Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1854-07-20

union and prosperity.
And vet with these emtlcms staring us in
the fce,-with the recollection OF the te ,rs,
the toll and the blood Of our ancestors, spent
and poured out like watar, that we might bc
free and Independent, in hrmony and broth
erly love ; strmgc forcUodings are heard,
Tint this most proud and cnvisb!c condition
may not endure. The institutions OF one
part OF thc country ar assliled and tioutcd
nv unbridled Tongues in another, and in re-
~talntion and revenge for this, pride isarous-
ed political supremacy sought tor, and open
detiince are Ii rely hurled about. A new
GOVERNMENT is provided for new Territories
Of the United States, which permits the in
h.bltan,s Of those regions, to judge for
themselves as 20 their own Institutions; a
power aud privilege which you yourselves
exercise and enjoy Dut the act OF Congress
no sooner becomes u law than it is every
where denounced, in all the non-shN ehold-
ing States. threats Of separation are open
ly made; the value of the Union has been
calculated; ! have heard the computation,
with my own astonished earsj law makers
are upbrlidcd, leagues are formed, acts OF
Congress are impcdcd, if not resisted in
their execution, and one OF the stipuhtions
Of the Constitution has been, by hard neces-
sity, carried out at the point OF the bayon-
ct IN a ~neighboring State,
Fellow ci!izenS-I give not my sanction
to the recent legislation in relation to Ne
braska and Kansas. i think it unnecessary,
unwise and inexpedient, but | certainly have
no fears as toits practical working or results.
Is there any reason for supposing, that a
territory stretching away into the cold re-
gions of the North West, bounded on the
South by the fortieth parallel of latitude, on
the West by the East border of Utah, on
the yery summit ottte Rocky .Monntaias-
on the North by Minnesota, and On the
East by the Missouri river, is in any danger
of having under its government any but free
institutions, especially when we consider TINT
the immigration of Germans and othar for
eigners not naturalizcd, into this new region
is directly encouraged by this very law. 81.
Did not q distinguished statcman, rise in
his place, and with high exultation, congrat-
ulatc the Senate on the triumph OF "Squat-
ter sovereignty?
And what is this new dominion? Is it
not the control of adventurous free white
settlers, who cross the rivers, and
climb the mountains with their hOcks
and their herds, with the ancient wag-
gon Of the Scythian, for a rampant, a rifle
for the Indian, and the narrow-axe for the
forestp Can scrvitude, think you, travel in
such company?
Is the descendant of Ham, to be carried
to b.ck and frozen mountains, beyond
the Mississippi, to blanch and whiten there
in his progress towards freedom?
The notion, it seems to me, is preposter-
oIs. Man is Governed, for the most part,
by hi,- interest and you need not fear, that
the had Of the oralSe tree, of sugar and
tn cotton plant willie be abandoned for
tho purpose OF grazing cattle, under negro
l. rdsmen III Nebraska! No, Here the In
dian roams; the buffalo ranges, and the bca,-
err construc $ his curious home but in this
chill region a. he western winds, all insti-
tutions inconsislrnt with freedom, would on
ly anguish siolen and die.
make TO objection therefore to the leg
~iSlation Of Congress in this behalf, because Of
any fear we may entertain as to its practical
effect. The difficulty lies not here, but it is
TO be found in the fact, that in 1920, and
now recently, as It were but yesterday, UNI
der our wi eyes, a solemn compact was en-
terrell into between the North and the South,
which, While it served to guard all reasol.-
able claims on the part of the South,
was intended also, to calm the Jealous watch
fulness of the North, in relation to the spread
~ofopinions which find 10 favor beyond GER
tain lines of demarcation, fixed by necessity
and possession.
Why the voices of Webster and Clay have
not yet died away they are still calling to
us and urging, with eloquent and impassion-
cd earnestness, all parts of the country to
arrange those fatal differences to give way
in the South; to give way in the North, and
meet one another as our fathers met in
Philadelphia and new York each to yield
up something of pride and something of as
serted right and s~rcriice all grievances upon
the sacred altar of our common country. l
see in a late important political address, that
it seems to be supposed that the North had
something to rely upon in relation to their
claims for free institutions, under the ordi-
nance of 'S7. That famous law was framed
while the States were yet a confederation,
and before confederacy had ripened into
Union. 1t was passed before the people of
the entire country in their aggregate and
personal capacities became one nation, under
the great organic law, which the whole peo-
pie had foG themselves laid down.
But Notwithstanding this leading fact, |
confess that until withina period, comparative
" short, was one Of those who supposed that
someth.ng, not only desirable, but some
thing enduring bad been gained by the fourth
provision of that freedom giving ordinance.
But what my opinions may have been, up
onthis important question, is not a matter
Of any weightor consequence since l stand
before you as a mere individual, without one
particle Of political power.
In support, however, of that view of the
subject, l might invoke the very highest au.
thority. The great Constitutional lawyer
had himself come to the conclusion, that the
ordinance of 'S7, first proposed in "a by
Mr.. Jefferson, and afterwards re-introduced
by Mr.. Dane, was e~tfectual for the objects for
which it was intended.
That ordinance, us you well know, fixed
certain rules, conditions and limitations,
for the government of the entire territory
North West of the Ohio, which, in legal
phrase, were supposed % to run with tie
land and the asst important limitation
OF all was the fourth, which provided, that
in the whole of that vast region, there wat
not, thereafter, to be either slavery or in
voluntary scryitude except for crime.
Now, as there were also various pre-
visions in the ordinance, in relation
to religious liberty, to property, to
carrying-piaces and the navigation of riv-
ers, as well Us human freedom, Mr.. Web
ster thought, that if the conditions in
relation to religious liberty, to portages,
the navigation of %vivers, and to property,