Washington telegraph., 1854-03-15
Ti,e Nebraska Bill.


nj, strength of the Nebraska BILL IA the u S.
r.date was tested on the 18th, on the most i'm
oena,s nrncipe which it contains. The point at
pol'" vas whether the restriction imposed by the
Isus Islsori act Of 1920 upon the introduction Of
y into the Territories, is not in conflict with
sIo ~, principles of the compromise of 1880. upon
D5 n fba territorial Governments of Utah and
4 W.. Mexico were framed.
Ne viii he recollected that the last clause in the
4b section of the Nebraska bill is in these words:
.I,bat the constitution and all laws of the Uni
"A safes, which are locally luapplicable shal!
@ t@a+a tbe same force and effect within the said
rarritory of Nebraska as elsewhere within the
irnited States except the Sth section of the act
t.nnaratory to the admission of Missouri into the
KEoion ap-,roved March 6, 1920, (which was su
norceded BY the principles of the legislation OF
$50 commonly called the compromise measure
and s hereby declared inoperative.T ~
The ouestion pending was the motion of Mr.
Donulas to strike out the words within brackets,
nnd insert IN lieu thereof the following:
(Which being inconsistent with the principles
n-intervention by Congress with slavery in
tbo States and Territories, as recognized by the
ior;sIafion of 1850 commonly called the .'com-
rEomisemeasure, is hereby declared imperative
aanJ void; it being the true intent and meaning of
sact not to legisate slavery into any Territory
- STATE. nor to exclude it therefrom. but to leave
no
nate their domestic institutions in their own
wav. subject only to the constitution of the Uni
ted States"
The vote was taken on Mr.. Douglass amend
ment
min. Broadnead, Brown, Butler, Cass, Clayton,
Dawson. Dixon, Dodge of Iowa. Douglas, Evans
Ftzpatrick, Geyer, Gwin, Hunter, Johnson, Jones
I,fToyya. Jones OF Tennessee, Mason Morton Nor
Sal
Thompson of Kentucky, Toombs, Weller, Will
iams-35.
Nqus-AIen, Chase, Everett Fish, Foot, Hous-
ion, Seward Sumner, Wade-9.7
The total of the negatives is summed up IN the
Washington papers at ten, and the same number
is Given by the correspondents from Washington
But the list furnishes only nine names, and we,
therefore, alter the figures to nine, until we learn
what names has been omitted.
There are four vacancies in the Senate leaving
5S OF a fill Senate. The above vote shows ma
ioritv of 26 of the vote cast. and clear majority
of II of the whole number of Senators. for de-
claration that the restriction imposed upon slav-
erv by the Missouri act of 1920. is inconsistent
with the principle of non-interyention which was
adopted in regard to the territorial Governments
of Utah and New Mexico, IN 1850, and that that
principle was an essential part of the pacifi-
eating compromises OF that year. It is construed
10 be an affrmance of the universally of the ap-
pIcaton of the doctrine of non-interventi by
the General Government with the subject of slav-
erY in the Territories.
In this view an analysis of the vote is of some
interest. All the Senators present from the slave
holding States, except Houston OF Texas 25 in
number, voted in The affirmative The Southern
absenees were Clay of Alabama, Rusk of Texas,
Johnson of Arkansas, and Mallory of Florida
There is also vacancy in North Carolina All
these votes NAV he considered If nreSant fo ba
certain for the bill, raising the Southern vote in
favor of the bill to %.
The affirmative received 10 votes from nom
slaveholdlng States, viz: the two New Hampshire
Senator's the two Senators from Iowa. the two
Senator's from Michigan, one each from Pennsyl-
vania, Indiana, Illinois and California These 10
with the % sure votes from the South, making
49, nearly two-thiras vote of a full Senate. with
out counting the chances for votes from the Nor
thern Senators not present.
The nays to the declaration are composed of
eight Senators from non-slaveholding States and
Houston of Texas. The Northern Senators were
the two from Massachusetts, two from New York.
two from Ohio, and one each from Vermont and
Rhode Island. On inspection, It will be seen that
majority of those from the free States who
were present and voting, was for the universally
of the principle of on-interveution This betok-
ems very decisive majority for the bill, and one
which Is OF a sound conservative character The
question is far from being sectional that it en-
anateS from Northern Senator, and obtains not
only strong Northern vote, but a positive ma
jonty thus far Of all the Northern Senators, who
have taken position on tie subject.
he discussion In the other House is proceed
ing not with the signs of the same favorable re-
suit at least with the same decisive majority but
the passage of the bill there is confidently looked
for.