, with view to the introduc
d ton of slavery. was submitted to the people
l. and defeated by an overwhelming majority
Is These facts demonstrate two propositions re
r. futing the statements OF the honorable soma
N tor. First. they show that the complaints o
= the ordinance were not by the people ut large
n and, secondly, that the ordinance, II 1t di'
v not wholly exclude, did operate to gr"a
t. extent to the prevention of. slavery. For /
ID it was not in the way to the introduction o
10 slavery, why were these petitions sent t
Congress Tor Its suspension 1t Is true, Il
the Senator states, that in lSo1 the Terrific
is rial Legislature OF ladiana passed an act con
,f corning the introduction OF negroes an'
N mulattoes INTO that Territory and although
~ the ordinance was violated by tins act, !c
rs the eject OF the law, Whatever may nave bcel
N its object, was to mitigate slavery Ina
10 law lcgalizcd the introduction of that ella"
l. OF persons Th" ,rcre Sldr's m me Nof'S m
Ierrtorcs, upon condition that indentur'
were to lie entered into between the lhastc
IN and slave, by which the latter was to serve
rs with his own consent, Tor stipulated period
n and then ~os 10 hfc'ne FREE. Children undo
IN fifteen years of age were required to serv
,e their owners males, until thirty-hye year
as OF age. and females, until thirty-two years {
age, and then to be free These persons wer
termed indenturcd servants. This law
ut them served to transfer persons from the slav
n States, where they and their posterity wer
., slaves forever, to that Territory where thei
" period of service was stipulated, and freedol
u secured to their children after a limited peri
w cd of service. his same work informs US
C. that many Shareholders from Virginia an
M Kentucky, and other States, who desired t
relieve themselves from the ownership
as slaves migrated, and avaled themselves ,
of this law = This committee will he aston
. ;sbed after SO much has been said about III
" introduction Of slavery into the Territory ,
g. illinois in snite of the ordinance. when il
re informed HAT in 1910 there were. accordip
d. IN the census. in Illinois only one bundre
/. and sixty slaves in 1900. nine hundred an
4" seventeen and in 1890, seven hundred an
fnrtv-six. 7 am not informed how large
number If these were slaves undcr the ii,
rinin laws before the ordinance of 1877.
ch I believe it has been decided or intimate
Is. nv the Sunremo Court of the United States i
H. the case of Mcnard rs. Aspasa, Goth Peters
Ronnrts flat IN. ordinance nf l-S7 W.,