Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-06-22
AS TO THE TEST OATH.

g But the most insulting provision in this section,
and the most lntolerable provision in the whole
bill IS that which makes it and the Constitution
of equal sanctt, which compe's every man who
presents himself at the pol S TO vote, or as can
dldate for office, 10 swear that he will support
the Nebraska bill and which requires him to
devote himself to the propagation of slavery be-
fore he is allowed to exercise the inalenable
right of freemen.
" This is tn first time an American citizen has
ever been required tn take Oh oath to support an
act Of Congress it is the first time suffrage and
Office were made de pendent upon such an oath :;
it is the first time the extension of Slavery has
been raised to he level of constitutional duty
Remember, the clause repeating the Missouri
Compromise, is the distinctive provision of the
bill and every settler after the fl 81 cleo ion will
be required to swear to support this provision
We again copy from the Post, to show
THE OPERATION OF THE SECTION.
The operation Of this qualification will be to
exclude from the pulls and from Office III the Ter
rltorles nearly every man who goes there from
the free States 1t will d-franchise nearly every
member OF every emigrant association that has
yet been formed, and ace the entire political
power of the Territory IN the hands Of savehold.
crs. or slavery propagandlsls; tor no Others will
or can take the oath required by the terms of this
act.
" 1t will also exclude from the polls and from
office for five years, every foreigner who may
reach the Territory after the fist election day,
"As the great bulk of the future settlers of
Nebraska will befpreigners and emigrants fromthe
free States, it is obvious that, so far from govern
ing themselves, the inhabitants of the Territory
will have comparatively nothing to do with max
ing o. administering the laws " hich they will be
required to obey"
| But this is not all The provision of the act
that repeats the Missouri Compromise, extends
to the Territories all other laws If the UAited
States Now, among these, is the Law regul =
ting Intercourse with a Indians, tuhich cypress
~ ercludes foreigners from the territories occu-
pied By the Indians. The section then provides
for the exclusirz o. for igners not only from the
right of suffrage but the right of settlement in
the Territory And naturallzed citizens, togeth
er with those who have the usual oath of inten.
ton to become citizens before they Can vote, are
required to swear support to this prov sion I; that
is, to swear support to provisions that not only
disfranchise foreign tiers, but thrust them from
the Territory
| Was ever a more stupendous imposition prac
ticed What think thu German citizens and i'm
migrants who were soothed with the assurance
that Clayton'S amendment was omitted! What
thinks the majority which violated the rules of the
tioue, rather than suffer full and careful invest
cation of the bill, which would have brought to
light this gross mposure What thinks the in
dlpend"nt pr IS of the country, of trick which,
with all Its familiarity with legislative corruption,
it never dreamed of =, hat think the good peo-
pie of the country of this covert, insiduous, com
plcate plot, for subugating the Territories to the
Olgarchy!
Mr. Douglas, we learn has gone to Chicago,
to exp ain the provisions of the bill to his friends
to show how beautifully it embodies the principle
of popular vereignty. We hope the telegraph
will carry the foregoing section to Chicago, in
time for him to expl in its meaning, and how it
came 10 be whefe il is.