Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-03-31
Uccklp ercc })ress.
URLlN6roN, FRIDAY. MARCH3l.ls54.
The Increase of Slave Tertiary

The Increase of Slave Territory,
We have procured for the benefit of on
readers, that they may the better understan,
somo OF the great points of the question bcfor
the country, the map which wo show then
above.
1t shcws with clearncss and accuracythc rela
tive position and extent Of country, under tn,
Cnitod States Government, where Slavery i
now allowed and where it is forbidden bv law
On it can be seen also, how the portion wher
that institution prevails, has steadily en-
croached upon the other, and how far it vii
soon prevail, beyond doubt, if Congress shall
open tho way for its extension, as proposed il
the bill now before that body.
The States and Territories left white on tn,
map, disalow Slavery by their Fundamental
laws. Those cclofed quite dark allow it. Tn,
country lightly shaded, will doubtless becom,
Slaveholding territories and States, if til.
prohibitory clause Of the act of 1890 is mad,
void BY that act all marked Nebraska anC
Kansas was forever interdicted from Having
Slavery in it. Utah and New Mexico ar,
allowed to become either FREQ or Slaveholdnl
States, as their constitutions shall rrovid,
when framed.
There may be different opinions as to thu
extent to which Slavery will prevail in Ne
braska and Kanoas, lift shall be allowed to e
there; but few C. n doubt that in such case
they will become Slaveholding States, witt
the sympathics and influences of other States
Of that character Neither can any one con
versant with the past history of the country
doubt that Utah and New Mexico will follow
in the same track. When that point Is
reached, 1t will be strange If an influence Of
such power, cannot find some way to bring tn,
Territories of Oregon and Washington under
its control also.
The influence for evil which the institution
of Slavery exerts now in our government is
cppressingly great. What it will be il
allowed to stretch itself from ocean to ocean
like band of iron across the heart of the
continent, it is not easy to conceive.
Let US see how its approaches to it's pre-
sent strength have been made.
By the treaty Of peace of 1883, the United
States did not own a foot of land west of the
Mississippi River The position of that river
is plain on the map. Florida also belonged
to another power. The ordinance Of 1877,
made nearly an equal division between
the free and Slave territory of the country.
though such equality of division was not
thing of purpose, but an accident from the
position of the OHIO river. OF each Of these
divisions, something like half was in some
degree occupied by settlements of the old l3
States. Tho western and northwestern por-
tions, which now make the Slave States Ken
lucky, tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi
and the free States Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin, we're substantially
unoccupied wilderness. Gradually they we're
occupied, and organized as they now are.
BY the treaty of 1903, France sold US on the
west side of the Mississippi vast region, e1.
tending to the rocky mountains. That coun-
try, about as large as all the United States
Territory before the purchase, wa, also with
the exception Of few small settlements on
the river, as completely a wilderness as il was
when Columbus discovered America.
In transferring her sovereignty, France
stipulated that tho inhabitants there should he
protected in their liberty, property and reli-
gion, and should be admitted to the rights of
Of the United States and made
nf bo r. nj H.. a..
took no care, and the United States govern
ment was left to do asst pleased with the pro-
pcrty it had bought As for being bound by
treaty with France to keep alive any particu-
lar institutions existing there, to extend them
or to allow them to extend over the country
us fast as it should become settled, nothing
Of the sort was thought Of Or implied, aud no
statesman has ever seriously pretended that it
was 1t fact, Congress did change many Of
the institutions Immediately. Most unfor-
however, it did not put stop to the |.
growth of the institution of Slavery, and in !,
1912, Louisiana was admitted to the Union. |
l Slaveholding State. /
Thus the Slaveholdinc power in the onion
planted its foot on the west side Of the river,
1onc forcseeing the giant strides with which it /
you'd move on to take possession of all the !
country before it.
1t was not till 1920 that the eyes Of the
country were fairly opened to its unbounded /
oretensions. Even then it needed but the
'otes of the Senators and Representatives. from .
he free States to prevent the lcrrosy from /
preading any farther in our body polite .
iost of them gave their votes steadily and /
ruly for such an end. A few however were
ound at that great crisis, with vision too
ull to see the coming evil, or whose frmness
ould not resist the Establishments and threats
lternately brought to bear on their minds,
IT whose selfshness yielded to appeals ad-
ressed to their personal interest, TO strike
lands with the members from the Slavehold-
ng States. With their aid the work was done.
slavery was thus allowed TO extend its bale
III influence over Missouri, a State nearly
even times as large as Vermont and as a
irect consequence, short time after, over
arkansas, almost as largo State ms Missouri. u
That Florida, acquired from Spain, should
blow in the same road was no wonder, In
he flush of success, Texas, another country
rest OF that acquired from France, and nearly
$ large as all he free States east of the Mis-
lssippi was brought into the Union, also a
lave State. And now this insatiate power
emanls that the solemn guaranty of the act
1870 shall be erased from the parchment on
hich 1t was written by the supreme law I
aking power Of the land-that every bar to I
8 progress shall be broken down,--so that Z
may stalk at will over regions cons3crled i