New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-05-18

hib Slavery in the entire Western Territory. claimed
BY Congress having been acquired by the jo'ns
arms OF tie uonnot only the territory nor'n Oh 1e
Ohio of which REIMBURSEMENT had already been 90
,aued from seine of the States setting % claims 70 ~
but tie territory also south OF the Ohio, now eonsi
tutipe the States of Kentucky, Tennessee Alabama
and Missis.ippi The Ordinance OF l's', the slavery
,robhi,n Included wa. restricted 10 the territory
north of the Ohio. 70 which the title OF the United
State. h mesnw lille beer perfected by cessions from
the other claimant States; thus leaving it in the power
nj the southern States 10 10 the renqulsbment
Of their claims Of jurisdiction the territory south
of the Ohio such conditions the subject of Slavery
A. the, might see ft-a power. tie exercise OF which
resulted il the establishment, Of Slavery in all that
territory the United States paying the expense of the
removal # the Indians in order 90 the introduction Of
slave cultivators in their place.
Ii would illus sppe,r that the Ordinance of l7s7,
about which 90 much his been said and written, was,
after all Tut mpronise, and the frs. of the CON-
promises the subject Of Slavery, and instead Of
finding in it. IS Mr. Benton does, anything TO i've
emphasis to the provision respecting fugitves from
labor contained in the Federal Constitution-which
Though suggested probably by the similar clause in the
Ordinance OF rs and expressed in similar language,
las scope snd extent entirely foreign 10 that Ori
malice We should be rather inclined to make il the
basis OF solemn warning against those who, whether
cut of zeal or slavery or desire for office undertake
To reverse policy of which the adoption WAS eoevsl
with the Federal Constitution and which since oae OF
the parties derived from il the entire advantage t
was intended to give cannot now be abandoned without
the EXTREMIST injustice TO the other party, alone
exposed to loss by the charge.
Tie Ordinance of I7>7 and lie auti-slavery provi-
zion contained in it, which, though not quite SO much
tie work oi tie South as Mr.. Benton is disposed to
it. yet assented 20 by every southern
State-wss tlen according 10 tss view, the progeni-
ter Of tie Missouri Compromise born of it in due
tine in the natural course If events an extension in
fct "a the Territories acquired by cession from
ence aud SPAN, of the me principle OF partition
L,tw,en Shareholders and uon-slavehoders, which had
been already applied TO the unorganzed Territory
acquired from Great Britain and yielded up by the
claimant States And this naturally brings us TO the
Missouri C,mpromise and TO the views and state
meuts OF MI Benton on that subject
OF couise IL was not till after the passage OF the ac
allowing Missouri to form Constitution preliminary
TO admission into the Union nor indeed till after the
formation Of that institution, that Mr.. Benton was
chosen a Senator from Missouri lie was, therefore
not 1t Washington during the debate which tcrmina
ted in tie great Missouri Compromise-or there were
two Missouri Compromscs,-the great Compromise
ofIc.0 which provided for the admission Of Missouri
at tie same time that it prohibited Slavery for ever
in all TIE Louisiana cession north and west OF
the new State and the Enie Compromise of 1921,
which had reference only to particular clause of the
Constitution Of Missouri, prohibiting the imrnigra
ton of Colorod persons into that State. But though
not YET ohoeen Senator Mr.. Benton was citizen OF
Msso,ri and pretty active POLITICIAN and had he not
confined himself vigorously TO his merely Senatorial
experiences, he might have furnished some femlnis-
ccuces both raoy and instructive, OF the sayings and
dorgs Of the citizens of that embryo State who did
not, believe, take at all in good part the wish OF
the North 10 extend TO Missouri the benefit Of the
slavery prohibition. Ii surely was not for nothing
that the good citizens of that State elected Mr..
Benton one OF their first Senator's and an exposition
OF The means by which he got into the Senat- would
certainly serve to form natural enough introduction
to his account of what he and heard during the
dirty years that he staid there Yet Mr.. Benton is
very tar from being the only who does not to
look 100 great distance backward. A thirty years
retrospect quite enough for anybody at least for any
Senator. few of whom in these days can trace back
even third of that period without encounteriug many
things which they would prefer to overlook. One
ante 81 nat. rial Renaissance, however Mr. Benton
does indulge with; but this, though somewhat zig
ncant both to tie past and the present is fear
Il little apocryPhs The passage to which we now
refer is the following, which may be found page Z:
The of Missouri made her Constitution sanction.
f,,liddipO to
with It. Iisprohi6t,oR, net usual ~ Stae C0astalioas
he .5ef y the Missouri c0arOresy aRd IF toreigR
tctrcncc ana adj pted far he sake n IsIcf5r the
SAX, of crnoi t'onqnHRyand 10 preCent the aga,ios
a ne Stare question, wch cosM only be acc0Dashed By
fgdBdHg rhCHg trOnl me tOrt u elections dtt gsLl-
ton. my,ef the nstigGtor f that prohibition, and
the of ne being put into the not
u member Oi the COMMUNICATING equally opposed 70
slavery extension and TO slavery prohibition.
When man undertakes to relate from pure mem.
oTy the events of thirty years past and especially to
expein the motives which led to these events it is
prisng what tricks with the most sincere intention on
bis part 10 tell the exact truth, his present feelings
and biases will often play him, and how completely
tie ress0nings and ideas Of to-day will transfer them
selves unconsesssy into the memory of the past aud
this particularly apt to be the with party polt
zeal orators and writer's accustomed to look at exter
nal facts Us the bare soil out OF which e prosc force
Of their ingenuity is to to spring an exuberant
cop OF seryceuble surmises.
The prohibition to which Mr. Benton refers 10 the
above extract was one aiming the Legislature from
passing laws for the ancpation OF slaves without
the consent Of their owners without paying there
for previous TO such emancipation full equiyalentn
money; or laws prohibiting immigrants from bringing
slaves with them into the State. Butso far from these