Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-09-16

stitution Of State vaie1 vihholds from is Lgislasre
he po~sr Of sieing Freedom 10 The slaos"
ain this very section Of the bill before the
mittee Congress refuse their assent propositions made
by the Convention Of people which formed
their Constitution and were transmitted with 1t. My
proposed amendment very short and simple is in perfect
accordance and keeping with the remainder Of the
ton as it stands in the bill before the committee
and although fatter myself that it will be salts
factory those Of my constituents and felowcitizens
who have thought proper to commit their memorials and
circumstances to me, will at least secure to the
seriousness Of having discharged my duty to them my
country and to that for the rights mankind
which rejects without reserve the principle that by the
law of Nature of God be the property Of man.
"a respectable portion Of my constituents, and many
others of my felow-ctzens, had charged with the
duty Of presenting their memorials against the slavery
article in the Constitution of Arkansas. Multitudes OF
others had entrusted their petitions for the aboli
ton Of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Co.
lumbia Great numbers of petitions, memorials and
monstrances of the purport had been presented
by other members of the House. Ieoud not support the
immediate abolition Of slavery in the District Of Columbia;
could not resist the admission of arkansas nochstand
ing the slavery article her constitution into the Union
but there point Of concession to the slavehoding
interests Of the South from the representatives of none
but freemen in this House, where it appeared to me not
only just, but indispensaby necessary to stop"
The article in the constitution Of Arkansas cutting off
the last hope Of emancipation to the end Of me by with
holding from the Legislature the power of ordanng
it, strongly disapproved The House had treated all
these memorials and remonstrances in behalf Of freedom
as if they afraid hear them read afraid to look
them in the face afraid to sduint at them In read
ing eighth section Of the bill before the committee it
appeared to that the amendment which offered
congenal to its spirit that il inserted ut the place
proposed it would appear altogether if it had been
part Of the section originally drawn up The amend
ment falls infinitely short Of the Missouri restriction and
is entirely congenal to the spirit Of the Constitution it.
SELF Unable as to propose the restriction desired
by the memoriasts and remonsrants, yet believing that
the occasion required Of avowa of those opinions
and principles the only guardians Of the freedom Of my
constituents DESTROYS Of manifesting them in the
form the least offensive possible to the slavehodng por
ton Of the community wished to plant the standard
of freedom at the very lowest point of its elevation and
By concedng Slavery every thing required by the
compact, yet adhering to those sefevdent truths pro-
claimed in the Declaration of Independence to utter the
minimum of the sentiments which believed my con-
stuents would resign but with the last drop Of
their blood" i.#@&
There is not my amendment the shadow Of restriction
upon the State leaves the State like all the rest to
regulate the subject of slavery within herself to her
laws and how far that short of the concessions
required from the saveholdng interests of the Missouri
compromise easy to judge by reference to the trans
actions of that time for in the act Of 9th Of March,
$780, to authorize the people of the Missouri Territory
form constitution and State Government and for the
admission Of that State into the Union slavery and
is prohibited in all the territory coded by France
to the United States under the of louisiana which
lies north Of thirtysx degrees and thirty minutes Of
north latitude and not included within the limits Of the
State of Missouri And this the first Missouri
promises net the abolition but the prohibition by Con-
gress forever of slavery in that portion Of the Louisiana
Territory where it had not then penetrated And second
w. when the constitution of the State Of Missouri
formed there was article the legislative power the
fourth clause Of tho section Of which, de-
ning the powers and duties of the General Assembly Of
the State in these words 1t shall be their duty
may be- to pass such laws as may be neces-
sary rst prevent free negroes and muattoes from
coming and settling in this State under any preext
Whatsoever Nearly the whole Of the second session Of
the 10th Congress consumed in debates whether the
State of Missouri should be admitted into the Union
without requiring Of her that this clause should be
plunged from her constitution and the session terminal
ed with her conditional admission by resolution Of I'd
March, 1921"
"This was the second Missouri COMPROMISED and,
formally this resolution the Legislature Of the State
of Missouri did, the Goth of June, 1921, by solemn
public act declare the assent Of the State to this unda
mental condition copy Of this solemn act trans
mted to the President of the United States who after
consultation with oil the members of his Administration,
and after taking from each of them his opinion in
writing issued the 10th Of August 1921 his proca-
nation declaring that the admission Of the State Of Mis-
souri, into the Union was complete.
'Now sir, there is in the amendment proposed by
nothing comparable concession from the savehodng
to the free States, to this Missouri restriction PRO-
POSE NO RESTRICTION AT ALL. simply ask that
my constituents parties to this compact Of admission
with Arkansas may not be constructvey held to have
given their to this pepetuaon Of slavery placing
it beyond the reach of the legislative authority"
| OFFICIAL.
| Treasury Department, August 20, 1884.