Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1854-03-02

son be given for il that did not exist On "A
4sh Of March last, when be was urging rs I
Pass TIE bill without the exceptionSble clause
NO, arr nc, err. II any such reason exists h
mas iailed TO tel Us what Il is. Whence shal
We seek Tor knowledge, since tbe eomm;tte,
has failed 10 enlighIen us7 Ilno reason ea,
be given. we may ask, what motivs .o,lJ
promPt step 90 Hazardous? When men w;JI
9os frankly disclose their motives, We ars
driven 70 an examination Of their conduct; and
We seek 70 satisfy our craving for knowIedge
by tracking out the mAnnet in which they have
arrived al their conclusions. Ifthere had been
any reason that would bear the iight for the
clause which s now exciting 80 much atten.
uon, might We NOT reasonably have expected
to ind Il IN the deliberate report that the com.
mittee bad given us7
Mr.. President, this conspiracy % overtuu
this old Iime-hOnOred compromise, this old
guarantee OF liberty. Is not yet six weeks old.
Il has been hstched somewhere within thai
time. am not going TO look back into the
history OF the opinions Of the chairman Of the
committee, for know that theJ have been ex-
eeedingly mutable. know, 1t Chicago, some
years agO, he preached doctrine not precisely
IN accordance With what be has lately preach
ed heFe' But that is entirely unimportant.
DO rot now pretend 10 show what
his opinions are or have been; but here we
have the authentic account Of opinions. that
some Senator'S entertained al the time tbe Ye.
port was made.
Before quote from this document, NAV be
permitted TO ask whether they believed, 1t the
time they made that report, that the Legislation
OF 1860 superseded the old compromise OfIs- |
~? Did any such idea enter into. their
imagination? No sir; not at all.
They placed the bill that they then reported
iPon entirely different grounds and although I
hey had occasion TO remark upon this same /
question, they said it was an important and
lelIcate one, that eminent statesman had not |,
Jared to touch, and they would not do it.
That is the sense and spirit of what is con-
aimed in the report of the committee.
They say, on these subjects !
They involve the same grave issues which 4
reduced, the agitation the sectional strife. and
lie fearful struggle of 1850. As Congress a
e. ned it wise and prudent TO refrain from de- $
ding he matters in controversy then, either =
affirmins or repeating the Mexican laws, or v
an act decla. .-Rtory of the true intent OF the Il
institution, and tn extent Of the projections b
Orded by it to slave p.Toperty in the Terrific Il
s, so your committee are not prepared now k
departure from he course Pur- Ii
ed on that memorable occasion, either by al
lming or repeating the eighth section. OF the nj
ssoun act, or by any act declaIatoIy of he a.
,aning Of the Constitution in respect to the le-
points in dispute" le
That, Mr.. President, is what that committee ST,
'ught about four weeks ago. They had no th
lbt del,berated upon this subject, and in this TO
ort we have the joint wisdom OF the whole otl
imi;tee embodied, SO far as We know, for I
o heard no dissent from it, They repor- n;
bill in accordance with that opirion and w
not strange, unacountably strange, that IN,
'e experienced gentleman, statesmen and we
atcss should have entirely changed their III,
nnd, and assigned 10 reasea for the change? bo
hin less than twenty days afterwards they IN
lne OIL reeommltted to themselves but Ml
: have made no additional report. They do :,
tell us why they have changed their minds, - =,
that any extraordinary occurrence has au-
rized the change which has been made in =.
amended bill, which now contains the w
' provision which they before stated they s.o 81
sfully refrained from touching But, sir,nOt- O -.
hstandg their extraordinary silence, they -, -,
e discovered that the legislation of ~
10 had, in some mysterious manner, superse, ~
the most stern and stubborn law Of
igress' Wnl9n "as 'Vl"eu ~ Ia'wo ~ fe,
ing sections Of this Union, and concurred -. =.
IN all hands for at least one third Of CEN 10,
' and yet they Aippantly tell us that it is :,
overturned. all superseded by the eomprO- an' I
e Legislation Of 1850. and hence they en- y"
lied this provision in their bill, and ask for ~
passage. :.
W, as lawyer, hardly know what a man "o ,o
ans when he tells me that an act Of legisla- y
is superseded by principle. ~ ~.
fought it took an act of Congress to repeal, a'
annul, or suspend, former act. sc
did not understand how that could be s.,I
e by principle. do not know, however, ~ ~
there may be some new means discovered tbfp
which stubborn law Of Congress-One of ~, ~.
most solemn acts of legislation. hstdly less -
mn than the Constitution of the United !. sOu
tes itself-4may be annulled. and repealed, -
suspended. bya prineipel which some 7 II (
tlemen pretend to have founL in the legisla- e.,
of 1850, called ''the compromise" legis- .Sa .Sa'
IN in which not sing's principle can be .Sr, .Ss
e out, as will attempt, very soon' to lin lin,
IR. DOUGLAS, l can save the gentleman ia''; tuo
necessity Of arguing upon point upon ~
c.. be is evidently labonng under misap- -. -.
lension stated distinctly the other day, ssa S"e
nv position was That so far as the coun- p1n
severed by the Missouri compromise was nav
raced within the limits of Utah and New n. "
.ico, the acts Of 1850. in regard to those sn's
tories. rendered the Missouri compromise y y .
erative and that so far as the territory COW ~
by the Missouri compromise was not EN- y
ed in those acts, il was superseded by the gay ,
t principle then established In other words .es' Ss
intend that by the acts Of 1850 great prin- tn tn
} of self government was substituted for 80,
grapnlca' lne' anu neIVs, ~ .S;.h I I os n legi
us tSupeTScucu Wy m1oh "i''N" -" = cha