New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-01-15
NETWORK DAILY TRIBUNE MONDAY. JANUARY TO- 1901

mich, bsvs hso, accountable 10 The North a. well ~
10 the South - at that time all TIE >tstes, Msssa-
chuse.'s alone excepted, were slsve-hclcing; rAN
kere ras anotir poisf Of difference befreeH ne pro
kjiiton es originally proposed ~ NJ. J3e-'o7 aTf
as agreed 10 b, ne passage 81 tie OrdaGHcs Of l7s7.
rIei IN lie eiss.ce Of posture ies'N0ry0 % he sub
ret soms Il furnish much more ecrrRrHai'o7
81 fks cLGrSe ~ tie CO.., # ne Southern States Mr.
JEFFERSON had proposed 10 prohibit Slavery in the
entire Wesern territory claimed by Congress a. hAv-
irg teen acquired by the Joint arms OF the Uairsd
Sra,es-not only the territory north OF the Ohio, of
which relirQ Gi,hment had already been obtained rom
most Of the States setting up claims TO IT, tu the ter
r.iory, also south Of the OHIO constituting al pres
eut tie States Of Kentucky Tennessee, Alabama, aud
Mississippi ard claim ed a; that time by the
States OF Virginia, North Carolina. South Car
olIa and Georgia. Now, the Ordinance OF ISL.
sud, of course, the prohibition OF Slavery which It
contained restricted in it. opel adon 20 the terri
tory north Cf the Ohio, 20 which the tile of the
United State. had meanwhile bee1 perfected by ces-
sins from al the claimant States thus leaving h ia
the power Of tie Southern States 70 anueX 10 such
rein qusbmenis they nj. any future time make
If their respective claims 20 the territory south Of The
Ohio, such conditions on the subject Of Slavery "a
they might see tt-d p0eer The erercise u rblcl re-
lue9 ~ ,1e estaJi,lmct # >iarery IN al ne fsrrI-
10, . south Of ne Ok0--ie Intel States plyi1g The
rag leory clY,nscs # Tie rem0rai Il tie HumeroHs
IN iaHs N order 10 The introduction II Stare ctra,ors
IN helr place.
"lt would thus appear that the Ordinance OF l7S1,
ab u which 60 much his been SAID and written, va
after all but territorial promise and the irstol thu
compromises on the subject Of Slavery and, instead
OF finding In IT, as Mr. Benton does anything 10 give
omph,ss 10 the provision respecting iug,tves from
labor conta ned in the Federal Constitution gAich
though suggested, probably by the similar clause in
the Ordnance of l7s5, and expressed IN similar Ian
guese, Rad a scope and extent entirely beyond any
ting contained in that ordnance-we should rather
be II med to make II the basis OF solemn warning
q ali - those who Whether cut OF zeal for slavery
desire of Office undertake 70 policy Of shich
the ado, ION was coeval with the Federal Con.'itu
ton. ard which since one OF the parts has derived
from !; the entire advantage it intended 70 give,
cannot now be abandoned without the extrenest in
Justice to the ohr patty, alone exposed to suffer by
the change
We have marked BY italics the begiHaiag and
the end of the most essential part of the above
extract Mr. Benton aid Mr.. Curtis, borrowing
his shoes and following in his wake, think that
the South ass, ntei TO the prohibition of Slavery
north Of the Ohio, bee,gse the Ordinance Of =
contained the fugitive clause This Proyiso,
saws Mr. Curtis was undoubtedly the means
which secured the passage Of the Ordinance OF
.'-7" We on the other baud think tn It Ordi
nance 20 have passt as 4 territorial compromise,
by which it wss agreed to prohi bit Slavery north
Of the Ohio, where the inhabitants Of none OF the
cediDg States (exc IT, perhaps, few Nirginian')
wanted II. in COZ sheraton that the Southern
states were to have their own way as to Slavery
south Of the Ohio; that certainly however other
wise it may seem to Mr. Curtis constituted
vastly more important consideration than tho
mere recaptdTc Of 8 few runaway slaves
This idea Of the origia Of the Fugitive clause
was introduced by Mr. Webster into his 9TH OF
March speech. and the nee Mr.. Curtis had IL.
With these two borrowed ileas--One as to thc
orisin Of tie Fugitive Slave clause, the other as
to the essential ,iHca,s of that clause 10 Procus-
ing The passage of the Ordinance OF She has,
in the note onwhich We have commented, made a
new ard dCsper,te but as Il see ms TO ~, no. very
successful effort 10 give Il certain respectiblllty
20 thai unfoTtuuale clause in the Constitution
with witch bio own name has become 81 INT
msely associated aud hicb viii be likely to give
him certain degree of historical notoriety, quite
independently Of HE political labOIs.
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