The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1854-02-15
DEBATE ON THE NEBRASKA BILL
AMENDMENT OF TUE CONSTITUTION.

proposed amendments to the constitution of the
United States. ! move thut il be now taken
up, for think that respect for the House re-
CURES that we should sct uponit.
The motion being agreed TO, the resolution
was taken up and read. 1t provides that Sc.
lect committee, composed Of nine members on
the part of the House Of Representatives., be
appointed by the Speaker, to jnin such com nit
tee as may be appointed by the Senate, 10
whom shall be referred the resolution Of the
House upon the subject of a proposed amend
ment of the constitution, in the mode OF the
election of the President and Vice President
Of the United States, With instructions to take
that subject generally into consideration, and
10 report upon the same In such manner as 10
them may seem most expedirnt.
The question being taken, the resolution was
concurred in
Mr.. GWlN moved that the committee upon
the part Of The Senate consist Of five members
to be appointed by the President pro TEN viii ch
was agreed 10.
The President appointed Messrs. Bayard
Pearce, Toucey, Foot, and gwin, as said com
mittee.
NEBRASKA TERRITORY
On motion Mr.. BRIGHT, the Senate then
proceeded 10 the conslder ion Of the special or
der Of the day-being the billto organize the
Territory of Nebraska.
MIR DOUGLAS. Mr. President, when
proposed, on Tuesday last that the Senate
should proceed TO The consideration of the bill
to organize the Territories of Nebraska anc
Kansas, It ~as my purpose only to occupy ter
or fifteen minutes in explanation oft provis
ions. desired 10 refer to two points, frs, a.
to those provisions relating to the InIians,
and second, those which might be supposed to
Gear upon the question Of slavery
The committee, in draughting this bill, hac
in view the great anxiety which had been ex-
pressed by some members oil the Senate, to pro
tect he rights of the Indians, and prevent in.
fringements upon them. BY the provisions o
the bill, | think we have clearly succeeded
in hat respecl as to obvlate all possible obisc.
ton upon that score The bill Itself provide:
that it shall not operate upon any Of the right:
or the lands of the Indians nor shall they be
included within the limits Of those Territories
until they shall, by treaty with the Unitec
S States expressly consent To come under the
operations of the act, and be inc prporated with
in the limits OF the Territories. This provision
certainly is broad enough, clear enough, ex-
plicit enough, to protect all the rights of the
Indians as TO their persons and thei, properly.
Upon the other point---that pertaining to the
question Of slavery in the Territories lit wa.
the intention of the committee to be equally ex
plct. We took the principles established by
the compromise acts of 1850 as our gHide, an
intended TO mike each and every provision o
the bill accord with those principles. Those
measures established and rest upon the grea
principle Of self gov vernment-that the peopl,
should be allowed to decide the questions
of their domestic ins itutions for them.
selves, subject only to such limitations and re
strictions as are imposed by the constitution o.
ine uu::::.ad States, INSTEAD Of having them de.
termned BY arbitrary or geo2rap pa::ccei line.
The original bill reported by the commltte,
as substitute for the bill introduced by the sen
ator from Iowa Mr.. Dodgel was believed t.
have accomplished this subject. The amend
ment which wa1 subsequently reported by us
was only designed To render that clear and spe
cific which seemed in the minds OF some to ad
IN of doubt and misconstruction. In SONS
parts of the country the original substitute wa>
deemed and construed to be an annnnent or
peal of what has been known The Missouri
| Compromise, while in other parts It was other
wise construed. As the object Of the colnmi
tee was to conform to the principles establish
ed by the compromise measures Of 1859, and te
carry those principles into effect in the Terri
tories, we thought it vas better to recile in the
bill precisely what We usde-stood to haye been
accomplished by those measures, VIZ That
the Missouri Compromise, having been super
seded by the legislation cf 1850, has become
imperative, and hence he propose 10 leaye the
question to the people Of the States and the
Territories, subject oniyto the Limitations anC
provisions Of the constitution.
Sir, this is all intend to say, if the question
had been taken up for consideration Tues
day last, but since that time occurrences have
transpred which compel me to go more fully
into the discussion. 1t will be borne in mine
| hat fhp frof + Mr. Shasp
then objected to the consideration of the bill
and asked for It's postpone ment until this day
on the ground that there had not been time t
understand and consider its provisions, and the
senator from Massachusetts, Mr.. SummerJ sug
gtsted that the postp nement should be for one
week for that purpo e. These suggestion
seeming to be reasonable to senators around m,
| yielded to their request, and consented to tn,
postponement of the bill until this day.
Sir, little did suppose, at the time granite.
that act of courtesy to those two senators, tina
they had draugh'ed and published to the world
document, over their own signatures, in whici
they arrsign me as having been guilty of
criminal betray ofmy trust, as having beer
guilty of an act OF bad faith, and been engage,
in an atrocIous plot against the of fre
government. Little aid | suppose that lhos'
two senators had been gully of such conduc
when they called upon me TO grant that court
esy, 10 give them an opportunity of investiga a
ting the substitute reported from the committee
| have since discovered that on that very NOR
ming the National Era, the abolition organ il
this city, contained an address, signed by Ger
tam abolition contederates, To the people, il
which the bill is grossly msrepresented, il
which the acton OF he members OF the com
mittee is grossly faisified, in which motive
are arraigned and our characters calumn ated
And, sir, what is uIore, find that there vas
postscript added to the address, published tina
very morning, in which the principal amendmcn
reported by the Committee set out, and ther
coarse eplthets applied to me by name. Sir
had known those facts at the tir.le granted
that act OF Indulgence, | should have Responded
to the request ot those senators in such terms a
her conduct deserved, SD tar as the rules of tn,
Senate and respect for my own characte
would have permitted me to do. in order t.
show he character of this document-of which
| shall have much to say IN the course OF IN
argument--l will read certain passages:
IS We arraign this bill as a gross violation o
sacred pledge, as criminal betrayal of pre-
cous rights-as part and parcel of al airoclou
plot to exclude from vast, unoccupied rego
emgrants from the Old World, and free laborer
. from our own States, and convert il into drea
ry region Of despo,ism, inhabited by master
and slaves
A SENATOR. By whom is the address signed
Mr.. DOUGLAS. 1t assigned 4" S r. Chase
, senator from Oho Charles Summer, senate
. from Massachusetts, r. Giddings and Ed
ward Wade, representatives from Ohio, Aerrl
Smith, representative from New York, Alex
ander De Wit, representative from .Hassachu
Sc ts," including, as | understand, all the rep
resentatives at the abolition party in congress.
Then, speaking ofthe Committee on Terrlto
~es, these con edera,es So thus language
- The pretences, Therefore, that the Ferrlt"r.
covered by the positive prohibition OF lo2U
, sustains suiar relation to slavery with tia
. acquired from -Kex,co, covered by no prohlbl
ton except that of disputed constitutional o
Mexican l.w, and that the compromises OF lS5
require the incorporation OF tho pro.s svet.
cltuses of the Utah and New Mexico bill in tn
Nebraska act, are MERE INvEsrIoNs, DESIGNED
TO COVER UP FROM PUBLIC REPREHESsIos MED
HATED BAD FAITH"
Mere inventions to cover up bad "a tn
Again
:. Servile demagogues may tell you that. th
!, Unlon can be maintained only BY submitting t
| de emanSs of slavery