The Ohio star. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1830-1854, 1854-03-08
RAVENNA, WEDNESDAY MARCH s, 1854.

was admitted without restriction, by the act itself
Every other pan of the compact. on the part Of The
free States, has been fulfilled 10 the letter. No
part of the compact on the partof the slave States
has been fulfilled all, except in the admission OF
Iowa and the organization of Minnesota; and now
the slave States propose to break up the contract,
without the consent and against the vii! ot the
free States, and upon the doctrine OF supersedure
which if sanctioned at all. must be inevitably ex-
tended so as to overthrow the existing prohibition
of Slavery in all the organized Territories
Let me read to the Senate some paragraphs
from NiIes's Register, published in Baltimore
March IL, 1890, which show clearly what was
the the universal understanding in respect to this
arrangement.
i Tibet Territory north of SO deg. 80 min is for
euer' forbidden TO be peoped with slaves except
in the State of Missouri. The right, then, to in-
habit Slavery IN any of the territories is c!er'ly
and completely acknowledged and it is condition.
4 ed as 10 some of them, that even when they be-
come States Slavery shall be :torercf' prohibited
in them There is no hardship IN This. The
Territories belong TO the United States and Gov.
ernment may rightfuIIy prescribe the terms on
.
grent point was agreed to in the Senate, 33 votes
to IL; and in the House of Representatives, by
I34to 40, or really 139 to 81. And we trust 1t is
determined .foreuer' in respect ta the countries
now subject to legislation of The General Govern
ment.'i'rr n
Task Senators particularly to mark this:
"h is true that the Compromise is supported only
By The lstterof the taw, repeaable By The authority
,rich enaefed it, but the circumstances Of the case
a eire TO the Lu,U MORAL FORCE equal 10 that Of
posiiire pr6vis,on of the Constitutoa; and re do
not huzard anything By saying that The COnstitu-
lion er;sts in its observance. Both parties have
sacrificed much to concilliaton. We irish 10 see
3 lae COMPACT Kept in good filth and we trust that
Kind Providence will open the way to reiieve US
f of an evil hch every good citizen deprecates as
. the supreme curse ofthe country"
That, sir, was the language of a Marylander, in
1920. He expressed the universal understanding
of the country. Here. then, is the compact COM
plete pc, feet. irrepealable. which is embodied IN
a legislative act. 1t had the two sections OF the
country for parties. great territory for sub
, iect, and permanent adjustment of a.dangerous
controversy for its object 1t was forced upon the
free States. 1t has been literally fulfilled by the
! free States. 1t is binding indeed, only upon hon
or and conscience; but, in such a matter, the OBJ
legations of honor and conscience must be regard
. ed as even more sacred than those OF consttu-
o tona provisions.
Mr.. President ifthere was any principle which
. prevailed in this arrangement, it was that OF per-
mitrpg the continuance of Slavery in the locai-
ties where it actually existed at the time of the
,l,a nd
the parts of Territory in which no slaves were ac-
tually held. This was wlie departure from the
! original policy which con, emplated the exclusion
of Slavery from territories in which it actuay ex-
listed at the time of acquisition. Bat the ieatlat
Slaveiy could deveribe introduced into free Terri
tory under the Sanction of Congress-, had not. as
yet. entered into any mans head. - -'5siS,1e
. MIR. President I shall hasten to aconeusion.- -
; In 1646 we acquired vast territory from Mexico
The free States demanded that this territory. free
when acquired, should remain free under the
!, Government of the United States. The Senator
n from Illinois tells that he proposed the exten-
sion of the Missouri Compromise lire through this
territory, and complains that it was rejected by
: the votes of the free States. So it was. And
why? Because the Missouri Compromise ap-
piled to territory in which Slavery already al
: lowed. The Missouri prohibition exempteda por-
ton of this territory and the larger portion from
the evil. 1t carried out. in respect to thu', the
original policy of the country But the extension
: of that line through the territory acquired from
Mexico. with the underste nding which the Sena-
: tor from Illinois and his friends attached TO ii,
= would introduce Slavery into vast region in
:. which Slavery at the time of acquisition was no
allowed. To agree TO it would have been to re-
. verse totally the original policy Of the country,
: and to disregard the principle upon which the
;. Missouri Compromise was based.
: 1t is true that when the controversy in resrect
to this Territory came to concusian, the prov;s-
ions of the acts by which territorial Governments
were organizedwere in respects worse than
that proposition of the Senator. While those iii
professed to leave the question of Slavery no
Slavery in The Territories, unaffected by their
provisions. TO Judicial decision, they did. neverthe
less virtually decide the question for pll the terri
tory covered by them, far as legislation could
decide it, against Freedom. California. indeed,
was admitted free State; and by her admission
: the scheme of extending line of slave States TO
the Pacific was for the time defented. The prin-
ciple upon which Northern friends of the Terrific
rial Compromise acts vindicted their support OF
3 them this: Slavery is prohibited in these
, Territories by Mexican law that law is not re-
pealed by any provision of the acts indeed, said
t many of them, Slavery cannot exist 10 any Ter
rtory except in virtue of positive act of Congress-;
no such act allows Slavery there; there is no dnn-
ger. therefore, that any slaves will be taken into
: the Territory. Southern supporters of the mea-
sures sustained them upon quite opposite grounds.
Under the provisions tf the Federal Constitution
they said, the STAKEHOLDER hold his slaves in
any Territory, iu spite of any prohibition of Ter
ritorial Legislature, even of act Of Congress-
The Mexican law forbidding Slavery ubro
gated at the moment of acquisition, by the opera