The Ohio union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1849-1854, 1854-05-03

ed about their sacredness till we were
hoarse. Not 10 meet The North with cor.
responding faith, would be TO invite an as.
saull from those who held these compromise
in lower estimation. Let the South. then,
and The North, perform the honorable act
Of standing by their engagements, and pro.
ieciiDg sectional faith. | am happy to
know ha,ihere are gentlemen on this floor,
from southern States, who are determined
10 do ii. 1t is well. The Missouri com
promise is an arbilesr of peace, fraternity,
concord. Ii calmed the trouble waters OF
strife in times past, and affords thest assu.
rance Of unity and prosperity in time 10
come.
There is class of men who profess
10 support this bill upon the ground that
the abolition Of the Missouri line, as a
boundary between free and slave territory,
will operate prejudicialy 10 the slave in.
terest. by setting aside all amicable adjust.
menls, and leaving parties to conied for
every inch of ground hereafter, when
States formed ont Of Texas shall propose
10 come into The Union with slavery; and, in
fact whenever and wherever The opporn.
nily for such controversy shall be presen,
ted. And this upon the ground that, if the
Missouri compromise shall tall, all others
will be held to have fallen with it. say
there is class of men in the country who
profess TO desire the passage Of the bill
for such reasons. They are not avowed
A6Ulltionisls. and therefore doubt their
sincerity. But if they are cincere, can
not sympaIhlze with their designs. If
| were one Of that factous class of r0lli.
clans. and proposed 10 subsist only upon
the pabulum of sectional strife, might en-.
lerlaln such an arguments; for the conse.
quences they lorsre are more that likely 10
follow. But as a Democrat, rrpudiale it
altogether. recognize fully The consli.
lulOnal rights of the South, and whenever
outside of ihe Conlirulion, conflicting in
interests, or clai ms Of interest. have been
settled upon terms To which the nation has
assenIed. | desire settlements to be obser.
we'd in good faith, and never Violently dis
lurbed. What the South has lawfully got
let her keep or surrender, as her own con
science or interest may determine; aud the
equivalents which she has deliberately
given, let her not seek 10 rrtracl.
! We ought 10 provide against unpeces.
sary war, rather than to sii down aud cal.
cula,e lis results. Ii we would do this
, we have but to recognize the sovereignty
of lhe epeope, and how down befUle their
clearly manifested will. Ii mast be NOR
!. bid taste which can find anything agreeable
a in the anticipation Of controversy like
!. that which this bill invokes; to which NJ
!. end is promised, except in that possible
disruption Of the Conlederacy which som,
r. gentlemen apprehend much more thar
a | do, but which | will admit To be quite
= probable, when they can prove that its pre-
servation in 1854 requires the destruction
Il of the very appliance which saved il il
" 1920. ..... ....
Sir, you will recolet when this measure
!. was introduced, it was claimed by lis aulho
no. to be an act Of affirmative legislation
!, for ii was argued that the Missouri con,
h promise had already been, in effect, abroga
ted by the compromise measures of 1850
:. and. probably, because nobody in tht
q world had been wise enough to discover it
h he undertook 10 declare that fact. Legis
;, latVe construction may make law, but
:, ought 10 be truthful and reasonable. How
h ever, The weakness of this assumption wa
!, so obvious that il has been abandoned
,r we are now asked TO repeal il out right
4 because its longer continuance is not con
a sisientwilh the spirit and principle oi,h
, law of 1850. This shift does not help tn
r. case. For wherein the inconsistency cal
: truly be affirmed, no man has been, o
a ever will be, able to show. Did the Con
.s gIess Of 1850 suppose that i, was establish
- ing principle which musllead To chang
=, i'll all The Legislation then in force crea,in
r territorial governments! The Territory q
N Oregon hadbeen organized with the SLAYER
20 restrictions; Minnesota with the same
- And even alter the compromise measure
II of 1850 were passed, the Territory c
a. Washington was formed out of Of the limit
m of Oregon, and the restriction within il le
N N in full iurce. According to this argume
:. that was all wrong. Il was contrary 10
:. great principle which had been establishe
i without any BODY knowing il, Aquoe
I, principle that. It's birth will be re
4 gisIered in The family record of humbugs
n as OF 1854, and not Of 1850. ,.....
"a Bullo the point. BY the time the pro
A, per laws shall have been passed To lei lh
Of light of this principle shine upon all lhes
a. Territories, there many have been ogila,io
9, enough TO make politicians desire TO re.
h. from their labors, If noL wien the al
licipaled brood Of new States shall b
10 haiched from Texas, there will, as all III
n. lovers of turmoil foresee, be an opportun
,g ty 10 continue il by fierce contest owe
% % their admission into The Uuion with SLAYER,
nj Then il will be convenient for agitator
n. whose numbers and strength will be ont
70 what increased, to know that no faith a,
~ taches to these legislative compacts viii
a. regard to slavery. The Sonlh will insi
a. that the compact (she will call i, by III,
u. nancy with Texas shall be kept. .Th
N North asks only the same thing with refe
n ance to Nebraska. The South should rel
rs der the faith she intends to exact.
r. Sir, il there we're an abyss of dark an
and unknown depths before us, i, woul
IL be prudent To turn aside and shun il; b,
co in truth, il lies far aside from our pa,h, an
n. we are devlaiing from our course TO dro
n into il, The laws of 1880 will mi dr;,