Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-07-16
NUMBER 2O6.

every nian 10 tneIun unrestfdneu anu peaceiulcn-
loymeIt Of his own religious opinions and worship,
and jealous resistance ofa attempts by any sect,
denomination or church to obtain an ascendency
over any other In the State, by means Of any
special privileges or exemption, by any political
combination Of its members, or by a division Of
their civil allegiance with any foreign power, po-
| tentate, or ecclesiastic.
| IX.-The reformation Of the character Of our
National Legislature by elevating to that dignifed
and responsible position men of higher qualifca-
tions, purer morals and more unse6sh patriotism.
X-The restriction of executive patronage es-
pecially In the matter of appointments to Office
far as II may be permitted by the Constitution and
consistent with the public good.
XI.--The education Of the youth Of our country
| in schools provided by the State; which schools
shall be common to all, without distinction Of creed
or party and free from any influence or direction
| Of dcnominatonal or partisan character.
And, nasmuch as Christianity, by the Constitu.
ons of nearly all the States by the decisions Of
| the most eminent judicial authorities and by the
consent Of the people OF America, Is considered
| element of our political system; and as the Holy
Bible Is at once the source Of Christianity and the
depository and fountain Of all civil and religious
| freedom, we oppose every attempt to exclude il
| from the schools thus established in the States.
xII.-The American party having arisen upon
the ruins and in spite Of the opposition of the Whis
| and Democratic parties, cannot be in any manner
1 responsible for the obnoxious acts of violated
| pledges Of either. And the systematic agitation
Of the slavery question by those parties having el
evated sectional hostility into positive element
| Of political power, and brought our institutions
into peril, 1t has therefore become the imperative
duty of the American party to interpose for the
| purpose of giving peace to the country and per-
petuity to the Union And as experience has
shown IL impossible to reconcile opinions so eS
| .reme as those which separate the dsputants, and
| as there can be no dishonor in submitting to the
| laws, the National Council has deemed it the best
| guarantee of common justice and of future peace,
| to abide by and maintain the existing laws upon
| the subject of slavery, as final and conclusivc
| settlement Of that subject, in spirit and in sub
stance.
And regarding it the highest duty to avow their
| opinions upon subject 80 important, in distinst
and unequivOca terms IL is hereby declared the
sense Of this National Council, that Congress pos
sesses no power, under the Constitution, to'egis
late upon the subject of Slavery In the States
/ where 1t does may exist, to exclude any State
from admission into the Union, because It's Consti'
tuition does or does not recognise the institution
of Slavery as part of its social system I; and cx.
pressly pretermittng any expression Of opinion
/ upon the power of Congress to establish or pro
hibit Slavery in any Territory, it Is the OF
the National Council that Congress ought not TO
legislate upon the subject of Slavery within the
| Territories Of the United States, and that any in
reference by Congress with Slavery as 1t exists in
the District of Columbia, would be a violation OF
4 the spirit and intention of the compact by which
the State of Maryland ceded the District to the
United States, and breach of the National faith.
XIII.--The policy of the Government of the
United States, in its relations with foreign govern
menx, ID to exact Justice from the strongest, and
do justice TO the weakest restraining by all the
power OF the government all its citizens from in.
reference with the internal concerns OF nations
with whom we are at peace.
XIV.-This National Council declares that all
the principles of the Order shall be hencefovward
everywhere openly avowed; and that each mem
ber shall be at liberty to make known the existence
of the Order, and the fact that he himself is mem
Der, and it recommends that there be no conceal
ment Of the places Of meeting OF subordinate coun.
4 cils.
E. B. BARTLETT, of Kentucky,
President Of National Council
G. d. DEsHLER, Of New Jersey,
Corresponding Secretary.
JAMES N. STEPHENS, OF Maryland,
Recording Secretary.
Hon. Thos. H. Ford, Of Ohio, presented the fol-
lowing minority report from the same committee
Resoiped, That the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise was an nfraction Of the plighted faith OF
the nation: and if efforts to that end shall fail
Congress should refuse to admit any State toler-
ating slavery, which shall be formed out Of any
portion Of the Territory from which that institution
was expressly excluded by that compromise.
Thos. II. Ford, Ohio Joseph II. Barrett, Vt.
Anthony Colby N. II. John S. Sayward, Maine.
4 ]. w. Foster, Mass Wm. +. Johnston, Pa.
N. ID. Sperry, Conn. Nathaniel Greene, II. J.
VIM. J. Phelps, III. ID. Il. Wood Wisconsin.
Schuyler Colfax, Ind. J. Cogshall, Michigan.
agree to the above, so far as Il relates to the
restoration Of the Missouri Compromise Act.
RICHARD CLEMENT, Delaware.
agree 70 the above, 50 far as IL relates TO the
Missouri Compromise, II the proposed action may
be had legally and constitutionaly.
Q. d. DEsHLrR, New Jersey.
On motion, both reports we're read and received.
The resolution Of Stokes Of Tennessee, with the
proposed amendment and substitute, was then tax.
en- up, and on motion, laid on the table.
MoSpAY EVENING, June IL, 1855.
T. J. Lyon Of New York, moved that the ma.
jority report Of the Platform be now taken up and
discussed section by section.
{ Sections !, 2, q, 4, and were seyerally taken
up, and unanimously adopted.
( The 9th section having been read, Vespasian
Ellis, Of the District Of Columbia, offered the fol
| lowing amendment: Ito strike out the concluding
words" "be entitled TO vote or hold Office" and
. insert "be allowed ever to hold political Office
( under the Federal or State Governments, nor be
allowed TO vote until after a residence Of at least
i twenty-one years IN the United States"
!. A. r. Hopkins, OF Alabama, moved as substi.
tute to insert after the word policy the follow
1 ing:
"That every one OF foreign birth who may mi.
CRATE TO the United States hereafter shall be ~
quired by law to reside here at least twenty-onc
\ years before he shall be entitled to naturalization
t and that we win vote for no one Of foreign birth
for any political Office
TUESDAY MosSISe, June IL, 1859.
The unfinished business of yesterday, to wit
the consideration Of the 9th section Of the msorit,
report Of the Committee on Platform, was r.
: sumed.
G. H. ohr, Of Maryland, proposed the follow
ing resolution, which was adopted:
"Resolpsd, That this Council do now INFORMALLY
lay this subject on the table, and also pass over In
formally every part Of the majority report OF th'
Committee on Platform, not already acted upon
# for the purpose of taking up and discussing th
il slavery plank therein contained"